THE FIRSTFRUITS OF FAITH

The inheritance into which the believer enters as a son and heir of God is a very rich and beautiful one and includes every spiritual blessing in Christ. But the blessing primarily coveted is relief from the burden of sins, the sense of forgiveness, the assurance of pardon. The circumstances of conversion vary greatly, and people come to God in vastly diverse ways. Some are born of Christian parents and are nurtured in an atmosphere surcharged with the love and worship of God. The name of Jesus is on the lips almost as soon as the name of “Father” or “Mother.” Sometimes, one cannot tell when that personal choice of Jesus Christ as Savior was made, for love to Him seems always to have been in the heart. With others, the new birth has meant a decided and definite break in the life. Not all have the keen realization of the awful sinfulness of sin, nor does the guilt and condemnation of it rest on them as a terrible burden as it did upon Pilgrim in Bunyan’s classic story, but to almost everyone, there is the bondage to some besetting sin from which he seeks release. So the first blessing of which the sinner is conscious and the one in which he primarily rejoices is the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 1:7

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

The moment the sinner acknowledges his sin and turns in real faith to Christ as Savior, that very moment God grants perfect and permanent pardon for all his sins: his past is blotted out, and he will not be judged for sin that his Savior has borne to the cross. But lack of assurance regarding forgiveness is a very common thing, even in the lives of some who have been Christians for years. Because of ignorance of God’s Word, when perchance one falls again into some besetting sin, doubt comes into the heart and robs it of the joy of salvation. In order that the believer may rest in the conscious assurance of full acquittal, God unfolds in His Word the completeness of forgiveness. Are you resting today in the assurance of sins forgiven? If not, may God speak to you in these precious statements of His Word and enable you to claim each for yourself.

Isaiah 38:17

“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.”

All my sins behind God’s back! Out of God’s sight! Never to be seen again! O! the comfort of knowing that the sins God has forgiven He will never see again!

Psalm 103:12

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.”

All of my sins put the distance of the world’s circumference from me! Out of my sight as well as out of the sight of God! While in China, I received a cable telling of the death of a dearly loved sister in America. During the weeks that followed, in which I waited for a letter giving further particulars of her death, I realized how far the East is from the West, and there came a new, sweet experience of the assurance of my salvation in these precious words, “As far—so far. ” O! the comfort of knowing that the sins which God has forgiven I shall never see again!

Micah 7:19

“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities. And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

All my sins cast into the depths of the sea! Not only out of sight but out of reach! A few years ago, the steamship Titanic, built at a cost of millions of dollars and carrying a cargo valued at many millions more, went to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. So far as I know, no attempt has ever been made to bring the Titanic or her cargo from the depths of the sea. 0! the comfort of knowing that the sins forgiven by God are out of reach, pardoned for time and eternity!

Isaiah 44:22

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins.”

Hebrews 8:12

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

All my sins blotted out and forgotten! Not only out of God’s sight and out of God’s reach but out of God’s memory! But in the unsearchable riches of His grace, God has blotted out my sins so completely that there is not a trace of them left to remind Him that once they were. O! the comfort of knowing that the sins which God has forgiven He has also forgotten!

Source: “Life on the Highest Plane” by Ruth Paxson

Dear God, thank You for Your blessed assurance that I have been forgiven of all my sins. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your precious blood that blotted out all my sins so that God remembers them no more!