November 17: TO LIVE AS SAVED: CHERISHING FORGIVENESS

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:45

During this season of thanksgiving, it is altogether fitting to focus deeply on the first element of the LORD’s covenant with fallen mankind: that which He has already done for us. His timeless invitation to enter the covenant has as its foundation forgiveness.

Jesus is quoting Isaiah in our opening verse (see Isaiah 54:13). It is through divine forgiveness that our record of sin is blotted out, and we are justified in His sight. Jeremiah wrote: I [God] will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people . . . for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (from Jeremiah 31:33,34).

The divine offer of forgiveness initiates a love relationship between the guilty sinner and God. As unfair as it may seem — for our God is infinitely better than fair — the sinner who has truly received and continues to cherish God’s forgiveness undergoes a metamorphosis. The miraculous writing of the law of God upon the heart of the forgiven sinner facilitates a result of loyal obedience. David’s plea, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10) uses the same Hebrew word for create – bara’ – that is found in Genesis 1:1. The costliness of divine forgiveness inspires a gratitude that springs from the Creator’s creative act of making a new, clean heart. Because of this, we must allow the Lord to lift our thoughts to higher plains than the court-of-law parallel with earthly courts. While the forgiveness of God sets us free from the penalty for breaking His law, His Son bearing the full weight of punishment, it is more… In her book Thoughts from The Mount of Blessing, Ellen White wrote: “God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart.”

God’s people were not being instructed to earn their salvation by their obedience, for they were already saved by the forgiveness that He had provided. The real question was this: would they choose to live as a saved people? Jesus rescued a woman about to be stoned for adultery, saying, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). He met her where she was, forgave her, and then sent her in a brand-new direction of life under His leadership and protection. Saved people do not lose their gift of free choice. Satan knows this and works harder to harass and tempt the saved with greater vigor than those who have never entered into the Lord’s covenant (they are already tripping themselves up). It is incumbent upon the saved to live as saved. Ask yourself: Do I deeply cherish the priceless forgiveness of God? If so,

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD. Isaiah 55:17

For further study: Isaiah 54:13; Ezekiel 18:31; Romans 8:1-5; Hebrews 3:14; 10:36