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Philosophical and theological puzzles rendered so simple a child could understand Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why?   Why? Life will remain primarily a mystery and a frustration until you understand the heart and goals of the God who is ultimately in control of everything that touches your life.   God loves you because he loves you. He loves you, not for what you can do for him, but for what he can do for you.   You are of infinite worth to the One who gave his all that you might spend eternity with him.     The mind-boggling intensity of God’s love is as close and as crucial as the oxygen you breathe. Despite this, we tend to drift into regarding the infinite love of God as if it had the practical relevance of the countless grains of sand in a desert we have never seen. Let's bring our thinking down from the clouds to hard reality. The fact of divine love makes the happiness of Almighty God forever dependent upon your happiness. If you hurt, God hurts.   When pondering God’s plans for us, we tend to zero in on our role in God’s labor force. But although the Almighty has every right to treat you as his worker, the God of love chooses to be not your Boss, but your  Mommy/Daddy .  And as the best imaginable Parent, the Lord is devoted to your welfare. Foremost to him is your fulfillment and development. The Lord has ministry plans for you, but they are for your sake, not for his gain (God, after all, is totally self-sufficient). And any tasks he lovingly allocates are just a fraction of his overall dreams for you.   Anything God asks you to do is because it is in your very best interest. God’s blueprint for your life focuses on your endless happiness and fulfillment. This is not to be confused with  short term  ease and bliss that ultimately wears thin and crumbles. Like little children who think happiness means having no rules and an endless supply of candy, we still have a lot of growing up to do before we understand what is truly in our best interest. Much of what we presently clamor for we will eventually discover is not what we really want after all. In contrast, the infinite knowledge and intelligence of God focuses on things we will be eternally thrilled about. That often puts our priorities at odds with God’s priorities, even though both he and we seek our happiness.   Some people who haven’t thought it through imagine God is egocentric because he asks us to praise and worship him. What we hold highest in life sets the ceiling for personal growth, achievement and honor. And being preoccupied with oneself makes one’s personality shrivel. That’s why our loving Lord wants you to be God-centered. The Lord’s only wish is that we act as wisely and unselfishly as him. Like the Perfect Leader that he is, he asks nothing of us that he would not do himself. It is the very nature of love – and hence the nature of God – to focus on the beloved. Just as he wants you to be God-centered, his plans focus on you as if  you  were the center of the universe.   Your love means infinitely more to God than all the diamonds in myriads of galaxies. And praise is a natural expression of love. Lovers find praises effortlessly flowing from their lips as they praise their beloved’s looks, abilities, and so on.   If God wanted slaves he could in an instant create too many to cram on to every planet in the universe. The All-powerful, Self-Sufficient Lord of the Universe craves your praise only because he is love and is rapt in you.   A Puzzle   For insight into the plans of the God who controls your world, let’s briefly examine a matter that frustrates and puzzles every Christian sooner or later: Why does God sometimes let us lose battles with temptations? We want to be free. We’ve sincerely prayed that we lose interest in sin. Surely it’s in God’s own interest to answer that prayer, and yet still God refuses us a miraculous deliverance. Why?   For a webpage of testimonies of miraculous deliverances from addictions I interviewed a number of people. I became increasingly perplexed to learn that it seemed everyone who had experienced such a miracle still had one addiction – often smoking, but not always – that caused them great shame and embarrassment as they kept floundering in their attempts to beat that particular habit. Since helping people be freed from besetting sins is most important to me, I earnestly sought God about this puzzle.   I discovered there are two types of divine deliverances from slavery to sin. There is the sudden deliverance that takes almost no effort on the person’s part, and there is the slow deliverance that requires the person to cooperate with God in fighting a prolonged, painful battle with temptation. The deliverance where God does it all, is a manifestation of God’s power and brings him great glory. The deliverance that hinges on our partnership, however, is a manifestation of God’s love and wisdom, and brings  us  eternal glory. In the second type, God risks his name being blackened whenever we fall and dares share with us the honor when we win. Like nothing else, the prolonged battle builds within us the Godlike character that equips us to rule with God for all eternity. God loves us so much that eventually the opportunity for this training comes to all of us.   Often what most keeps us bound to sin is that we are inadequately motivated. Anyone, for instance, who thinks he can’t stop stealing suddenly finds new power to resist when a police officer is near. The removal of temptation might make our  actions  more Godlike but it wouldn’t do a thing to make our  heart  more Godlike. It would do nothing to heighten our motivation to do what is right.   To be like Christ is to sweat blood praying, ‘Not my will.’ Jesus, who might just happen to know a bit more about it than your average evangelist, said that to be his follower we must deny ourselves (Luke 9:23, note  the context ). If Bill’s flesh is crying out for sin and he fights that desire, he is denying himself. With every second’s resistance he is becoming more like his Savior. Take away the craving for sin, however, and that opportunity is lost. Without that nagging itch to sin, Bill could act as godly as an archangel while pursuing his own desires as selfishly as the devil. Even the devil can act like an angel of light, says Scripture. What matters is one’s motives for acting that way. There is no glory in acting godly if your heart is black.   Rather than help us, the weakening of temptation would merely deceive us by concealing just how much unlike God our motives and heart really are. It could also produce false confidence, lulling us into straying dangerously far from God into enemy territory.   To better understand the importance of motives, consider for a moment what might motivate a married man to stop looking at other women.   1.  Pure selfishness If his wife catches him eyeing women one more time, she’ll divorce him and that would cost him mega bucks, people might think him a loser and he would have to do more housework. 2. He couldn’t bear for her to withdraw her love That’s a far nobler motivation. He forces himself not to eye other women because his wife’s love and approval means everything to him. 3. He’d hate for his wife to be hurt That’s even better. He restrains himself because even if she kept loving him, he doesn’t want her to feel the slightest hurt. 4. He longs to make her as happy as he possibly can Better still: he doesn’t want merely to avoid hurting her, he passionately seeks her happiness, and for this he keeps his eyes pure. 5. He longs to do what is right Another advance: even when his wife would never know, he still forces himself to not look at other women, simply because he wants to remain faithful to her. 6. He only has eyes for her Through persistent effort he has eventually so trained himself to delight exclusively in his wife that, most of the time, every other woman might as well be wallpaper. (This does not mean he is never tempted. Temptation is spiritual rape whereby hostile spiritual powers assault us with feelings that come from them, not from our heart. Even Jesus suffered a violation of his purity that came from the devil, not his heart. Nevertheless, years of persistent self-discipline have brought the man to the point where it is his habitual, unthinking response to only have eyes for his wife. He has had so many victories in this realm and it has become such a deeply ingrained part of his character that the devil has virtually given up all hope of successfully using women to entice him.)   Slide your eyes back down those numbered lines and note the progression. God is working within us, seeking to coax us through a similar progression in our motives for serving God; advancing from fear of punishment, to not wanting to hurt God, to longing to delight God. Each higher motivation should add to, not replace, lower ones. Thus we should never lose our longing to delight God, but we can add to it by becoming so like God that we do right not only because it thrills our divine Lover but also simply because it is right. Finally, our heart can be so Godlike that we find ourselves doing the right thing because it is our very nature – our heart response. But for our motivation to be perfect, underneath that unthinking response must be the other levels of motivation, right down to being terrified of the consequences of disobeying God.   Of course the holy Lord neither wants us to fail, nor tempts us. He simply doesn’t always cover our inadequacies by miraculously removing temptation. The resulting struggle helps bring us to the point where, in the words of Jesus, we  hunger and thirst after righteousness,  displaying a passion for holy living worthy of a child of God.   Here’s how it works: whenever we surrender to temptation, it hurts us, either by the natural consequences of sin or by the conviction and disappointment we feel at having failed. For a Christian, the end result of the unpleasantness of failing is that we learn to hate sin more, appreciate God’s love and grace more, and realize more fully how as an embryo must draw everything from its mother for its survival, so we desperately need to draw upon God and his fellowship for everything that sustains our spiritual life.   Like many delays in answered prayer, God not responding to a lazy prayer the way we had hoped serves to purify our motives and to stretch our faith and so expand it.   But is this Really Biblical?   It seems obvious that, in the short-term at least, the Almighty would receive the greatest glory by miraculously removing temptation from his loved ones. I have provided a logical explanation, but is it really biblical to believe that the Holy One would choose to deny himself that glory by letting temptation rage in the lives of those Christ died for, despite their cries for an easier life?   As a child, I memorized what is arguably the Bible’s most powerful promise of victory over temptation. Ever since, I have clung to this glorious truth like a limpet to a rock in stormy seas. Ironically, despite my passion for this life-saving Scripture, there is an aspect of it that had eluded me for almost half a century. In fact, I’m slipping this verse into the webpage more than a decade after completing the rest of it. Thankfully, I had gleaned this truth from other parts of God’s Word but I had not seen it in this Scripture. Here’s the verse:   1 Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.   What had not hit me is that this is nothing remotely like a promise that God would make strong temptation melt away for his beloved. Instead, it is a promise that we would be able to “stand up under it.” The King James Version uses the expression “able to bear it.” The point is that if the divinely-provided “way out” (or “way to escape,” as the old version puts it) was for the temptation to go away, there would be nothing to “bear.”   Too many Christians wrongly suppose that if temptation continues to rage after prayer, there must be something wrong. The divine game-plan has never been to prevent us from being hit repeatedly by fierce temptation but to empower us to endure it. The promise is not that God will mollycoddle us, treating us as embarrassing weaklings who would shame him the moment things get tough, but that God will hide within us everything that we need to heroically survive the onslaught – and by so doing be acclaimed forever as spiritual champions.   The spiritual attack on Paul allows us to see an aspect of this played out in real life:   2 Corinthians 12:7-9  To keep me from becoming conceited  . . . there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you . . .”   Paul was adamant that this “thorn” was anti-God, “a messenger of Satan” that tormented him. Despite the mighty apostle’s immense faith and spiritual authority, however, God cared too much for Paul’s spiritual well-being to answer his repeated prayers for the attack to end. God’s “grace” – the spiritual empowering to endure, divinely seeded within Paul – was enough.   The Lord revealed that the quick delivery most modern-day Christians expect, could have spiritually ruined Paul because of the greater danger lurking in the shadows – pride.   Even in the Old Testament, God’s people were called to fight the enemy, keep themselves holy and in no way compromise and yet, for at least two divinely brilliant reasons, God chose not to give them quick deliverances but to keep them battling their enemies year after year:   Exodus 23:29  But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.   Judges 3:1-2  These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)   As Peter affirmed, despite our intimate relationship with the all-powerful Lord, we should “not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).   The “Simple Solution” or God’s Solution?   What seems a simple solution –the removal of temptation, for example – often turns out to be a superficial solution. God is rarely interested in the superficial. He wants to do a work so deep that it gains you eternal glory.   There have been times when I thought I desperately needed personal indications of God’s presence and I felt badly treated by God when he left me to stagger though life devoid of any tangible proof that he was with me. Eventually I remembered Thomas, who was granted perhaps the greatest of all such experiences – the opportunity to physically handle the risen Lord. How blessed he was! And yet the astounding thing is that Jesus told Thomas that the person who is really blessed is the one who is  not  granted an experience like him. The best is reserved for the person compelled to hold on by faith alone (John 20:29).   Finally I understood how I had forced my Lord into the position where he had either to deny me the experience I was hankering for, or deny me the greater blessing he had planned for me – the chance to gain glory by finding faith without experiencing anything dramatic and to grow in faith, that precious commodity that is more valuable than gold. The Lord had lovingly risked my wrath so that he could give me the greater blessing, and instead of being grateful, I had been annoyed at him.   How often we must unknowingly put God in such a situation. Seeing only one possible solution, we demand it of God, convinced that he must either act the only way we can figure, or God cannot be loving. We force God into either denying us what is best or acting in a manner that we have fooled ourselves into thinking is unloving. We repeatedly find ourselves in such situations because God is so intellectually superior to us.   Puzzling things that God does, or omits to do, sometimes make us secretly wish God had our intelligence! When all is revealed, however, these are the very things that will fill us with eternal praise that God does not have our intelligence.   Isaiah 55:8  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  (9)  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”   And yet the power of an infinite intellect finds its match in infinite love.   Psalms 103:11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him   What an astounding God!   Spiritual Jealousy   The reality is that everything God does is a manifestation of infinite love – even (although I might lack the brain power to explain it) his eternal judgment upon sinners.   Often what seems like God’s lack of love is actually to God a particularly costly expression of divine love. God’s discipline is an obvious example that receives  much attention in Scripture.  Every good parent knows that spoiling a beloved child is easy; it is the giving of needed discipline that hurts the parent deeply and in that sense displays the greater love. The child, of course, rarely recognizes punishment as love and it takes great commitment to a child’s welfare for a devoted parent to risk the child’s wrath by doing what is best for the child. "Father God Disciplines His Children   Deuteronomy 8:5  Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.   2 Samuel 7:14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.   Job 5:17  Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.   Proverbs 3:11  My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,  (12)  because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.   1 Corinthians 11:32  When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.   Hebrews 12:5  And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,  (6)  because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”  (7)  Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?  (8)  If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.  (9)  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!  (10)  Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.  (11)  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.   Revelation 3:19  Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent."     New Christians often seem to get instant answers to their every little prayer and yet mature Christians often endure rough times. This is like the way a mother attends to her newborn’s tiniest whimper but as the years roll on this level of attention diminishes. That in no way suggests diminishing love. She is wisely co-operating with, and encouraging, the growth process within her darling. Like an older brother, we can sometimes get jealous of the pampering that baby Christians receive but it’s not that we are loved less, it’s just that God is pleased with our development and believes we can now handle more.   Divine Joy   So through all sorts of things happening to us and in us, God is working on our motives, purifying and intensifying them, or working on some other aspect of our character, making us more and more like himself. God’s passion is that we experience divine joy – eternal glories beyond our present comprehension that make what we presently call happiness seem like plain sugar compared with an exquisite banquet. But we can partake of God’s joy, only if we first partake of his nature. For a cat to appreciate human pleasures, it would have to become human. Even a human child cannot fully enter adult pleasures until he loses childish tastes and irresponsibilities and becomes like an adult. Likewise, we can only truly enter the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:23) by becoming like the Lord. And it is towards that end that God is constantly working.   Luke 6:35  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then . . . you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.   Luke 6:40  A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.   Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (29)  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.   Related Scriptures   Note that the above Scripture says God  works  everything that happens, not  causes  everything that happens. We must understand that we presently live in a battle zone – a world filled with God’s enemies. When Christ returns this period of grace will instantly end and everything contrary to God’s loving ways will be annihilated. That will be both the most thrilling and most horrifying moment in earth’s history. It will mean the end of pain and suffering and cheating and lying and stealing and hate, but it will necessitate the destruction of everyone who has not let Christ remove every trace of sin from their lives. A world in which there is no suffering is a world in which everyone not cleansed from their sin has been eternally banished to hell. So each moment in which the world we live in exposes us to suffering, is another moment in which billions of precious people have yet another chance to come to their senses and let Jesus deliver them from their suicidal infatuation with sin before it’s too late (2 Peter 3:9-14). (For a more detailed explanation see  Why I Hate The Myth of a Cruel Christian God )   So some things that hit us are attacks from anti-God forces. God doesn’t  initiate  everything that happens to us, and yet he  manipulates  everything, so that things hurled at us in satanic fury are so ingeniously deflected by the Almighty that they end up achieving good. And the good that our Perfect  Father/Mother  is working towards, is our ultimate good, not what we always instantly recognize as being good. God’s goal is not instant bliss but the eternal bliss of us becoming like the eternal Son of God, perfect in love and purity and wisdom and glory.   Suffering Makes us Worthy   A man in my ministry team told me he did not feel worthy to minister to people suffering in ways that he had never suffered. His use of the word ‘worthy’ hit me. Suffering makes us worthy – not just worthy of eternal glory when we come through with our faith intact, but worthy to minister to others. The eternal Son of God always has been so indescribably worthy of honor and of our love that it would seem impossible to increase it, and yet there are ways in which what he suffered makes him even more worthy. We can follow in his footsteps. A link at the bottom of this page gives you the opportunity to explore a little more the ministry implications of suffering.   Upside Down   When looking down from heaven, everything on earth is viewed upside down. But heaven’s perspective is the right one.   Luke 16:15  He said to them, “. . . What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”   We find Jesus’ teaching perplexing because he was forever turning things right side up. He taught, for instance, that among the worst things that could happen to you on earth is that you are rewarded (Matthew 6:1-5,16) or that people speak well of you (Luke 6:26). He said you’re blessed when you mourn, or are poor, or are persecuted. The first shall be last, the greatest shall be the least and it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Another example of us seeing things the wrong way is when someone finally discovers that the busier we are, the longer – not the less – we need to be in prayer.   When you are in heaven looking back over your past life, what will you regard as the most exciting aspects of earthly life? All earth’s pleasures will be totally eclipsed by heaven’s pleasures, so the pleasures of your past will no longer impress you. Relationships and fellowship enjoyed on earth will also be completely outdone by heaven’s perfect communication and love. With the wisdom of hindsight we will all agree that the most wonderful thing about our stay on earth was the trials. That sounds ridiculous, even though we know Scripture affirms that so much good results from hard times that it urges us to rejoice whenever trials hit us. Let’s explore this mystery.   There were two passions driving the great apostle Paul, which it would do us good to have within us. One of his longings – to know Christ (Philippians 3:10) – will, for all of us, reach thrilling pinnacles in heaven. The other – to share in Christ’s sufferings (Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 1:24; 1 Peter 4:13) – we will be deprived of in heaven. We will only be able to wistfully look back to past opportunities. In glory, when at last our eyes are opened to just how much our Lord has done for us and how wonderful he really is, it will at last get through our thick heads why the disciples rejoiced over the privilege of being flogged and humiliated for Jesus (Acts 5:40-41). What we will lament in Paradise is that the opportunity to express the depth of our love by suffering for Christ has passed us by. And we will nostalgically miss the trials. Here’s why:   Although we will have many thrilling things to do in heaven, we’ll be rather like former football champions who have retired and gone into sport administration. Life will be easier. There will be no more injuries, no more tedious, grueling training sessions, no more agonizing over mistakes made on the field, but the opportunity to gain more glory and become a greater hero will have forever passed.   So life is exciting. And the greatest thrills it offers are the pain and dangers and challenges. Forget about a soft life. Leave that to your heavenly retirement. Now’s your time for glory. You’re a champion in the making; someone increasingly bearing the likeness of God himself; someone the Almighty will forever smile upon with Fatherly pride.

