DOES SIN SEPARATE GOD FROM YOU?
A lot of people quote you Isaiah 59:1-2 and tell you that sin will separate from God even after you have become a Christian. Sin has been described to possess so much power that it seems the blood of Jesus did very little to secure salvation for us. True repentance comes after men see the goodness of God. Now lets see Isaiah 59:
Here’s what it says:
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
Dear friends, this is an example of taking scripture out of it context. We need to look at it in his entirety to know what God is saying.
The problem of sin has already been dealt with. If you care to read on you will see that God has already provided his right hand as the solution:
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
and then….
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
“My Spirit will not depart from you!” says the Lord. Notice Jesus says sin cannot separate you from my Spirit.
“His own arm achieved salvation for him”. This “arm” has righteousness as his breastplate and helmet of salvation on him. This is Jesus, the arm of God revealed.
You now begin to realize that the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness is about the “arm achieving salvation”. The armor of God as such is what Jesus did for you. Made you inseparable to His Father.
I would also like to see that verse again “But your iniquities have separated you from your God” It didn’t say that “your iniquities have separated God from you”. The separation is in the mind of man. That is why Adam hid in the bushes. He felt he could not stand in the presence of God again. God thought otherwise, He still kept to his appointment in the garden. Sin-consciousness is keeping my Christians from enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. They still think their sin can send him away packing. Little did they know that is why he’s there.
Paul described it this way in Ephesians 4:18 “They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.” Many people have been separated from goodness of God because their understanding have been darkened by the veil of the law. The law blinds us to the light of God’s love.
We cannot count the number of christians who are deep in addiction, drunkeness and drugs because they have a picture of a judgmental God who is far from the them because they cannot meet up with His standards of righteousness. Each time they fail, they feel unworthy and it creates distance. After a long period of failed attempts at right standing, they soon find themselves involved in things to take away the guilt and condemnation they feel. It doesn’t long before they find themselves lost and drown in issues that could take their lives.
The question we should be asking is “can sin stand God”? The answer is no. Sin cannot. It totally disintegrates. Sin cannot stand God. It is totally destroyed. Where sin abounded, grace much more abounds. Now here lies a vital question. How can God dwell in you if you say you are only forgiven when you confess your sins? The very fact that God dwells in you is because your sins have been taken away once and for all on the cross. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Hallelujah!
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FORGIVENESS OF SINS? BY STEVE FINNELL
Did God give mankind manifold options to have their sins forgiven?
The birth of the church of Christ was on the Day of Pentecost. What occurred on that day?
1.The apostle Peter preached Jesus, His death, His burial, and His resurrection. (Acts 2:22-35)
2. Peter stated God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ and that they were responsible for Jesus being crucified.(Acts 2:36)
3. The crowd asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do. (Acts 2:37)
What was Peter's answer? Keep in mind these men had already believed that Jesus was Savior, Lord, and the Christ.
Did Peter give them this list of choices?
1. Did Peter say, "Repent and say the sinners prayer and you will have your sins forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?"
2. Did Peter say, "You do not have to do anything thing to be saved, you were saved the very moment you believed, your sins are forgiven?"
3. Did Peter say, "Repent and be baptized because your sins have been forgiven?"
4. Did Peter say, "You were added to the body of Christ the minute you believed, however, in order to join the local church you must be baptized in water?"
5. Did Peter say, "Repent and be baptized as an example to the community?"
6. Did Peter say,"It is written that men are saved by faith only, water baptism is a good work?"
7. Did Peter say, "Water baptism is just an act of obedience, and it has nothing to do with forgiveness of your sins?"
8. Did Peter say, "The thief on cross was not baptized and he was saved; therefore you can have your sins forgiven without being baptized?"
9. Did Peter say, "You have to be baptized in order join a denominational church, however, you can get into heaven by faith only?"
10. WHAT DID PETER SAY? Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(NASB)
The apostle Peter was not offering multiple ways to have sins forgiven.
Faith: John 3:16
Repentance: Acts 2:38
Confession: Romans 10:9-10
Water Baptism: Acts 2:38
ALL ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION!
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"10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Romans 5:10-11)
Christianity is not about doing good and avoiding evil; nor is it about trying to get to heaven. If these things define us, then we should drop “Christ” out of the name of our faith, for these having nothing to do with Christ and His finished work. Every religion in the world tries to do good and avoid evil, and all of them are working and hoping for a higher home when they die. Is this what we want to be?
We have relationship, not religion, and we are sons, not slaves (Galatians 4:7). The reason that Christianity is special is that when you accept Christ, your life does not become a daily challenge to live up to rules and regulations but it becomes one where Christ lives His life through you. The cross and the resurrection provided two very important things for all of us:
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10).
Christ’s death on the cross reconciled the world back to God. There is no more separation between God and man. Not even sin can separate man from God, for Jesus bore all sins in His body on the tree. This message of reconciliation is made up of the fact that God does not impute transgressions to man; and this is the sole message of the church (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Christ’s resurrection, which of course could not have taken place without the cross, provides us with life. It is not the life of Jesus prior to the cross that gives us life, for that would have nullified the need for His sacrificial death. Jesus’ life is a pristine example of how to live, but it provides us with no strength to copy the same. We need His death for our sins and His resurrection for our life if we hope to walk as He walked.
These two important things are not the only things however, for Paul now says, “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:11). The word ‘atonement’ is the Greek word ‘katalaga’ meaning, “exchange or reconciliation”. We have joy because of the finished work of Jesus, who has exchanged His life for ours. He took our sin; we take His righteousness. He took our curse; we take His blessing.
Peter called this joy “unspeakable” (1 Peter 1:8). It is unspeakable because mere human words can never describe the miracle that takes place at the great exchange. When we are saved, we give up who we were to receive who He is. He is perfect in every way, and as He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). He literally exchanged places with us at Calvary, taking into Himself what should have been ours; giving us what was rightfully His.
Because of the great exchange, every promise of God in Christ is yours. If Jesus was beloved, so are you. If Jesus was full of health and wholeness, so are you. If Jesus was the righteousness of God, so are you. Get the picture? Thank God for the great exchange and just enjoy being who He has become in you.