I don’t believe it!” Thoughts from my past.

The idea that my sin condition is thoroughly forgiven was a real brain twister. It was especially difficult to believe amid failure. Feeling like a sinner it seemed like an ideal that I needed to strive for. Yet, despite my experiences and confused feelings, the truth remains.

“In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence…” Ephesians 1:7-8

Are you telling me I HAVE it now – REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS? It’s mine? I own it?

Humankind was created to enjoy divine intimacy and friendship with God. Satan, via the serpent in the garden, deceived and kidnapped humanity enslaving us to sin. Held captive by sin, outside of the covenant with God, enemies toward Him, a hopelessly broken relationship with our Creator, and ever abused by an unrelenting sin condition and evil lord.

Under sin’s dominion, we did not have the power or the wisdom to escape its abhorrent demands.

I’m a SAINT, who was a sinner, and I am saved by GRACE. REDEEMED! FORGIVEN!

The ransom price was blood – a life in exchange for a life. The old covenant sacrifices simply postponed the wages of sin until the prophesied blood of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus, would become the ransom payment once and for all – past, present, and future.

Here is some stunningly good news:

Your ransom is fully paid (REDEMPTION) and the sin that made its claim against you is forgiven!

You are legally set free. You do not have to live as a slave to sin. You can walk out of the prison gates a free person. The one Jesus sets free is FREE INDEED!

The devil wants to make you believe that your ransom is theological and not practical, a seemingly elusive spiritual theory that is not truly experienced on earth. He is happy to have you believe that you are still a sinner – albeit, saved by grace. A confused hybrid of sinner and saint.

But you are 100% SAINT! A great topic for another time.

Your RANSOM is PAID IN FULL! FORGIVENESS is complete!

And God didn’t run out of grace before He got to you.

“…according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence…”

God is a wise investor and has multiplied His grace! He is understanding (prudent) with the distribution of it. He has ensured that YOU get grace that is abounding! It is excessive! It is superabundant! There is enough to spare!

Your freedom is thorough! Jesus paid the ultimate price to make it so!

Being adopted into God’s family, His grace is abundant and is ever-changing me and forming me into Jesus’ likeness. I like to say that grace is the wiggle room God gives us to change. His grace empowers us to live out WHO we are. Grace is the greatest weapon against sin. Not a facilitator of it. Jesus defeated sin so that in identifying with Him we could also:

“throw aside… that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith and is also its Finisher.” ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

I’m a SAINT, who was a sinner, and I am saved by GRACE. REDEEMED! FORGIVEN!

BLESSED, CHOSEN, ADOPTED, ACCEPTED, RIGHTEOUS!

“Forgiven”