It’s True!   You’re Forgivable     A Sample of the Bible Proof     How To Read This Page   To get the most out of this page, first read everything in it except the actual Scriptures. This will give you a valuable overview, without getting bogged down with details. Then go back to the top, this time reading everything, including the Scriptures.   It is written in the first person (I/me) so that as you can read, you can apply it directly to yourself.   *  Scripture is filled with promises to  everyone  who in faith commits his or her life to Jesus. I refuse to dishonor God by implying that he lied. Because he has made to promise to everyone, I am included.   The Bible is filled with promises of salvation to  everyone   Romans 1:16  I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of  everyone  who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.   Romans 3:22  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to  all  who believe.  There is no difference,   (23)  for  all  have sinned . . .  (24)  and  all  are justified freely by his grace . . .   Isaiah 53:5  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  (6)  We  all , like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us  all .   Isaiah 55:7  Let  the wicked  forsake his way and  the evil man  his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.   John 1:12  Yet to  all  who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.   John 3:14  . . . the Son of Man must be lifted up,  (15)  that  everyone  who believes in him may have eternal life.  (16)  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that  whoever  believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. . . .  (18)   Whoever  believes in him is not condemned . . .   John 3:36   Whoever  believes in the Son has eternal life . . .   John 5:24  I tell you the truth,  whoever  hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.   John 6:37  . . .  whoever  comes to me I will never drive away.   John 6:40  For my Father’s will is that  everyone  who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.   John 10:9  I am the gate;  whoever  enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.   Matthew 7:24  Therefore  everyone  who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  (25)  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.   Matthew 10:32   Whoever  acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.   Luke 11:10  For  everyone  who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.   Acts 17:30  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands  all  people everywhere to repent.   Acts 10:43  All the prophets testify about him that  everyone  who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.   Acts 13:39  Through him  everyone  who believes is justified . . .   2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting  anyone  to perish, but  everyone  to come to repentance.   Ezekiel 18:32  For I take no pleasure in the death of  anyone,  declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!   Proverbs 28:13  He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but  whoever  confesses and renounces them finds mercy.   1 John 4:15  If  anyone  acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.   1 John 5:1   Everyone  who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God . . .   1 Timothy 2:3  . . . God our Savior,  (4)  who wants  all  men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  (5)  For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  (6)  who gave himself as a ransom for  all  men.   Psalm 103:3  who forgives  all  your sins . . .   Psalm 145:9  The LORD is good to  all;  he has compassion on  all  he has made.   Luke 11:10  For  everyone  who asks receives . . .   Psalm 145:18  The LORD is near to  all  who call on him, to  all  who call on him in truth.   Psalm 86:5  You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to  all  who call to you.   Acts 2:21  And  everyone  who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.   Romans 10:12  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses  all  who call on him  (13)  for, “ Everyone  who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Emphasis mine)   *  Jesus did not die just for “minor” sins, but for the sins of the entire world.   Isaiah 45:22  Turn to me and be saved,  all you ends of the earth;  for I am God, and there is no other.   John 3:17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save  the world  through him.   1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from  all  unrighteousness.   John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of  the world! ”   1 John 2:2  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of  the whole world .   1 John 4:14  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of  the world .   2 Corinthians 5:19  that God was reconciling  the world  to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. (Emphasis mine)   *  Salvation is never deserved. Salvation is by faith (in Jesus’ ability to secure my forgiveness) not by works. So my salvation hinges on me choosing to believe my eternal destiny depends solely on what Jesus has done for me and not the slightest on what I have done.   I make that choice right now. I choose to regard my works (irrespective of whether they seem good or bad) as powerless to determine my fate. I believe that Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection on my behalf – and that alone – determines my spiritual destiny. I place my faith solely in Jesus and not in my efforts. Therefore, according to the promise of Almighty God, the blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sin. The magnitude of my unworthiness and the grossness of my depravity is swallowed up by Jesus’ power to save and his worthiness.   Salvation is by faith (in Jesus’ ability to secure my forgiveness) not by works   Ephesians 2:8  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –  (9)  not by works, so that no one can boast.   Romans 1:17  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”   Romans 3:28  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.   Romans 9:30  What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;  (31)  but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.  (32)  Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”   Romans 9:16  It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.   Romans 11:6  And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.   2 Timothy 1:9  who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.   Titus 3:5  He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. . . .   John 6:28  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (29) Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”   Romans 3:22  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,  (23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  (24)  and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.   Romans 4:4  Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.  (5)  However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.   Philippians 3:4   . . . If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: . . .  (6)  as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.  (7)  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  (8)  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ  (9)  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.   Galatians 2:16  know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.   Galatians 3:11  Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”   *  I am not the person who sinned. That person died with Jesus. That person is dead – non-existent.   I am not the person who sinned   2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!   Ephesians 4:24  . . . put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   John 3:3  In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”   That person died with Jesus   Colossians 2:20  Since you died with Christ . . .   Colossians 3:3  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.   Romans 6:4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death . . .  (5)  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  (6)  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin –  (7)  because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.  (8)  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  (9)  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  (10)  The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  (11)  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.   *  As Jesus rose from the dead, so with him I have risen to a brand new life.   Colossians 2:12  having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  (13)  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.   Colossians 3:1  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.   Ephesians 2:4  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy  (5)  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.  (6)  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus  (7)  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.   Romans 6:4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  (5)  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.   Romans 6:11  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.   Romans 8:10  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.   *  God says in his Word that my sins are pardoned, forgiven, not remembered, wiped out, swept away, taken away, removed as far as the east is from the west (an infinite distance), trampled on (destroyed) and hurled into the depths of the sea, unable to be found, blotted out, cleansed, washed, made as white as snow.   Pardoned   Micah 7:18  Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.   Isaiah 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.     Forgiven Ephesians 1:7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace  (8)  that he lavished on us . . .   Numbers 14:18  The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. . . .   Psalm 32:5  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.   Psalm 65:3  When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.   Psalm 86:5  You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.   Not remembered   Hebrews 8:12  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.   Hebrews 10:17  Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”   Wiped out   Acts 3:19  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.   Swept away   Isaiah 44:22  I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.   Taken away   John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”   Romans 11:27  And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.   1 John 3:5  But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. . . .   Removed as far as the east is from the west   Psalm 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.   Trampled on and hurled into the depths of the sea   Micah 7:18  Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy.  (19)  You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.   Unable to be found   Jeremiah 50:20  In those days, at that time,” declares the LORD, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.   Blotted out   Isaiah 43:25  I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more   Cleansed   Jeremiah 33:8  I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.   Ezekiel 36:25  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities . . .   Hebrews 9:14  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!   Washed   1 Corinthians 6:9  Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders  (10)  nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.   Made as white as snow   Isaiah 1:18  “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. . . .”   *  The past has passed. In Christ I am a new person; fresh, clean and completely free from my past. The person I now am – newly created by Jesus – is spotlessly pure and innocent.   The past has passed   Isaiah 43:18  Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  (19)  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.   Isaiah 65:17  . . . The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.   Philippians 3:13  . . . But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  (14)  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.   In Christ I am a new person   Ephesians 4:24  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   Colossians 3:10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.   Pure   Titus 2:13  . . . our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,  (14)  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own . . .   1 John 1:7  . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.   2 Corinthians 11:2  . . . I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.   Note that this is written in the same church as the following: 1 Corinthians 6:9  . . . the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders  (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)   And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  (Emphasis mine)   Hebrews 1:3   . . . After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.   Acts 15:9  He made no distinction between us [Jews] and them [Gentiles], for he purified their hearts by faith.   Ezekiel 36:25   . . . I will cleanse you from all your impurities . . .   Holy   Hebrews 10:10  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . . .  (14)  because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.   Ephesians 1:4  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.   Ephesians 4:24  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   Colossians 1:22  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation –  (23)  if you continue in your faith . . .   Colossians 3:12  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved . . .   1 Corinthians 1:2  To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours.   1 Corinthians 1:8  He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.   1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.   *  On the cross, Jesus traded places with me. He has taken all my blame and given me his holiness. Because Jesus swapped places with me, I am sinless in the eyes of my Judge.   Isaiah 53:4  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  (5)  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  (6)  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. . . .  (8)   . . . For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.  (9)  He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.  (10)  Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.  (11)   . . . by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.  (12)   . . .  he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.   Romans 5:6  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  (8)  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (9)  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  (10)  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!   Galatians 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”   Hebrews 9:28  So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.   1 Peter 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.   1 Peter 3:18  For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. . . .   Matthew 20:28   . . .the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.   Romans 4:25  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.   Romans 5:18  Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  (19)  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.   Romans 8:32  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?   1 Corinthians 15:3  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.   2 Corinthians 5:14  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  (15)  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.   2 Corinthians 5:21  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   Romans 3:22  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,  (23)  for all have sinned . . .  (24)  and all are justified freely by his grace . . .   *  Jesus was tortured so that everyone who accepts his sacrifice could go scot-free. He bore my punishment. I refuse to torment myself because that would be rendering his agony on my behalf a waste. I choose to delight Jesus and make his suffering for me worthwhile by enjoying his forgiveness.   Scriptures cited elsewhere on this page   *  God forgives me, so lest I imply my standards are holier than God’s, I forgive myself.   Scriptures cited elsewhere on this page I forgive myself   Acts 10:15  The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”   *  The Bible says I am “in Christ.” As my skin completely covers my body, so Christ’s beauty and righteousness and honor completely covers and beautifies me.   The Bible says I am “in Christ.”   2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is  in Christ,  he is a new creation . . .   1 Peter 5:14  Peace to all of you who are  in Christ.   As my skin completely covers my body, so Christ’s beauty and righteousness and honor completely covers and beautifies me.   1 Corinthians 1:30  It is because of him that you are  in Christ Jesus,  who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   Romans 13:14  . . . clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ . . .   Galatians 3:27  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.   Colossians 3:3  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Emphasis mine)   *  Jesus makes me whole. In him I am complete.   Philippians 4:13  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.   John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.   *  I delight in all that I now am in Christ Jesus. I am excited about the pure, holy and loved person that I have become because of Jesus.   I delight in all that I now am in Christ Jesus   Ephesians 1:3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.   Loved   1 John 4:9  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  (10)  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.   Romans 5:7  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  (8)  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (9)  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  (10)  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!   Romans 8:34  Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.   *  God is glorified by forgiving me. The more unforgivable I seem the more the extravagant riches of God’s love and mercy are revealed, to the praise of this glory.   God is glorified by forgiving me   Proverbs 19:11  A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. [And the same applies to God.]   Revelation 5: 3  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.  (4)  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy . . .  (9)  And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  (10)  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”   1 Timothy 1:16  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.   Romans 9:23  What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy . . .   John 15:8  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit . . .   John 14:13  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.   Matthew 19:24  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  (25)  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  (26)  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”   Luke 7:42  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”  (43)  Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. “ . . .  (47)  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”   Ephesians 1:6  ... to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  (7)  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace  (8)  that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.   Ephesians 1:12  ... in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  (13)  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  (14)  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.   Ephesians 2:6  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  (7)  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  (8)  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –  (9)  not by works, so that no one can boast.   Philippians 1:11  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.   2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.   Psalm 25:11  For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.   Psalm 79:9  Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.   Psalm 106:8  Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.   Isaiah 48:8  . . . Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.  (9)  For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off.  (10)  See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.  (11)  For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed?   Jeremiah 14:7  Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you.   Isaiah 43:25  I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more   Ezekiel 20:44  You will know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices . . .   2 Corinthians 4:15  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.   1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.   *  God is in love with me.   Isaiah 62:5   . . . as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.   Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her   In the following the colored parts represent the same Hebrew word:   Deuteronomy 21:11  If you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and  are attracted to  her, you may take her as your wife.   Isaiah 38:17  Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.  In  your  love  you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.

The Most Tortured Conscience Can Find Peace She had been a stripper, prostitute, drug addict and demon-possessed witch. It was hard to imagine a perversion or Satanic form of depravity she hadn’t wallowed in. Two thousand years ago, Christ agonized on a Roman cross, shedding his life-blood for those very sins. She continued in her extreme degradation. Finally, she joined herself to Jesus, by faith trading her wickedness for Christ’s holiness. One day Jesus appeared to her and said, ‘You are a chaste virgin in my sight.’ None of us have an infallible conscience. In fact, most of us have consciences are at times wildly inaccurate. If you want Scriptural proof of this, you’ll find plenty . So when facing guilt feelings, the most important thing is to establish whether your guilt is real or imaginary. Tragically, most people stand guilty before God and are hardly aware of it. They wrongly imagine that if there is a heaven, they have a good chance of going there. On the other hand, there are countless thousands whom God regards as spotlessly pure and innocent, and yet are riddled with guilt feelings. We must clearly differentiate between deceptive feelings and spiritual reality. You have every right to feel guilty and fearful before God if: 1. You have not asked God’s forgiveness for your sin, trusting Jesus to have paid the full penalty for your sin by dying on the cross for you. Christ alone is capable of the divine miracle needed to wipe out all guilt. 2. You are unwilling to ask God to take your sins from you. To refuse to be delivered from your pet sin is like a drowning man stubbornly refusing to let his rescuer drag him from the water. If you have no intention of giving up a particular sin, you’ll die in that sin. The sins you love are as deadly as the sins you despise. Everyone who is not trusting Jesus for forgiveness, or does not want a sin-free life, remains guilty before the Judge of the universe, until he or she has a change of heart. If, however, you have met these two conditions, God’s smile is upon you. Any pangs of guilt or fear you suffer are simply an illusion – like fearing there’s an intruder in the house when it was only the sound of the wind. The feelings might exist, and they might be most unpleasant, but they are groundless. They have no correspondence to reality. Just to be sure, let’s briefly expound these conditions for spiritual cleansing. Then we’ll move to some exciting facts. 1. You must believe the Scriptures that teach that Jesus, and only he, can remove your sin. (He alone can pay sin’s penalty because he alone has no sins of his own for which he must suffer.) 2. Once you put your faith in God, trusting that he is infinitely wise and good and always has your best interest at heart, [more] the only logical thing is to resolve to follow his leading on every matter, regardless of how scary and costly it may sometimes seem. This is simply a decision. A state of mind. It means that despite some sins still seeming attractive, you decide that God’s way is best and sign over to him control of your life. It means refusing to enjoy the ‘benefits’ of past sin. You will repay money you have stolen, not let people to continue believing a lie you have told, and so on. And it means shunning the hypocrisy of wanting God’s forgiveness while refusing to forgive someone else. (The issue for forgiving others is so crucial that it is dealt with in detail in a special webpage. ) Sin’s full penalty is death, and the sinless Son of God died for you. Why punish yourself? He’s already taken your punishment! Are you morally bankrupt? No way! Paid in full is stamped over your every account. By joining yourself to Jesus, a divine exchange takes place in which Jesus takes your sins upon himself (that’s what killed him) and his perfection becomes yours. The holiness of Jesus floods your entire being, flushing out every trace of sin. That makes you spotlessly pure and perfect in God’s eyes. Almighty God can embrace you and delight in you as intimately as he does his own eternal, sinless Son. Every whiff of sin is obliterated because Jesus died for your every sin. This central spiritual truth is expounded over and over in Bible. Scripture repeatedly promises this to you, but no where does it say you will feel that it has happened. The whole of Christianity is about choosing to believe spiritual reality instead of your inner feelings. It is worth prayerfully studying, and even memorizing, the Scriptures listed in the above link, because this is a crucial area of spiritual attack. Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and he overcame by believing and quoting the Scriptures, so you will be tempted over this matter and you can overcome by clinging to the dependable Word of God. Satan will disguise the true nature of the temptation, but it is actually a temptation to believe God is a liar. The Deceiver is trying to fool you into believing that God lied when he said that all your sins are forgiven, when Jesus said that all that come to him he will not cast out, etc. Don’t blacken God’s name by entertaining such a thought. No one can be any more guilty than the nicest person No matter how horrendously evil you might have been, by God’s standards, you are no more guilty than anyone else. We were all dead in our sins, says Scripture. You can’t get any deader, than dead! Without exception we were all a total write-off. Relative to each other, some of us seem fairly innocent and some seem very guilty. But this is by our sinful standards. It’s like someone who has murdered twenty people feeling superior to someone who killed two hundred people. Perfection is God’s only standard. We get just one shot at living a perfect life and we have all blown it. We have all missed the mark. Whether we missed the mark by a millimeter or a kilometer, means nothing. We all missed, and that’s all that counts. On the other hand, when you receive divine forgiveness through Jesus, no one can be more forgiven than you. Although outside of Christ, we all stand condemned, in Christ, we each stand spotlessly pure before the Holy One. Simple logic suggests that our spiritual enemy, whom Scripture calls the Deceiver and the Accuser, would muster all his evil cunning to distort this simple truth. If the Evil One wanted to keep people from the wonderful forgiveness that Jesus offers, he would try to convince them that they are not bad enough to need forgiveness. Or failing that, he would try persuading them that they are so bad that they cannot be forgiven. Either way, the result is the same. If he utterly lost that battle, and people became Christians, he would then try to get them to feel less sinful than others – producing bigots, arrogant fools and hypocrites. For those resistant to this attack, he would try the opposite lie, hissing that they are too sinful to be fully blessed by God or be mightily used of God. Either way, it would render them powerless. So it’s obviously to the Deceiver’s advantage to make you feel that total cleansing is impossible for you. Don’t let him get away with such lies. If, after God has forgiven us, we won’t forgive ourselves, we are implying we have a higher sense of justice than the Holy One. Anyone having the impertinence to make such an accusation is on dangerous ground. We are also implying that Jesus is inadequate – that he didn’t suffer enough for our sins, or that his sinlessness cannot swallow up our sinfulness. There is no shame in a forgiven person feeling guilty. That is simply the Deceiver at work. For a forgiven person to believe he or she is guilty, however, is a concern.

I cannot forgive myself. Am I forgivable? Help, Comfort and Healing for Everyone Who Says: “I Can’t Forgive Myself” Relief for a Guilty Conscience No Condemnation Suppose you were enduring appalling hardship and danger, struggling to attempt something that is generally believed to be humanly impossible. The thought that thousands have tried and every one of them has failed would be so oppressive and discouraging that you would want to keep pushing that fact out of your mind. After you make it, however, this same fact that no one before you had ever done it would become an exciting truth that you savor and will boast about for the rest of your life. Likewise, human depravity is an unbearable truth until viewed from the perspective of Christ’s victory and the purity that is now ours. If, instead of running from it and trying to live in denial, you start savoring this truth, you will discover that what had seemed to be the ugliest of truths is actually strewn with the richest of treasures. Until you experience it for yourself, you will never understand how wondrously liberating it is for me to despise any foolish excuse I might find for thinking myself morally passable. I pooh-pooh the fact that I’m a virgin, have never uttered common swear words, have never tasted alcohol or taken illicit drugs or tobacco or even had a speeding ticket. Instead, I glory in the truth that I am as guilty and as worthy of hell as any rapist-murderer and yet, through Christ, more innocent than any baby. Though initially horrifying, knowing that I’m as evil as Stalin or Hitler or anyone you could name has ended up becoming a cherished truth for me. You will find my joy in this truth so incomprehensible that you will never believe it until you make the discovery yourself. All I can do is try to coax you to explore the truth that seems so awful that no one wants to even think about it. Christianity is not for escapists. God honors those with the courage to face truth head on. In Jesus’ famous words: the truth will set you free. Face your fears and they will vaporize. Run from them and they will terrorize you. In  the previous webpage  (which you must read first to get full value from what follows) we commenced this scary but exciting journey. Let’s continue. When a Pharisee Discovers He’s No Better Than a Tax Collector What makes the apostle Paul, the former Pharisee, so spiritually different from the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable is that Paul finally reached the point where he wanted to be found on Judgment Day having no moral achievements that he could claim as his own. Jettisoning every act of devotion others might boast about, he staked his eternal destiny solely on the right-standing with God that Jesus offers everyone who trusts him for it. Had he chosen to, Paul could have pointed to decade after decade of sacrificial devotion, prayers, fasts, financial giving, Scripture memorization, prestigious scholastic achievements in biblical studies, and meticulous attention to obeying God’s every command. Instead, he counted it all as – well the Greek word he chose means offal (stinking, stomach-turning animal waste)! Trashing as pathetically inadequate and unacceptable his every effort to please God, he staked everything on the conviction that nothing but the purity that comes through sheer faith in Jesus could render him acceptable to the Holy Judge. He insisted on putting all his eggs in the one basket. That’s what saving faith is all about. This is too staggering and too significant not to quote the passage in full: Philippians 3:4-9   . . . If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,  not having a righteousness of my own  that comes from the law,  but that which is through faith in Christ  – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Emphasis mine). People who think themselves good, are in grave spiritual danger. They want to hold on to all their acts of kindness and good deeds, proudly displaying to God “moral achievements” that impress them but in the eyes of the Holy Lord are imperfect and hence as repulsive to the Perfect One as bodily filth (Isaiah 64:6). A groundless, divinely-offensive pride – a preference for their attempts to do good over God’s free gift of righteousness – is why Jesus told the chief priests and the elders, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31). We have just two options: present God with the perfection of Jesus’ purity, or present him with our defiled attempts. Guess which option impresses God! Saint Paul dies and the first thing he sees is an angel who says, “Welcome, I’m Uriel. Like everyone, you must face the Judge to be sentenced to hell or ushered into heaven. I’ve been appointed to build your case for the defense. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how vital it is that we get this right. We don’t have long, so let’s get right into it. Could I have your name, please?” “Saul of Tarsus, but everyone calls me Paul.” “Wow! You’re the great apostle Paul? What an honor to meet you, Sir! Could I have your autograph when we’ve finished? Anyhow, we’d better get on with this. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your moral achievements?” “Minus ten.” “Ha! Ha! Sorry, Paul. It must be your accent. For a moment there I thought you said  minus  ten!” “That’s right. Minus ten.” “Oh, dear! We’ll have to work out how to present this in the best possible light.” “Forget it. I don’t want the life I’ve lived taken into consideration.” “What?” “My sole defense is that Jesus died for me.” “But Paul! We have only one shot at this! We need the best possible defense.” “Jesus died for me. That’s it! I have nothing else to offer.” “ Nothing? ” “Nothing.” “Well – er – um let’s try another tack. There are so many common sins that almost everyone has committed but you haven’t. Let’s . . .” “Forget it. Alongside the perfection of Jesus my best efforts are garbage. Nothing in my life will impress the Almighty except that Jesus died for me and has handed me his righteousness.” “But what about all the imprisonments, deprivations and torture you’ve suffered for Jesus’ sake?” “Suffering for Jesus was an undeserved honor. Yes, I believe the Lord is so gracious that I’ll be eternally compensated for anything I’ve suffered but as far as escaping hell is concerned, the only suffering that counts is what Jesus suffered for me.” “Paul, I hate to bring this up but we’ll need an exceptionally strong case. After all, you realize, don’t you, that you’ll have to plead guilty to torturing Christians, trying to get them to blaspheme. That’s an horrific offense, and with all your learning we can hardly plead ignorance . . .” “Yes, I am guilty. I deserve hell a million times over, but Jesus died for me.” “So that’s it? You’re staring at eternity in hell and that’s your only defense?” “Yes.” “Congratulations, Paul! I knew you’d pass! It’s going to be great having you in heaven! Would you be willing to give me your autograph?” Just as we cannot find salvation by dividing our faith between Jesus and false gods, so we dare not divide our faith between Jesus and our own attempts to please God. It would be a recipe for spiritual disaster to try to hedge your bets by placing some of your faith in the unique power of Jesus’ sacrifice to make you acceptable to the Holy Lord and some of your faith in your own efforts. It’s those who have abandoned faith in their own efforts to be holy who are destined for spiritual greatness and divine perfection, provided they go all the way by putting all their faith in the life-transforming power of what the Innocent One achieved by letting himself be tortured to death. Does anyone think that to soar heavenward you must help a jumbo jet by pushing it? That is as nonsensical as people who think they have to help God in their quest to get to heaven. Just as you cannot hedge your bets by putting one foot in a jet and the other on the tarmac, so you must decide whether to put your faith in Jesus’ ability to make you right with God or whether to keep struggling. There is no divine disapproval left because Jesus bore it all. The only thing we must decide is whether to let Jesus’ suffering count as our suffering, or whether we’ll waste his sacrifice and continue to act as if we must bear the blame and shame ourselves. Do you believe Jesus took upon himself the full consequences and punishment for your every sin? Your eternity hinges on your answer to that question. And if you believe it, spend a few minutes asking God to examine your heart and show you whether the way you think and act is consistent with that belief. Let’s pray: Dear Lord, I don’t want to insult your love by saying you do not want to forgive me. I don’t want to insult your power by saying you cannot forgive me. My sins are enormous, but that’s not the issue. I sometimes feel unforgivable, but that’s not the issue. You are the Almighty God of infinite love and infinite power. You are the God who so loved the world that you gave your precious Son so that  whoever  believes in him will not die but have everlasting life (John 3:16). You are the God who has the power to forgive me and who wants to forgive me. From this moment on, I give up all attempts to be my own god and I make you God of my life. If my puny mind disagrees with you, I’ll believe you, not my puny mind. If you say  whoever  believes in Jesus has eternal life, I’ll believe that, not what my mind might say. If the way I think and act does not line up with the way that you see me, I ask that you clearly show me and keep reminding me until I do all that I should to cooperate with you in becoming the person you desire me to be, rejoicing in your forgiveness. Innocent! In the piercing eyes of the fearsomely holy Lord, even virgins who have never so much as touched anyone are so far from God’s standard of absolute perfection that they – like every human not connected to Christ – are defiled. Yet this same God of unapproachable moral standards pronounces you flawless, if you trust Jesus for your forgiveness. “Innocent!” declares the Judge of all humanity, “Morally perfect from the day you were conceived right up to this minute and for all eternity, if you remain spiritually one with Jesus.” With the omnipotent God in one’s life, anyone’s potential is limitless. God is excited about you right now because he sees that astounding potential. All you need do is yield to him, letting him forgive you, cleanse you and join himself to you so that your destiny and his destiny, your ability and his ability, merge. Instantly you are treated as being as holy as he is, and even though it is only partially manifested in this life, you are destined for an eternity of sinless perfection. We have been morally bankrupt but whenever anyone becomes a true Christian, that person’s assets merge with God’s assets. It would be ridiculous to suppose that the merger of our moral debts with God’s moral riches could end in impoverishment. Our moral bankruptcy is utterly swallowed up by God’s riches, even more than a two dollar debt vanishes in a trillion dollar bank account. To think it could be any other way is an insult to the Almighty Lord who longs to merge his assets with yours. There is only one critical issue: whether we trust Christ to gain our forgiveness and to make us one with God. Set yourself free James 4:6   . . . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. For most of my life, scriptures like this have filled me with such dread of the dangerous trap of pride that I felt driven to avoid it at all costs. Tragically, this commendable attitude got me nowhere. My godly intentions were sabotaged by such a mistaken understanding of pride that all I managed was to fall into false humility. I wrongly thought I could foster humility by thinking negatively about myself. To my horror, I eventually discovered that false humility is itself a form of pride. I correctly understood that if I thought I could achieve anything of lasting value without God’s help, or if I thought I were moral enough to gain God’s approval outside of Christ’s forgiveness, then humbling myself involved lowering my opinion of myself. My mistake was in wrongly concluding from this truth that the basic ingredient of humility is having a low opinion of oneself. Godly humility flows not from thinking lowly of oneself but from seeing things through God’s eyes. Pride is having the audacity to disagree with God. It is saying I know more than the God of the universe; my puny intellect knows better than the Almighty; the God of truth is wrong and I am right. Since the God of love sees you as lovable, and true humility involves taking God’s assessment of everything as gospel, humility requires you to see yourself as lovable. If God sees you through eyes of love, how dare you see yourself in a different light, as if your perspective is right and your Creator and Savior is wrong? If God forgives you, to refuse to forgive yourself is to have the audacity to imply that you have higher moral standards than the Judge of all the earth; that you are holier than the Holy Lord. Isn’t that the very pinnacle of pride? Please avoid this deadly trap. Make God your God by agreeing with him. He says you are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Dare you exalt yourself above God by disagreeing with him? Stop wounding yourself by squandering your faith on a lie, thus robbing God of faith that should be invested in him. Refuse the sinful, pride-filled path that deceptively seems humble but is actually implying that you know better than the Almighty. Set yourself free. Embrace God’s truth. Change Your Life With A Single Prayer Here’s a prayer I suggest you read to God, if you really mean it. Help me to keep remembering that the fact that you are God makes you altogether better than anyone I’ve ever met. You hate sin with an intensity and loathing beyond human ability to even imagine and yet, with an equally astounding passion, you long to forgive sinners. I cannot come to a holy, sin-hating God saying, “I want you to let me keep sinning. Let me have sin’s pleasure but not sin’s punishment.” I cannot say to Jesus, “I want to keep enjoying sin and I want you to suffer all the torment my sins create.” Since it is not just the “big” sins that can send me to hell, I desperately need you to remove  all  my sins – not just the sins I hate but the sins I love. Even though sin’s pleasure is but a cardboard cutout of the fulfillment and joy you offer, and it ends up destroying me anyhow, I am so hooked on the inferior that a part of me does not want me to pray this, but I know that I must. There can be no spiritual benefit in me being sorry about some of my sins that killed my Savior if I’m glad about other sins of mine that killed my Savior. I need to deny myself  all  sinful pleasure forever and I ask you to help me do just that. Like the tax collector, in Jesus’ parable, I realize I am condemned and without excuse. Overwhelmed by the sickening magnitude of my sin, all I can say is, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” That, taught Jesus, is all the man did. Instantly, he became so holy in your righteous judgment that alongside him it was the fasting, saint-like Pharisee who was the wicked sinner. Not only does that astound me, it doesn’t seem right. My iniquities are so atrocious that they deserve horrific punishment. But your Word affirms that all of my abominable acts have indeed received the awful punishment they deserve. Humanity’s only Innocent – whose perfection mysteriously outshines even the innocence of a baby – was voluntarily abused, tortured and killed for my every misdeed. I dare not insult you by implying that your one and only Son, who died for the sins of the world, did not suffer enough to convince me that my sins are utterly forgiven. I will no longer render Jesus’ death for me a useless waste by refusing to accept his torturous death as adequate payment for my offenses. I will not dishonor you by refusing to forgive myself, as if I had higher moral standards than the Holy Judge of all the world who declares me innocent. I see the tax collector doing nothing except be devastated by the gravity of his sins and desperately crying to you for mercy. If he went home  justified,  then I, too, am made  just as if I’d  never sinned, if I regret all my sins. If the devout, tithe-paying Pharisee could miss out because he trusted his own goodness, and the despicable, cheating tax collector won God-given holiness by abandoning faith in himself and trusting in your goodness, then divine holiness is mine. Like the great apostle Paul, my faith is not in my own righteousness but in the righteousness of the Son of God who took my punishment and traded my defilement for his purity. Therefore, Scripture says, I have “become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Your Word says that how I judge others is how you will judge me; how much I forgive others is how much you will forgive me. Since I need you to be merciful to me, I desperately need you to help me be merciful to others. There are people who have hurt me so immensely that they owe me more than I could ever describe. Nevertheless, Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35) implies that my debt to you is exceedingly greater than what these people owe me. That defies my imagination but it must be true. Their sins have hurt me beyond words but somehow my sins have hurt the innocent Son of God even more. I am acutely aware of the enormity of  their  sin because I am so sensitive to the pain they have inflicted on me, but I am so insensitive to the pain I have inflicted on you. The people I find hard to forgive deserve an eternity of torment in hell. But so do I. I bring before you those who have hurt me so horrifically. Show them the enormity of their sin against me and against you. Fill them with deep regret. May they loathe themselves for what they have done. May they never do it again. May they cry out to you for forgiveness and may you transform them into completely different people who are meek, gentle, good, kind, loving and thoughtful, just as I want to be. Even though I don’t deserve it, bless me beyond my wildest dreams. And bless those who have hurt me just as much as you bless me. Thank you that your longing to forgive and bless me is far greater and purer than my prayer of blessing for those I despise. Nevertheless, thank you for graciously promising to forgive me because I pray your blessing on these people. Help me get my thinking right. Your Word declares that you, the holiest of all, dwell in the weakest believer, as you dwelt in the holy of holies in Old Testament times. How, then, could I be anything but the pinnacle of holiness if you, the fearsomely holy Lord, have chosen to dwell in me, thus making me your temple and holy of holies? I used to wish I could be as pure as a virgin, as innocent as a child, but now I realize that in your unfathomable love and power you give me far more than this – more, in fact, that I can comprehend. Not even virgins or tiny children reach your exacting standards of perfection, yet you offer me the pinnacle of purity that not even they can achieve. Had I been the most corrupt and defiled person on the planet, you would have made me pure as crystal the moment I sincerely asked for the forgiveness and sinlessness that Jesus died to honor me with. On the other hand, had I arrogantly supposed I have no need of Jesus’ cleansing, I could not avoid an eternity of hell even if I were the nicest, noblest person alive. Without Jesus, the best person is doomed; with Jesus the worse person is fanfared into heaven, if the person has genuine remorse for all offenses and commits his/her life and spiritual destiny into Jesus’ hands. Since Jesus gives me moral goodness that no human could ever attain, it is pointless for me ever again comparing myself with others. I cannot look down on anyone because, were it not for Christ’s undeserved gift freely offered to us all, I would be as defiled as those I am tempted to despise. Neither can I think myself morally inferior to anyone, because Christ has clothed me in his perfection – and no one could ever surpass Christ’s perfection. Never again need I try to dredge up the past in an attempt to assign blame, because Jesus bore all blame. I don’t have to judge myself because you, the Judge of heaven and earth, declare me innocent of everything that has ever touched my life – from the biggest to the smallest thing. I dare not judge anyone, because all of the blessings you shower on me come through Jesus out of your love for me, not because of any moral achievements of mine. With everyone on this planet deserving hell, how can I demand you give others the punishment they deserve without demanding that you be consistent and give me the eternity in hell that I deserve? And yet in my self-righteousness, that is what I have sometimes done. Thank you so much for mercifully delaying my request until I could see the sheer folly of demanding justice when I need your mercy. I repent of ever wanting that. Help me be as merciful to others who deserve hell as you have been to me. Through Jesus, you have transformed me so that I can hold my head high, not just among saints, but in your very presence. Forgive me for thinking of myself as second class when Christ died to treat me like divine royalty – an exalted son/daughter of the King of kings. Help me get it into my head that the magnificent, eternal Son of God, through whom and for whom everything in existence was made, bore my shame and blame so that I could have his honor. Without you, I’m a fire that would wreak havoc and destruction. But I’m not without you. So as a fire I’ll bring warmth and cheer. Without you, I’m as useless as a brush without an artist. But I’m not without you. Together, we’ll create divine beauty that will stun heaven and earth. Help me stop thinking and acting as if the exalted Lord had never exchanged places with me on the cross. I need your supernatural empowering to grasp the mind-boggling implications and to live in the joyous wonder of it all. May awareness of all that you have done for me – and all that I now am in you – sink deep into my spirit until I am fully healed. Faith is the Key Either a single, heartfelt prayer makes you pure, sparkling with God’s glory – the very righteousness of God, says 2 Corinthians 5:21 – or Jesus was a deluded fool to die for you. Which will you commit yourself to believing? See yourself charging into a burning building to rescue someone you love more than life itself. Shielding her body, you suffer horrific burns to carry her to safety, where you collapse, writhing in agony; life ebbing from you. But it is worth every throb of pain because the love of your life is completely untouched by the fire. All that matters is that she is unharmed. Then, appalled at your wounds she says, “I don’t deserve such love!” You look on in horror as she runs back into the fire and kills herself; breaking your heart by her death and rendering all your suffering an utter waste. When we have difficulty accepting God’s forgiveness, we teeter on the brink of treating our heroic Savior like that. Let’s not let Jesus’ agony be wasted! If you keep beating yourself over your sins, Jesus was beaten for nothing. He suffered horrifically to give you the right of access to all God’s riches. For his sake, we must refuse to throw aside such a costly sacrifice. Through sheer love he considered you worth it. For Jesus’ sake – for the sake of the One who suffered for you – stop whipping yourself! Christ was tortured to death for the full punishment of your sins. You either put your full faith in this, or Christ’s suffering for you was in vain and you must suffer for your sins, which would mean an eternity in hell. There is no middle ground. So please completely give up any notion of punishing yourself and live in Christ’s unlimited forgiveness. Forgive self. My heart breaks for you if, like so many of us, beating yourself has become such a deeply ingrained habit that you find it exceedingly hard to stop. But Jesus found it hard on the cross, too. For his sake, put in whatever continued effort it takes to stop whipping yourself. He was tortured to death to exchange your sin for his sinlessness. He took your guilt and gave you his innocence. Would you dare throw it all away, reducing to a senseless waste his agonizing death for you? Delight him by enjoying your forgiveness. Honor his righteous judgment by refusing to see yourself in any way other than through his loving, forgiving eyes. If God is truth, then refuse to insult him by acting as if your harsh view of yourself is right and as if he has inferior moral standards or is foolishly deluded in declaring you pure and holy. Most Christians try to exist in the dreary mediocrity of understanding pitifully little about the depravity of their past, nor the gloriousness of their present. If you have been drawn to this webpage, chances are that you have been blessed with the first half of the equation – special insight into how hideously debauched we would be in God’s sight without Christ’s cleansing. Quite possibly, this insight has been somewhat distorted. You might, for instance, have felt guilty over things that were not your doing, or not realized that despite the gravity of your wrongdoing, you were no more degenerate than other people. Even though it might have been misplaced, however, that feeling of guilt is appropriate for every one of us until we put our faith in the supernatural power of Jesus’ sacrifice to purify us. An awareness of guilt gives a person a significant spiritual advantage, as it did for the tax collector, over all the “good” people. For this revelation to benefit us, however, it must drive us to act like that tax collector by crying out to God for mercy and putting our faith in God’s eagerness to forgive. It is usual for one’s feelings not to line up with spiritual reality. The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable obviously felt that God’s approving smile was on him, when in reality God was grieved by the arrogance that led the Pharisee to trust in his own attempts at moral perfection rather than in God’s moral perfection. On the other hand, the tax collector, said Jesus, “stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven.” Looking up was the usual posture for prayer in Jesus’ day. It’s as though this man was so sure of God’s hot displeasure that he couldn’t force himself even to look in God’s direction. In actual fact, the Lord was thrilled with him because his desire for sinlessness was genuine. Likewise, regardless of whether we are hypocrites or sincere, devout or deceived, every one of us has feelings that are often out of step with spiritual reality. A pilot will crash if he trusts his feelings about the angle of the plane, rather than rely on the plane’s instrumentation. Likewise, Christians crash until they stop trusting their feelings and learn instead to rely on the Word of God. Something stupendous happened when you cried out to God like that tax collector, horrified by your desperate need of forgiveness, and when, like Paul, you staked all your faith on the purifying power of Jesus accepting full punishment for your wrongdoing. Instantly, your status rocketed heavenward, leaving your old moral condition so mind-bogglingly far behind that, along with every other Christian, you actually need divine psychiatric help to grasp the merest fraction of the enormity of what has happened to you (Ephesians 3:19-20; 1 John 3:1-2). We Christians are like paupers ecstatic because we think we have inherited $10,000, when we’ve actually received $1 billion. The gulf between who you think you are and who you really are is so serious and so beyond normal comprehension that whereas some psychiatric patients have delusions of grandeur – supposing themselves to be ridiculously more important than they really are – you and I suffer the opposite problem. The psychiatric definition of a delusion is a false notion that cannot be altered by reasoning. That’s why I could write a million words and the implications still won’t hit home without supernatural revelation. A major task of the Holy Spirit is to help us grasp the enormity of the wondrous things that have happened to us (John 16:14; 1 Corinthians 2:9-15; 1 John 4:13; Ephesians 3:3-5; John 14:26; 16:13). What has happened is so far beyond our expectations that even after glimpsing a little of who we now are, we keep reverting to our old self-image. You are so different to what you once were that it will be a long, uphill battle just to turn your thinking around until your thinking is consistently even in the right direction. It is so frustratingly easy to let go of the truth about God’s view of ourselves and slip back into our former