08/01/2021 - THE TRULY BLESSED ONES

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“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Romans 4:7

The enemy may have used a person in such wicked ways; however, if they truly understand that Jesus paid the price for their sins, they will be forgiven and saved. Here is the truth: in this life, no one can live without committing mistakes, imagine without the help of the new birth! Unfortunately, many saved people do not follow the Master’s guidance to watch and pray, thus seeking to sanctify themselves more and more. Then, they fall in transgressions. The way out is to confess them to be forgiven.

In the Old Testament, blessed was the one forgiven for the evil done against someone, himself or God. However, salvation was only possible after Jesus shed His blood on the cross. It was a great benefit to have your sin covered, but in the payment made by the Savior, everything was included. Before Christ’s death, God’s servants waited for the Messiah’s final and definite work.

After becoming new creations in Christ, we lose that momentum that made us err and we are no longer evil towards others. However, if you are saved but sinned, you do not have to go through the new birth again. Use the divine escape, confessing your iniquity to God and believing that you have been heard (1 John 1:9).

When eating the forbidden fruit in Garden of Eden, our first parents committed a serious mistake. They disobeyed the Most High and, for this reason, disconnected themselves from Him. They soon saw that such behavior contaminated their nature. Thus, they were brought down to a condition they never expected to be in – that of sinners. Their wrong attitude gave the devil power over them.

Every sin brings great suffering. It is impossible to sin and go unpunished. The only way out, is to acknowledge the wrong you have done and ask for forgiveness. Some sins must be confessed to the Lord only; others, to the person to whom we caused financial, moral or spiritual loss. If the person who receives the confession does not forgive, the Most High will not forgive them. Mercy!

Sins are not only physical acts, but also the intentions of the heart. In this regard, Jesus declared: whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). There is no righteous person in the world capable of saying that he never sinned (Romans 3:10). We often condemn others for doing something wrong, but we have probably done something much worse. It is best that we never allow the demon of shame to rule over us. We need to expose all our flaws to God.

Examine yourself thoroughly and see that your way of speaking and behaving in front of others is correct. Reflect: were your intentions that led you to say something, or the way you approached someone, evil? God looks at the heart, not the sham that we sometimes do to show kindliness and other feelings.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares