What is the main thing we got by Christ Jesus going to the cross? It is the forgiveness of our sins, past, present, and future. Due to our receiving Christ Jesus as LORD and Savior, sin is no longer imputed against us. Without forgiveness of our sins, we have absolutely no hope of everlasting life. The Bible is very clear about that, AND, it is also very clear that we must in turn forgive everyone who has sinned against US.

Now THAT may be a hard pill to swallow for some, seeing some have been deeply hurt by others. However, it doesn’t matter how badly someone has hurt us, our forgiveness of their sins is mandatory, that is, unless we don’t want OUR sins forgiven. Why is that a condition of our salvation? Because God chose to make it so, that’s why! Did He do that to thin out the number of people who will be saved? NO! It was so His children could truly be free from offense.

Think about this for a moment; we will say someone hurt you really bad, are THEY laying awake at night sleepless over what they did to you? NO, otherwise they would have already asked for your forgiveness. It is YOU that lays awake constantly reminding yourself how much they hurt you. Each time you remember the offense, it’s like pulling the scab off of a wound that’s trying to heal, but it can’t heal because you keep reopening the wound. But by choosing to FORGIVE their sins, you have freed YOURSELF from the constant reminder of the torment they put you through. Now that doesn’t make what they did right. It simply means you have put them in God’s hands to let HIM deal with the offense, and you have put an end once and for all your suffering because of the remembrance of the hurt.

When you asked the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins, He set you completely free from them. He never mentions them to you again, and to Him and the Father, you are blameless before God, as if you had never sinned in the first place. And if you do sin, because He no longer imputes sin to you, you are forever blameless before Him. Does that mean you can no longer sin? No, it just means He doesn’t charge you with sin, because Christ Jesus already paid in full for your sins; past, present and future. YOUR SINS ARE PAID FOR IN FULL! Does that mean now you can go around and sin without regard? No, why would you even WANT to sin after God so gracefully forgave you of all your trespasses?

Do you remember the joy at the time of your salvation how free you felt? Do you STILL feel that joy? Or has the devil been working on you to remind you of your sins? The Bible says in Psalm 103:8-12,

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

The problem comes when the devil tries to bring your sins as close to you as the east is from the west. You see, there’s a line right where you are standing that separates east from west. Right there at your feet is where the devil is trying to bring your sins back to you. He constantly reminds you of your guilt, of the evil imaginations of your heart, of the words you have spoken in anger against others, or even GOD! But the Psalm says God has removed your sins from you as FAR as the east is from the west; in other words, He has removed your sins an unimaginable distance from you, so far away that even HE cannot find them.

And God wants you to take on His nature, and you start by removing the sins that others have done to you so far away that even YOU cannot find them again. That’s done by forgiving them, one and all. My friend, there is so much power in forgiveness. Imagine living a life where you cannot be offended, that hurtful actions and words roll off of you like water off a duck’s back. You CAN live that way, and God has provided the way by giving you the example of having forgiven YOUR sins first. You see, God wants your joy to be full, and when you have no pressure of remembering sins committed against you, there is nothing to distract from the beauty of your relationship with God; you are at peace with God and man.

Even as there is no distance between our heavenly Father and Christ Jesus, there is no distance between a forgiven sinner and God, due to the power of forgiveness. And we have the privilege of taking on the very nature of God by forgiving all others! That’s how we fulfill the commandments of God; loving God with all our mind, soul and strength, and our brother as ourselves! You cannot truly love your brethren if you are harboring offense against them. So set yourself free right now and experience for yourself the power of forgiveness!