depressed thinking. Keep praying for a revelation. Keep trying to claw your faith higher. Keep pushing out the million doubts. Keep flooding your mind with the glorious truth that will set you free. And rest in the certainty that Almighty God has invested everything – even the death of his precious Son – to ensure you make it. Our current mindset and self-image took our entire life to form and harden. To reverse this and create a new self-image corresponding to how the King of kings sees us is a long and laborious process in which it is perversely easy to slip back into our old dreary mode of thinking. In God’s eyes we change from a debased child of the devil to an exalted child of God in a flash. For us to catch up with this in the way we view ourselves, however, is quite arduous. In fact, we will need to keep working on it for the rest of our lives. A young man concluded that God wanted him to become a youth pastor and decided not to go to a university but instead stay plugged in his youth group. The very next day, when he was at work Scriptures came to him, out of nowhere along with memories of past defiant rebellion against God, causing him to feel unforgivable. He was terrified and before too long even began considering suicide. At first he did the very worse thing. Since even thinking about God made him feel condemned, he avoided God. Eventually he came to his senses a little and began fighting the feelings of hopelessness and reaching out to God. However, he wrote to me saying: I would just like prayer that God remove from me the fear that I am unforgiven. I replied: I don't believe that’s how God works, my friend. That would be God giving up on you and concluding that you are a spiritual weakling. God believes in you. He believes you have what it takes to be a spiritual giant, which means holding on to faith when everything within you seems to scream the opposite. So, although it is fitting to close by restating a portion of what we discovered earlier, doing so will not suffice. Many of these pages need to be read and prayed through over and over if the truth is to displace deep seated convictions that might once have been true but are now dangerous lies that have dominated our thinking year after year. Regardless of whether you think yourself forgivable, the holy Lord sees you as forgivable because Jesus, the Innocent One, willingly took all the blame upon himself for every unholy thing that has ever occurred in your life, from the most horrific, down to the tiniest moral slips. He swapped places with you so that he could suffer for your guilt and you could be honored with his innocence. All that is needed is to admit to yourself and to God that you need Jesus’ cleansing and to put all the faith you can muster in what Jesus achieved on the cross by taking your full punishment. Then, like a bride decked in an exquisite, literally out-of-this-world gown, you are clothed with the flawless perfection of the Lord Jesus, irrespective of your past. The Almighty, brimming with both infinite power and infinite love, has not only mind-boggling ability to transform you into someone of priceless beauty, he is driven by a stupendous yearning to do so. He is a sculptor who delights in displaying his skill by taking what the arrogant despise as useless hunks of rock and fashioning them into breathtakingly exquisite works of art. You are his jewel, his treasure, his joy, and the day will come when the entire universe will see and gasp in awe as you manifest the stunning perfection that the Almighty has always seen in you. In Christ, you are unique, irreplaceable, the pinnacle of divine artistry. You make God proud. In you, God’s glory is displayed for all eternity.

When Condemnation and a Tortured Conscience do not Respond to Intense, Bible-Based, Prayer-Soaked Counseling Encouragement for Pastors, Counselors, Spiritual Advisors   This is for the spiritual advisors or friends and loved ones of someone who has asked you to read this either because he/she is more distressed than you realize or because, to your bewilderment, all your best, most spiritual efforts that work for everyone else, have not brought permanent relief to this tortured soul. I write because you deserve encouragement and I might be able to provide a new perspective on this perplexing matter.   A pastor e-mailed seeking my help. I have his permission to share some of what he wrote about the person he has been trying to help. It gives an indication of the depth of the problem that this webpage grapples with and how frustratingly resistant it is to normal biblical counseling.   For a little over a year now I have been working with a man. His father was a pastor and he has been in church much of his life. He has been free from participating in a particular sin for nearly a year now, but he still has thoughts of it. It is not such an horrendous sin, as some we might hear of, but to him it is the worst sin. He thinks he has lost his salvation and that he has worn out the grace of God. He lives in constant terror, with nightmares all night long, waking and going outside to plead with God, but he feels no love from God or for God. He considers that this lack of feeling has proven to him that he is completely separated from the love and grace of God and that he is under God’s condemnation.   The problem is that this keeps continuing, despite the fact that after a half hour of going over Scriptures with him he feels much better, will praise the Lord, will say, “I get it,” and has a complete change in attitude and outlook. This has been happening a few times a week for over a year.   I have also had someone from Neil Anderson ministries work with him. We spent five continuous hours in deep Scriptural therapy and prayer with this man we want to help and he was an active participant throughout the whole counselling session. He has also sought help from many other avenues, going as far as to sign himself into a mental ward at one point. All of this has ended up doing zero good. Within a half hour of any counsel and any help of any kind he is right back to where he was, and possibly even worse. Help!!!!   I identify with you if someone you care for has not responded to all your competent, patient, loving, Bible-based support. If you are like me, it is not because of the slightest deficiency in your approach, nor any spiritual or intellectual deficiency in the person. It is because this particular person suffers from a rarely understood condition that affects only a tiny percentage of people, even though the total numbers worldwide are in the millions.   Although what I will share is well known to experts, I don’t care to recount how many agonizing years of counseling hundreds of people tormented by guilt it took me before I learned it. If I can spare you some of the agony I endured, I shall be well pleased.   Many people I respect will be tempted to dismiss as unspiritual what I am about to say. If you are one of these, I can only suggest you keep using your methods that work well for other people until you are desperate enough to consider this dear person is a different category. In the meantime, however, I beg you not to take the cowardly way out of blaming the person.   Rather than keep saying “the person” I will call the person Victor. I chose this name because I am convinced that every struggling with this affliction and yet refuses to abandon God is truly a victor in heaven’s eyes. This affliction does not discriminate according to age or gender but to further simplify the writing I will use the male gender rather than continually writing  he/she . Even though people like Victor typically give the impression of being weak in faith, they are not. Most Christians who seem faith giants would be floundering pathetically if they had to endure a trial like Victor’s.   This webpage addresses how to support two types of Christians: 1.  Everyone plagued by blasphemous thoughts 2.  Or those who, despite repeated assurances, keep worrying that God might not have forgiven them. Worrying that God has not forgiven them and suffering unstoppable blasphemous thoughts might seem distinctly different but at the root of both dilemmas is devout Christians being plagued by the very thing they most fear. And it turns out that there is a common cause. A note at the end of this webpage will direct you to further help in understanding why the matters discussed in this webpage are of critical importance to devout Christians who suffer uncontrollable blasphemous thoughts. Background Starting at  Feeling Condemned? There’s Hope!  I have assembled a ludicrously vast amount of biblical and theological information and testimonies proving that no matter how gross a person’s sins or how often the sins were repeated before or after salvation, there is not a person on the planet who cannot be fully forgiven by God by simply looking to Jesus for forgiveness. My store of information has grown so enormous (it would make a 300 page book) because, even after poring over all the proof and careful reasoning I had amassed, people kept writing to me year after year, tormented by the irrational fear that they could somehow be the sole exception to God’s promises or somehow disqualify themselves or that they had managed to find some sort of loophole in God’s clear promises. They seemed unaware that they were going to almost insane lengths trying to justify their needless worries. Moved by the intensity of their anguish, I kept piling up the evidence; expecting these dear people to eventually accept the power of rational, Bible-based argument. Even when at last they seemed to grasp it, however, their relief was short-lived. In just a few days they would be back with yet another supposed reason for them continuing to doubt their salvation. For years I prayed and prayed, seeking spiritual insight as to how these special people could have their breakthrough. Finally, I discovered that my approach would never work because these otherwise normal, intelligent people suffer from a condition that keeps undermining their ability to accept rational argument. In all other areas of their lives they are perfectly rational but not in whatever matter is of the greatest emotional importance to them. Not surprisingly, for Christians, this problem usually targets assurance of salvation, since this is the matter that is of supreme importance to them. Victor – the name I’ve chosen for the typical sufferer – is in agony. God’s solution, however, is quite different from what Victor expects. Just as pain killers would not be the real answer to appendicitis, so assurance that Victor is divinely forgiven or ending his unwanted thoughts is not the help he really needs, despite it seeming that way to almost every sufferer. If horrendously blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit keep flooding Victor’s mind, he is being hit by torturously strong temptation, but the Tempter is hoping to get him so confused that he does not even recognize the temptation. Blasphemy is  not  the temptation. The spirit realm is amazingly unconcerned about that. Not even gross sin is the real temptation. The temptation is to  stop believing  that because of Jesus, God forgives, loves and delights in Victor. Just as an addict yearns for a miraculous end to withdrawal symptoms, Victor yearns for a miraculous deliverance from his distress. However,  Life’s Mysteries  explains the surprising truth that although miraculous deliverances from temptation demonstrate God’s power, letting us struggle with temptation demonstrates God’s wisdom and ends up achieving far more in our lives. It is only by having to battle temptation that anyone can truly become Christlike and grow in faith. Miraculous deliverances are superficial. They leave us as weak as being carried everywhere would cause our muscles to waste away. Victor’s temptation is to fall for the Deceiver’s malicious lies that if Victor suffers disgusting thoughts or has done some other hideous thing and then sought forgiveness, then God no longer delights in him. No matter how agonizingly strong is, and how pathetic and ungodly it makes Victor  feel  , this oppression can become a springboard to spiritual greatness. As surely as there is no quick or easy way to become an Olympic champion, so it takes enormous effort to become a spiritual champion. Because the road to spiritual greatness is long and hard, Victor needs all the insight and support and encouragement he can get. That’s what my webpages are about. As an expression of the immensity of God’s love for people like Victor, I have devoted years and years and years of agonizing prayer, counseling, study, and wrestling with words; pouring my life into providing them with everything I can find to help them. If you wish to add to this by offering Victor your personal encouragement and support, that’s superb. This webpage you are reading is a draft of a cut-down version of one of my pages for people like Victor (only slightly adapted for those who do not suffer like him). The full version is found at  Scrupulosity: Tormented by Blasphemous Thoughts or Feeling Unforgivable . The Mysterious Power of Anxiety It turns out that all my enormous quantities of detailed information, carefully explaining all the biblical, spiritual and rational reasons why forgiveness is fully available to absolutely everyone who puts faith in Jesus’ forgiveness only helps normal people. There are those who require such a radically different approach that it usually flabbergasts people when they first hear it. To ease the shock I will try to gently prepare you. First, I must explain what it means to suffer excess anxiety and that it is common for people with an anxiety disorder to have no idea they are suffering from one. Anxiety acts as an alarm, warning us that something needs urgent attention to avoid a disaster. An alarm triggered by a technical malfunction sounds exactly like the real thing and so we rightly panic when it occurs and feel compelled to check whether we are in danger. If we examine the most obvious source of danger and find no reason for concern but the alarm keeps going, we will feel compelled to check another possible source, and another, and another. If we finally convince ourselves that we have eliminated every possible source of danger, we will heave a sigh of relief and reset the alarm. Should the alarm be faulty, however, it is likely to go off again in a day or so, and again we will panic and feel compelled to investigate. If this happens day after day, it will get very tiring, but alarms are designed to be too irritating to ignore and each time it goes off we have no way of telling whether this time there is genuine danger. An anxiety disorder subjects a person to continual false alarms, each of which feels just like the real thing – terrifyingly so – and despite doing everything we can think of to put our minds at rest, the nagging, deeply worrying anxiety will continue. As if this were not disconcerting enough, anxiety feels like a guilty conscience (which makes it seem spiritual) and the inner alarm it sets off is so overwhelming that it drowns out our ability to feel peace or joy or God’s presence (which again adds to our worry that something must be spiritually wrong with us). Christians suffering this will assume they must be in spiritual danger and jump to some conclusion as to what could be the cause. Even when they finally reach the point of being sure that what they initially thought could be sabotaging them spiritually is not a valid cause for concern, the alarm will keep blaring (anxiety) and so they will simply switch to assuming there must be some other spiritually valid reason for concern. The inner alarm feels so terrifyingly real that they get highly inventive in dreaming up reasons for believing their never-ending anxiety rather than believing the reality that God has forgiven them. In the version of this webpage written specifically for Victor (rather than for those supporting him) I list eighteen possible reasons (and there are no doubt more) people come up with for thinking they cannot be forgiven; such as believing they have committed the unpardonable sin. I provided this list so that they will not suppose they have come up with something I am unaware of, but I was reluctant because it is like listing a thousand diseases never before considered by a hypochondriac who keeps needlessly fearing he is ill. The bottom line, however, is that Victor, no matter what he does, will keep being plagued by anxiety and the sooner he realizes it, the sooner he is likely to accept his need for an entirely different approach. Evil spiritual powers can never touch God’s love for us, nor the infinite power of the cross. All they can do is meddle with our feelings, in the hope that we will start believing our changeable feelings rather than stick to believing in God’s unchangeable love and forgiveness. So anyone looking to his feelings to confirm that he is right with God is leaving himself wide open to doubting his salvation. In fact, until completely weaned off treating feelings as a spiritual barometer, every one of us is dangerously vulnerable to spiritual deception. Moreover, if anyone with an anxiety disorder looks to his feelings to confirm that God accepts him, doubt will always win because, no matter how close he is to God, highly unsettling anxiety will keep dominating his feelings. I have provided a salvation  prayer for Victor  that emphasizes refusing to be swayed by feelings or supposed signs. I suggest he prints it out, as he will need to keep returning to that prayer. This is not because Victor is weak but because this commitment is enormously difficult for anyone to maintain when plagued by relentless, torturously strong anxiety and/or well-meaning preachers who unwittingly wreak havoc in Victor’s life by speaking as if feelings matter. The great illusion for anxious people is that they will at last find peace if they resolve a particular issue. The truth is that an anxiety disorder means that anxiety will continue no matter how many issues are resolved. Just like a faulty alarm that keeps going off no matter how safe the situation, the anxiety will keep on going and it will keep