Is rejecting God’s forgiveness possible?
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV).
“…There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent” (Luke 24:47 NLT).
There is no doubt that God’s forgiveness is available to whosoever will. Whoever confesses their sins and asks God for forgiveness will receive forgiveness.
But for God’s forgiveness to work in my life, I need to accept it. I need to have faith and believe that forgiveness has occurred. Salvation is a gift, but as with every other gift, I can embrace it or reject it.
If I embrace the gift of forgiveness, I can leave my load of sin at the cross and walk in freedom and liberty. However, if I verbally ask for forgiveness but continue to carry my load of sin, there is no freedom or liberty. Partial freedom is not complete freedom.
Sometimes, we pick and choose what we leave at the cross and what we continue to carry with us. This is concerning to me.
I have heard people say they can’t forgive themselves for a previous action they committed. What I think is going on is that they refuse to allow God to forgive them for that action. In other words, they are rejecting God’s forgiveness.
If there are sins previously committed that I refuse to let go of, they are weights I am holding on to. The writer of Hebrews tells us to let go of every weight that keeps us from being free.
Holding onto shame and guilt because we are afraid to let go is not God’s desire for us.
Action Point
I challenge each of us to do some self-examination. If there is baggage you are holding onto for whatever reason, take another trip to the cross, give up ownership of what you have carried around for years, and walk away completely free and forgiven.
Then, you can truly sing this chorus from the past: “Free, free, free. I have been set free. I have met the Man. The Man from Galilee. He took away my sin. My heavy load of sin. And, now I’m singing glory, hallelujah!”
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