on feeling as if there must be some genuine reason for concern and so their mind will stay in overdrive trying to find some reason, rather than accept the fact that it is a false alarm. It often takes years of agony before they finally realize it but it turns out that, for Christians like Victor, nothing – with the possible exception of medical help – is capable of easing their anxiety (the source of their doubts, fears and overwhelmingly strong guilt feelings). Like a thirsty man chasing a mirage, these genuine Christians sincerely believe there must be some assurance that would finally satisfy them. They will temporarily feel better after receiving a full explanation of why their fears are spiritually, biblically and rationally groundless but the devastating worry that they are doomed will soon return. Despite the mirage seeming so real, the truth is that this side of heaven there is literally no experience or proof, no matter how stupendous or spectacular that could permanently quell their fears. To illustrate, let’s go to extremes. Suppose not just one but hundreds of gigantic angels in dazzling white clothes and supernatural glory appeared to Victor and declared that Almighty God is pleased with him and will reward him eternally. Victor would be on Cloud Nine; flooded with peace and joy. He would finally feel certain that he is saved and that he will never doubt again. Within a few days, however, he would yet again become aware of the anxiety incessantly gnawing at him; inducing panic and causing his mind to go into overdrive wondering why he cannot rid himself of this strong gut feeling that something is seriously wrong. Rather than accept that the feeling itself must be wrong, one’s mind dutifully seeks to ensure one’s safety by assuming that for as long as the anxiety continues, a real threat might be present. In a protective frenzy it keeps seeking any way in which there could be danger despite that supernatural confirmation that all is well. Before long, under the relentless scrutiny of Victor’s intellectual powers, possibilities will begin to emerge, such as, “What if that divine visitation were just my imagination or a dream or wishful thinking or a false memory or a psychotic episode? What if what I experienced were someone playing a clever prank with lasers and holograms? What if it were demonic deception? What if that angelic pronouncement were true at the time but I’ve since sinned and am now lost forever? What if . . . ?” Soon, all that relief and certainty he had just a few days ago will have vanished. How the Natural and the Spiritual Interact I am still cautiously inching my way to the part that initially staggers deeply spiritual people because on the surface, it seems unspiritual. Some readers might wish I would jump ahead – and you may skip this section if you insist – but most will need this introduction more than they currently realize. In fact, after proceeding through this webpage and ones that follow, many who have read this section will begin to discover that it is more valuable than they had thought and will want to return to read it again with renewed interest. Often the natural and the supernatural are not opposed. Indeed, they frequently work hand in hand. After all, they were both lovingly created by the same infinitely good God, and both realms have been attacked by the same anti-God spiritual forces. Not only is it not unspiritual to consider the natural; it is often unspiritual to ignore the natural. For instance, James 2:15-16 ridicules those who say spiritual things to people in physical need but do nothing to help them in a practical (natural) way. Likewise, Jesus emphasized the importance of caring for people’s physical needs, be it a cup of water, feeding and clothing the poor, welcoming a stranger, caring for the sick or visiting prisoners (Matthew 10:42; 25:34-39). Jesus’ earthly ministry was by no means exclusively focused on people’s spiritual well-being; healing their physical bodies was a high priority with him. To be so “spiritual” as to ignore the physical is to be more “spiritual” than God! I so much believe in the Bible’s teaching about demons that I am convinced we all regularly deal with demons. For instance, since the devil does not have the divine power to be everywhere at once, it is not usually Satan who personally tempts us, but his underlings. Typically, temptation is evil spiritual entities attempting to exploit any natural weakness they can find in a person. Temptation has a spiritual component but there is also a natural component. Let’s consider the holy Son of God. When he was tempted to turn stones into bread, the devil was exploiting a natural chemical imbalance within our Lord. He had not eaten for weeks. It is natural – inevitable – for any hungry human to keep thinking of food. Moreover, many of the stones in this wilderness were shaped like the loaves of bread that Jesus had eaten all his life. For perfectly natural reasons, his body craved food and his mind invariably kept reminding him that those stones looked like bread. Anyone with the ability to turn stones into bread would keep thinking how wonderful it would be to do so. Such thoughts would torment any person but they were perfectly normal, given the chemical imbalance in Jesus’ body. If anyone were to worry that having such normal thoughts would render a person unforgivable, it would not merely be theologically ridiculous but such an unfounded fear would turn an already unpleasant experience into something terrifying. Having one’s mind continually flooded with such thoughts is not sin, however. It would only have been sin had Jesus actually broken the fast. Similarly, as I will soon explain, Victor’s fears, doubts and unwanted thoughts are actually as natural and physically-driven as a starving man craving food. Evil powers try to deceive people who suffer this natural weakness. They exploit human weakness  not  by trying to entice these people to do what happens naturally and is inevitable – having unwanted doubts, fears and thoughts – but by falsely accusing them for having these natural reactions and by trying to seduce these dear people into believing the lie that being subjected to this naturally-driven experience nullifies Christ’s power to love, cleanse and forgive them and grant them the gift of divine approval. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness was so intense only because his body was abnormally hungry. Likewise, any of us can have an abnormality in our bodily chemistry that renders us vulnerable to attacks that others simply do not suffer. Those free from such attacks might seem more spiritual or better Christians, but they are not. As unbelievable as it might initially seem, the only difference between the two groups of people is a slight deficiency or chemical imbalance within their bodies. We have already cited Scriptures that whether it be in the realm of temptation or how we show love, we should pay attention not merely to the spiritual but to the natural. For one last example: 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says that husbands and wives should meet each other’s physical needs “so that Satan will not tempt you”. Even the great apostle Paul, who had denied himself marriage, insists that it is spiritual and right to consider the physical side of temptation and to lessen a spiritual problem by attending to a physical need if a morally acceptable way is available. Likewise, if, for example, medical researchers were to discover a healthy, morally acceptable way of healing a physical abnormality and thus rendering ourselves less vulnerable to spiritual attack, then we would have a spiritual obligation to avail ourselves of it. The staggering truth I’ve been so cautiously trying to prepare you for is that many people are tormented incessantly by what feels exactly like a guilty conscience and inability to feel God’s love, and yet it turns out that the cause is not spiritual at all. It seems initially unbelievable but for these people what drives intense feelings that are so easily mistaken for divine judgment – and it can even generate horrifically blasphemous thoughts as well – is a mild medical disorder that causes excess anxiety.  None  of my vast array of carefully written information provided elsewhere in this website will lower the deep concerns plaguing the millions of people whose anxiety has a medical basis – a slight imbalance in their brain chemistry. I completely understand you thinking I am mad , or at least unspiritual, to suggest such a thing. If you have not yet read many of my other webpages, you have not had the opportunity to discover how strongly conservative and into prayer and Scripture I am. If you need convincing, quickly scan  You’re Forgivable: A Sample of the Bible Proof  and  Life’s Too Short to Skimp on Prayer  for just a couple of sample webpages, and then immediately return to this page. For very many years, if anyone had suggested that there could be a medical component to this spiritual matter, I would have thought they were crazy or ungodly. Large numbers of people kept e-mailing me seeking help, however, and as I kept pouring my life into trying to help them, I began noticing something peculiar. Anxiety disorders were astoundingly common among those who were not being helped by large numbers of faith-building Scriptures. Usually they regarded their anxiety disorder as irrelevant to their spiritual concerns, but as I kept conversing with more and more people, the link kept occurring far too often to be mere coincidence. Eventually, I discovered that a huge body of scientific research had already confirmed the link. Like me, you will probably need a lot of convincing. That’s okay. I am so passionate about helping people who are suffering this horrific spiritual torment that I have gone to immense lengths assembling and carefully explaining the evidence in a logical, easily intelligible manner. All I ask is that you keep prayerfully reading it. People afflicted by blasphemous thoughts or by continual doubts are among the surprisingly large number of people who are perfectly sane – and some are highly intelligent – except that their mind plays tricks in whatever narrow area of their life is of greatest importance to them. It is not because they have less faith, Bible knowledge, will-power or devotion than other Christians. In fact, they are usually above average on such measures. It is just that in this area of life, anxiety is almost literally driving them crazy. Contrary to what seems intuitively obvious, their fears are not spiritually or rationally driven but stem from a chemical imbalance that causes them to suffer from abnormal levels of anxiety. Because it has a medical basis, Victor cannot switch off this anxiety (and corresponding guilt feelings, worries about salvation, inability to control his thoughts, etc.) by more Bible reading, trying to worry less, working harder on building up his faith, or whatever. To suffer from medically caused anxiety is no more an indication that one is spiritually lacking than suffering a broken leg means one is spiritually lacking. It boils down to the fact that the unfortunate people suffering this physical problem feel needlessly guilty, ill at ease or worry far more than average people about at least one thing (and it usually zeroes in on whatever is most important to them). And regardless of what they do – how much fellowship with God they have, how much faith they muster, how much theological knowledge they gain – that awful, unsettling feeling keeps gnawing away at them because the cause is not spiritual or rational but physical. No matter what they believe or think and how much God approves of them and delights in them, that horrible feeling keeps returning. Our brain is designed to treat that feeling – usually called anxiety – as an alarm, warning us that something is seriously wrong. The problem is that when a chemical imbalance sets off a false alarm, the very alarm we rely on to alert us to physical or spiritual danger has been triggered. As hinted at previously, the part of our brain designed to respond to the alarm cannot distinguish a chemically induced false alarm from the real thing. As the alarm keeps on and on, the brain keeps frantically hunting for some danger that set off the alarm. No matter what reassurances come from God, Scripture, spiritual authorities, past experiences or whatever, the alarm keeps blaring and so the worry keeps persisting that there must be some genuine spiritual danger. What confuses these people is that what some call their gut feeling – some call it one’s conscience and some even confuse it with the voice of God – has been seriously distorted by a condition well known to the medical profession. Unfortunately, in contrast to the experts, the implications are rarely understood by the general population. With this deeply disturbing false alarm indistinguishable from the real thing blaring within a person day after day it is enough to seriously distort anyone’s spiritual perception. This devastating feeling keeps incessantly nagging; drowning out what for anyone not subjected to it would be more than enough proof of God’s acceptance. Although this highly unpleasant and confusing affliction troubles a relatively small  proportion  of people, the numbers add up to literally millions of people worldwide. There is no space for a full explanation here – that comes further on – but once the process is carefully explained, it is readily understood by average people. Those suffering from this affliction, however, will have a much harder time accepting the truth because they find it so contrary to what feels intuitively right, and that dreadful feeling that something is terribly wrong keeps droning on as incessantly as ever. Everything within someone suffering from excess anxiety will scream against the truth. So despite trying to the point of utter exhaustion, those suffering this way will keep getting worse instead of better unless they totally change their understanding of the cause. I hyperventilated once. I felt certain I was not getting enough air and so I breathed harder; totally oblivious to the fact that I was actually suffering from  too much  air and I needed to breathe less. So it is with those who are hounded by unwanted thoughts or yearning for assurance of salvation. They will only get worse until they learn to do almost the exact opposite of what they feel sure will help. They are so convinced that they need to be doing the opposite of what will actually help that they usually cannot even grasp what my webpages are saying, but keep misinterpreting them to line up with their mistaken views. There is another approach.  I discuss it further on but I should repeat it here in case this is all that you read. Research has proved that, through continual practice, our brains’ physical and chemical structure can be altered. As a faulty alarm system needs at least part of it to be rewired, so if you have OCD, a part of your brain needs rewiring – new neural pathways need to be developed. This can be done by retraining your brain, just as certain neural pathways might no longer work because of a stroke but continual practice will establish new ones. Consider someone who panics whenever he sees a spider. If you were to monitor his pulse, how much he sweats, and so on, you would find they suddenly peak at the sight of a spider. Such a person is not unintelligent or a nutcase; it is simply that something has caused his brain to be wired in such a way that seeing a spider triggers the alarm system in his brain. Through practice, however, that connection between the sight of a spider and his brain’s alarm system can be rerouted. This can be done, for example, by the person being exposed to a spider that is so far away that he feels calm, and over a long period of time he gets closer so slowly that his brain establishes a connection between seeing a spider and remaining calm, rather than seeing a spider and triggering an internal alarm. Similarly, much patient practice can train one’s brain not to set off false alarms that seem like spiritual worries. Psychologists are able to guide people in this retraining process. Whether it be through medication or retraining the brain or a combination of both, using any such means is exercising faith in God. It is clinging by raw faith to the belief that God loves and forgives through Christ and that any feelings or thoughts to the contrary – no matter how intense – are simply false alarms that need correcting. Exercising this degree of faith will be exceedingly difficult because the false alarms will so be so deeply disturbing that few people who have not suffered them will be able to comprehend the magnitude of the challenge. How is an anxiety disorder related to being plagued by blasphemous thoughts?  Uncontrollable blasphemous thoughts is a phenomenon powered by the fear of losing one’s salvation by blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This fear, in turn, is driven by excessive anxiety. The vicious circle connecting anxiety with being unable to stop having the very thoughts one fears is carefully explained in  When a Christian Can’t Stop Thinking Blasphemous Thoughts  and I won’t repeat it here. As proved in  The Unpardonable sin of Blasphemy Against the Holy Ghost  and the page it leads to, if forgiveness is sought through faith in the saving power of Christ’s sacrifice, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. The only unforgivable sin is to die still refusing to believe in the saving power of Jesus (which might happen if, for example, one dies genuinely believing that Jesus is of the devil). No matter how many hundreds of biblical proofs and assurances a person is given about the true nature of the unpardonable sin, however, uncontrollable blasphemous thoughts will continue if the anxiety driving the thoughts is not caused by a theological misunderstanding but by an anxiety disorder. You Need More: This is just the introduction. I urge you to keep reading. The other pages are addressed specifically to you but to those suffering this affliction. Nevertheless, the pages will show you how to help dear people.

Wondrous Peace for the Guilt-Ridden Conscience Purity Restored So mind-boggling is what I’m about to reveal that it is almost incomprehensible. If you seek God until the truth finally hits you, and then let it sink into your deepest parts, the time will come when it explodes within you. Then you’ll understand why it must surely be the most liberating truth in the universe. No matter how serious your offenses, there is as much hope for you as if your guilt were only imaginary. To grasp the implications let’s, for three paragraphs, explore false guilt. A constant stream of people contact me because they are burdened with guilt over “sins” they have not even committed. Some feel needless guilt over having been seduced when they were too young to understand, or because they were forced when older. Others feel guilty simply because they suffer horrific temptation or evil thoughts that originate not from them but from the Tempter. It is painfully hard for such people to realize that they are innocent of the things that torment them. When – often after torturous years of condemnation – it finally hits them that they were not at fault, their relief is indescribable.  Nevertheless, the truth is far more thrilling than even they realize. On the other hand, there are innocent people who  want  to believe they are guilty. They may not be conscious of it, but these people think themselves stuck in an horrendous no-win situation: to blame themselves for a tragedy they had no control over is torturous, and yet to not blame themselves seems even worse. To admit to themselves that awful things can befall them that they cannot prevent, forces upon them the terrifying conclusion that a tragedy as bad, or even worse, as what they suffered before could (theoretically) happen again. Nevertheless, even if people want to cling to the belief that their sin caused the tragedy, they can still find enormous relief by reading the following, since it explains how Christ totally absolves them of all past sin, regardless of how much they had been responsible. By taking all guilt and blame upon himself, Christ frees us all to let ourselves feel as guiltless as we would if we had been totally innocent, even if we had been totally in the wrong. The basis of God’s love for any of us is  not  that what happened to us was not our fault or that our sins are excusable. God love is not based on what you have or haven’t done. He loves you because he loves you. You are loved so much that even if every wicked thing touching you had been your doing, God still longs to make you the purest of virgins, the most innocent of innocents, in his eyes. It is easy for the Omnipotent Lord, for whom nothing is impossible, to transform you, making you radiant with holy perfection and unsurpassable purity, honored and admired throughout the universes for your uniqueness and breathtaking magnificence. Carefully think about that sentence. Can the God of infinite ability really do that for you? This is no idle dream. The Lord of all has not just power beyond our wildest dreams, but equally incomprehensible love. That means the Almighty not only has all it takes to make you unimaginably glorious, he has an almost overwhelming yearning to do it for you. He is a sculptor who delights in displaying his skill by taking hunks of rock everyone else has dismissed as useless, and turning them into exquisite works of art. You are his jewel, his treasure, his joy, and when he finally completes his masterpiece the entire universe will see what he has always seen in you, and gasp in awe. In Christ, you are unique, irreplaceable, the perfection of divine artistry. You make God proud. In you, God’s glory is displayed for all eternity. All that is needed is to admit to yourself and to God that – along with everyone on this planet – you need Jesus’ cleansing. Then, like a bride decked in an exquisite, literally out-of-this-world gown, you are adorned with the flawless perfection of the Lord Jesus, irrespective of how good or unpleasant your past. Regardless of whether you think yourself forgivable, the holy Lord sees you as forgivable. The Judge of all humanity sees you as worthy of forgiveness because Jesus, the Innocent One, willingly took all the blame upon himself for everything involving you – not just awful experiences you recall, but everything that has slipped your mind, right down to the tiniest, mundane moral slips. On the cross, the exalted, holy Lord swapped places with you so that you could be granted the highest honor of having his innocence bestowed on you. The flawless Son of God took upon himself all of your filth down to the very last speck and placed on you all of his purity, making you like a beacon of pure light, irresistibly attractive to the Holy One. On the cross, Jesus cried out that God had forsaken him. As surely as your imperfections drove the Father in revulsion from the Son, so Jesus’ perfection impels the Father to rush to you like a bee to honey. The Almighty’s standards are so exacting that for God to accept even the most saintly of us, would take no greater miracle than accepting the most depraved of us. When it comes to God delighting in any of us, the critical factor could never be what we have done; it must always be what the holy Son of God has done. He has absorbed all your shame in his own being and given you all his glory. 2 Corinthians 5:21  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The crucified Christ took all of our sins so we might gain all of his sinlessness. He volunteered for God to treat him as the vilest sinner, so that God could treat us as the perfection of holiness. As surely the Eternal Son got what you deserve, you will get what the Eternal Son deserves. Our Past Doesn’t Matter? Our most common misunderstanding about interacting with God is to suppose that the Exalted One’s feelings for us are based on how good we have been. In reality, our past behavior has no bearing on how God treats us. The King of kings accepts people not because of the smallness of their sins but because of the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice. Christ suffered so that our failures could be wiped out in a flash. All that matters is that we complete God’s joy by letting him do this. At indescribable cost to himself, our Lord has made it so easy for us that we stumble over it seeming too good to be true. But God  is  good! We keep wondering if we are dreaming because our version of reality is the nightmare of living with humans, all of whom are defiled by selfish, impure motives and treat each other accordingly. The Almighty is mind-bogglingly superior to us, not just in raw power but in every other aspect of moral perfection. That means his generosity, unselfishness, kindness, forgiveness, and the like, is staggeringly superior to anything we have ever before encountered. So, at no cost to us, God longs to wipe from our heavenly record every moral slip. All he needs is our permission to shower upon us all the staggering blessings of Christ’s sacrifice. He requires our permission because he chooses not to act like some fearsome tyrant, but as someone who honors our wishes. All that we need do is agree with God that we need our moral failings removed from heaven’s records and that Jesus achieved this by suffering the full penalty our sins deserve. A man was offered a presidential pardon, but on the condition that he admit his guilt. That’s the ironical situation we find ourselves in. When we admit our guilt, God pronounces us innocent. If, on the other hand, we keep trying to convince ourselves that we are innocent, we will be tried for our every sin. This is something Jesus taught over and over. Here is a powerful example: Luke 18:10-14  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Do you see it? The only people with a smidgeon of morality are those appalled by their own sinfulness. Everyone else is so deluded as to be beyond hope, unless they, too, eventually become devastated by an awareness of their own depravity. Using the Pharisee to illustrate his point, Jesus reveals that some people are unforgivable. (That is not to say they could never change and hence become forgivable, but for as long as they act like the Pharisee they cannot be forgiven.) What renders them unforgivable is not the atrociousness of their sin – everyone would say the Pharisee was much less sinful than the tax collector. They miss out on forgiveness simply because they think they have no need of forgiveness and so do not bother to ask for it. What, for example, makes blaspheming the Holy Spirit unforgivable is not the magnitude of the sin, but the fact that it is believing that Jesus, the only Person who offers divine forgiveness, is in league not with the Spirit of God but with the devil. No one believing that Jesus is of the devil would dream of seeking God’s forgiveness through Jesus. Whoever asks with faith in Jesus, receives. The Pharisee could never be forgiven in this life or the next while he never bothered to ask for forgiveness. No matter how close to sinless a person is, he cannot be forgiven if he does not ask for forgiveness. No matter how many and how disgusting a person’s sins – including blaspheming the Holy Spirit – anyone can be forgiven if that person sincerely asks for it with faith in Jesus. Anyone doing this is no longer blaspheming the Spirit. (His faith in Jesus shows that he now believes Jesus is one with the Spirit of God). This change of heart means that he is no longer unforgivable. Our past is irrelevant. Although Jesus chose the most likely characters for his story, the roles could have been reversed, with the good-living Pharisee devastated by his sinfulness, and the cheating, money-grubbing tax collector filled with excuses and self-righteousness. What matters is not our past, but our awareness that regardless of how good or bad we seem when compared with other people, relative to God each of us has been atrociously wicked. We have all been despicably evil, but only a few of us realize it, and the more we realize it, the more God longs to exalt us. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: Psalm 34:18  The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart, and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin . . . When overwhelmed by the gravity of our offenses, we may fear that God has left us, but he is actually closer than ever to us. While in this state we can feel sure that God is angry with us when in reality he is brimming with tender compassion towards us. Like the lost sheep in Jesus’ parable, the Lord feels even more for anyone hurting over his or her sin than over countless “saints” who, though special to him, are not hurting. God can indeed be angry when we are in defiant rebellion against him, and yet even this is a manifestation of how important we are to him. As suggested in the book of Job, look up at the stars: are they moved from their place when you sin (Job 35:5-6)? It is only because he loves us that our sin affects God. The Lord may have been upset, but the instant we move from defiance to sorrow over our sin, his heart melts. A child has run away from home. His mother is beside herself with worry. Before long he’s seen the error of his ways and desperately wants to return home but he stays in hiding, terrified of his mother’s anger. He is the joy of her life but he is too young to grasp the implications. He’s expecting the worst imaginable punishment; unable to understand that upon return he would get the biggest hug he has ever known. That’s like you and God. While you are hiding, fearing God’s wrath, he’s wanting to smother you with kisses. Return to him and you will light up his life. You suppose his face will be black with disappointment, when actually he will be thrilled beyond words, grinning from ear to ear, to have you in his life. The tragedy is that we find that hard to believe. This is why the critical thing about salvation is not works, but faith. It’s not our lack of good works that keeps us from fully enjoying God; it’s our lack of faith in the magnitude of God’s forgiveness. We’re All In This Together We humans develop our own corrupt moral standards that allow us to label certain sins as “minor” and “excusable.” If we were drinking glasses, each of us would leak. Some of us might be in worse condition than others, but what difference does that make? Who would give a king a cracked glass? Nothing imperfect reaches God’s minimum standard. It’s an insult to God to suppose that even the most saintly person is good enough for God. In reality, earth has just two types of people: hopeless moral failures who cling to humanity’s only Savior, and hopeless moral failures who try to face eternity on their own. To abandon faith in oneself and put all one’s faith in Christ’s goodness is like stepping into a spacecraft. For even the nicest people to trust their own goodness is like them hoping they can reach the heavens by jumping high. Isaiah 64:6  All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags Carve that into the cortex of your brain. “All of us” –  “all of us”  – have become so defiled that even the greatest attempts of the most saintly person to do good is as repulsive as bodily filth. So offensive to God are our highest moral attainments that, in the original Hebrew, Scripture resorts to an offensive expression to convey this shocking truth. Quite literally, without the slightest exaggeration, Isaiah is saying that even the noblest human attempts at morality are as soiled menstrual rags. To hold up to God, as if it made me worthy, my lifetime of sacrificial service or list of sins I have avoided, is as disgusting as proudly displaying my bodily filth. The nicest non-Christian you’ll ever meet is of the devil, deceived, evil, and God’s enemy. Everyone not in spiritual union with Christ is dead to God. All of us have been in this terrifying predicament. If you’re dead, you’re dead. To argue that one corpse is in better condition or closer to being alive than another is ridiculous. Would you dare drag a corpse into a king’s presence? Would you say, “I think you should meet this man. You’ll get on well together. He’s such a good person. His corpse hardly smells at all”? A person’s kindness, goodness and sacrificial love might be so astounding as to put to shame most Christians, but that person has still sinned and the wages of sin – one sin – one tiny infringement – is death. Spiritually, we’ve all missed the boat. We are all in the same desperate situation, no matter whether we missed the lifeboat by thirty seconds, thirty minutes, thirty days, or thirty years. Imagine a dozen murderers on death row, each despising each other and thinking themselves more moral than the others. That’s a picture of all of us until we come to our senses. Who of us has not, in a flash of anger or self-righteousness, wished someone were dead? That, revealed Jesus, makes us murderers. We need murder only once in our entire lives to be a murderer. With the thought being as evil as the deed, all of us are rapists, adulterers, sadists or murderers in the eyes of the Judge who will determine where we spend eternity. Whether we or everyone on this planet finds our offense excusable is irrelevant. Whether we like it or not, our Judge is divine. He does not judge by human standards. As the stars tower high above the earth, so are his standards, and the sooner we start thinking like he does, the better. You might feel more defiled than other people, but that’s not how God sees it. His standards shatter all distinctions. For a surgeon about to operate, usual standards of cleanliness are hopelessly inadequate. You might be filthy and someone else walks off the street looking spotless, but by the standards the surgeon must maintain, both of you are equally untouchable. It can make no difference if the person approaching him is the love of his life or the most important or popular or respectable person in the world. Regardless of how special someone is or how clean by normal standards, a surgeon must not lower his standards. So it is with God. We might distinguish between sinners, but God cannot. For a glimpse of how differently God thinks, consider all the catastrophic consequences of Adam’s sin. What did he do? Murder Eve? Destroy the entire Garden of Eden? He simply ate a piece of fruit. It is not to put anyone down that I expound the truth of everyone’s depravity. On the contrary, I do it because it is God’s longing that everyone reading this will be exalted, just as the tax collector humbly faced the seriousness of his sin and was divinely exalted above the highly respected Pharisee. I dare confront you with this truth because I want you exalted not merely in your own estimation but exalted by the Lord of all. So let’s plunge into this icy truth that turns out to be the most exquisite warm spa. God’s chosen priests, Nadab and Abihu, made an offering to God in a manner similar, but not exactly identical, to how the Lord had prescribed. They were not turning away from the Lord. They were not even ignoring him. They were  worshipping  him. And yet God struck them dead for making that offering (Leviticus 10:1-2). Uzzah, seeing the Ark of God in danger of falling and being damaged, reached out in an instinctive, unpremeditated act to protect the Ark. God struck him dead for daring to touch the Holy Ark (2 Samuel 6:6-7). Ananias and Sapphira sold their own property and generously gave not just a tithe of this considerable sum, nor even several times the value of a tithe, but such a huge percentage that they fully expected everyone to presume that it was the total amount. They, too, were struck dead (Acts 5:1-11). Of course, many others have been slain by God, but I have focused on examples of particularly godly people. They were serving God. In fact, they were in the forefront of what God was doing and not even that saved them. Whether by the grace of God any of these ended up in heaven is not for me to speculate. What is certain, however, is that not only did God slay them, he made a permanent record of the severity of his judgment. Clearly, the Judge of all humanity knows that the whole world needs to realize the blood-curdling gravity of what we are tempted to dismiss as trivial, excusable slips. Instances like this show not the harshness of God, but his astounding patience towards every one of us who is still breathing. We must get it into our heads that it is not just “big” sins that are terrifyingly serious. Our consciences are so callous that even much of what we think acceptable is actually defiled. Even things we think are acts of devotion to God are enough to send us to hell. Like the disciples, we gasp, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus’ answer rings through the centuries, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26). If there is anyone on this planet that God can make so pure and holy that he would enthrone himself in that person’s very body – and, of course, there is – he can do it to you. A person overwhelmed by guilt typically feels painfully alone, but the truth is that we are all floundering in the same spiritually catastrophic dilemma. No one but Jesus has ever reached God’s minimum standard for divine acceptance. For you to reach God’s standard is no more humanly impossible – and divinely possible – than for anyone else. Your sin is no more damning than anyone else’s sin. Your path to forgiveness is the same as anyone else’s. God has powerfully used famous Christian leaders year after year while they were secretly conducting adulterous affairs until their sin was finally exposed. Nearly all of us are shocked when first hearing this. Our reaction exposes our spiritual blindness. The astounding thing is not merely that the Lord has used people regularly committing adultery; what is astounding is that he uses any of us. Probably, the most saintly Christians alive do things several times each day for which the Lord would be fully justified in striking them dead. All Christians are daily dependent upon the grace of God, even though most are as close to being as blasé about it as the Pharisee. Some of us struggle with addictions that horrify Christians. The rest of us struggle with sins that Christians excuse but horrify God. We must not judge anyone because all that does is prove our hypocrisy. We dare not abuse the grace of God. We must truly mourn our sins and fight them and crave total obedience to God. Exposing the extreme sinfulness of all of us might be the last thing you would expect in a webpage devoted to helping people forgive themselves, but I dare not present less than the full truth of God. It is the truth, not half-lies, that has set me free and will set you free. Yes, full forgiveness is available, but the praying, temple-attending Pharisee went home unforgiven because he never bothered to seek forgiveness. Blinded by his own smugness, he had no conception of what we are discussing, even though his Bible knowledge must have been immensely superior to the tax collector’s. If a building’s foundations have crumbled, it is no achievement to acknowledge that there are cracks in the wall and then start patching them. The entire building must be razed and rebuilt from scratch. Some people might think their effort to redecorate the building proves their high standards, when it merely proves their foolishness. So many people who think themselves Christians are like those who think that the building that will soon collapse is basically okay and just needs a bit of redecorating. Like that Pharisee, they are dangerously ignorant of how corrupt every one of us is. All of us – not just those blessed with a tender conscience – are in the same chronic need of God’s forgiveness. In the words of Jesus: Luke 13:1-3  Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. . . .” A cold-blooded murderer’s spiritual need is no greater than mine. If, however, that murderer is more aware of his sins that I am of my own, then I am the one in the more terrifying predicament. If you are still only mildly convinced that by God’s standards no one is less sinful nor more sinful than you have been, I’ll have one last shot at opening your eyes, but please go beyond my attempts and pray for a divine revelation. “No one is perfect,” we glibly say. How serious would you rate the sin of sadistically devoting hour after hour after hour to torturing to death an innocent person? It was because I’m not perfect that the eternal King of kings, the darling of God’s heart, was tortured to death. My lack of perfection stripped him naked and publicly humiliated him. I flayed his flesh, mercilessly whipping the Innocent One, through whom the stars and flowers were made. My imperfection callously drove nails through the hands and feet of the One who has given me every good thing I have ever enjoyed. My sin did that. Dare I call it a minor sin? In the words of Peter, “You killed the author of life” (Acts 3:15). Oops! The Lord of lords is the indescribably majestic Being who alone keeps the entire universe from disintegrating (Hebrews 1:3). And my “insignificant slips” killed this stupendous Being on whom everything in existence teeters! It is quite literally a miracle that the catastrophic event my sin instigated did not precipitate the annihilation of the entire universe. Dare I rate that as anything less than equal to the most atrocious offense in the universe? Each of us has been monstrously evil. Self-righteous people despise this truth, but what offends the proud, comforts those who are overwhelmed by their own sin. This truth initially seems so devastating that most people spend their entire lives running from it. Those who dare face the truth head-on, however, eventually discover that it is actually one of the most exciting of truths. The truth that every one of us deserves hell is the great leveler. That of itself is a great relief to the humble. Most gossip and slander is an attempt to pull someone down to our own level. But anyone understanding the truth we have been exploring, realizes that without Christ, all of us are already on the same level. When the full implications hit, the pressure to slander, gossip and resent people vanishes, just as being given multiplied trillions of dollars would evaporate every temptation to steal or covet anyone’s money. But after leveling us, the Almighty exalts us far beyond our highest dreams until we are sharing God’s very throne. From there, all itching to put anyone down disappears. It is only insecure people haunted by feelings of inferiority who feel the “need” to convince themselves that they are superior to at least some people. It is a failure to comprehend that we are all equally defiled that keeps millions of people blackmailed into keeping guilty secrets – often from those who love them the most. They end up staggering through life feeling sickeningly alone and unloved and terrified that if ever their dirty secret were discovered they would be rejected and despised. Like a gangrenous wound slowly killing someone because he is too riddled with shame even to admit he needs medical help, so is a guilty past until we make the liberating discovery that we have nothing to hide from each other because we are all equally defiled. Spiritually, people aware of the hideousness of their sins are light years ahead of everyone else. Those who think themselves good are so deluded by their own pride that they are to be pitied. The humble know they have been abominably wicked, but if they accept Bible truth they know they are not alone. Everyone on this planet is in the same appalling predicament, and for each Christ offers the same glorious solution. Humanity’s depravity throws the holy Lord into an horrific dilemma. The darlings of his heart – that’s you and me – are utterly unacceptable and should be eternally trashed. The Almighty has resolved this seeming impossibility by devising a way in which each of us can be re-made, thus completely undoing the effects of our sin and making us perfect. Surprisingly many people feel they are more evil than other people. Some even take this to the extreme of concluding that they are unforgivable. The fact that any sin, not just “big” sins, will send a person to eternal damnation should reassure such people that we are all in this together. Nevertheless, the Bible truth that we are all in the same appalling predicament is a two-edged sword, cutting not only those who pride themselves in their “clean” living but many of those who are devastated over some of their sins. If “small” sins can condemn us to hell, then our eternity teeters on our willingness to repent not only of the sins we find inexcusable, but also on us repenting of sins we think excusable. For an example of a damnable sin we try to excuse, consider a refusal to pray God’s blessing upon those who have shamefully treated us. The despicable brutes who have hurt us are as worthy of hell as we are. (Remember, our sins tortured to death the Innocent Son of God.) For forgiveness, we must act like the tax collector, in mourning our sins. But since “small” sins are just as deadly as the ones that disturb us, for us to escape hell  all  our sins must be forgiven. It is therefore essential that we regret not only the sins we loathe but the sins we love. The Lord freely pours his innocence upon all who want it. To want God’s innocence we must want God to deliver us – to rip from our lives –  all  sin. We must want to be rid forever from  all  sinful pleasure. Suppose the Pharisee had been rushing to the temple. He turns a corner and does not see a toddler in the middle of the street before his donkey tramples the little girl to death. He enters the temple as hardened as ever over his sins but riddled with guilt over the death of the toddler. Do you expect him to be forgiven all the sins he is oblivious to, just because he is filled with remorse over an accident? In fact, he might focus so much on the accident that he is even less aware of his other sins. Only if the incident caused him to review his entire life and he repented of his self-righteousness would there be hope for him. Distinguishing between “big” sins and “small” sins is largely a human invention devised by guilt-ridden sinners desperate to feel superior to certain other sinners. The same Jesus who was so gentle with those who regretted their sin was furious with hypocrites. To expect God’s forgiveness while we refuse to forgive someone is to tell God, “Do what I say, not what I do.” What could be more hypocritical? Despite all our protests, anyone we refuse to forgive is actually no more worthy of hell, and no less forgivable, than we are. One sin we must want to be freed from is the sin of refusing to be as forgiving of others as we want God to be forgiving of us. Matthew 6:15  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Luke 6:36-38  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. The generosity or the miserliness of the measure we use to pour forgiveness on those who have hurt us is the measure God will use to forgive us. Like spitting into the wind, the way we treat others lands on our own head. If we treat others as unforgivable, that is how God will treat us. Grace is not license to sin; it is license not to sin. It is freedom not just from the penalty of sin but from bondage to sin. Purified If it is an insult to God’s holiness to think anything substandard is good enough for God, it is an insult to his omnipotence to think that for God anything is beyond repair. Either God can restore you to holy perfection, or he isn’t God. And either he longs to make you as holy and perfect as he is, or he isn’t love. There are several stages to this process: 1.  God waiting for you to reach the point where you entrust your moral restoration into his care. Those infatuated by their own “righteousness” remain stuck here forever. They might piously talk about Jesus but their faith is really in their own efforts to please God. Blessed indeed are they who are repulsed by their own sin and know that nothing less than the divine miracle achieved on the cross could save them from eternal damnation. 2.  You letting God forgive you and become one with you; letting him treat you as if you were the perfection of holiness, even though you still make moral mistakes. 3.  God training you in godly living. This involves not just acting like God but thinking like God. One of the saddest things in marriage is when a man sees his wife as stunningly beautiful and is so in love with her that he can hardly contain himself but she shrinks from him because she sees herself as fat and unattractive. This is not just painful for the wife and ever so frustrating for the man who tingles with love for her, it is particularly sad because it is so unnecessary. He’s blessed with a wife he thinks is gorgeous and she is blessed with a husband who feels this way about her and neither get to enjoy this heaven-on-earth because she is too self-absorbed to delight in how exquisite she is in his eyes. Ideally, when she is alone with her beloved, all that should matter to her is his opinion of her, not how she fears others view her or how she sees herself. I know it is sometimes a difficult struggle for a woman to do this, but if only she could let go of her view of herself and see herself through her husband’s eyes, reveling in the fact that he sees her as beautiful, both of them could soar to unimagined heights of fulfillment and ecstasy. Likewise, much in this stage of our spiritual life is devoted to learning to take our eyes off ourselves and centering them on God and his enjoyment of us. It is not easy. We tend to keep slipping back into looking at ourselves, rather than continually looking into God’s eyes. If we discipline ourselves to keep our focus on God, then if ever we see ourselves it is as we are, reflected in his  loving  eyes. At the same time, this stage is characterized by growing more and more like the One we are focusing on. Gradually we learn to overcome what we used to regard as major besetting sins. Victories themselves then become a critical test because looking at ourselves, instead of producing shame, can start producing pride, which is even more shameful. We must continue to focus on Jesus and as we do we will begin to cooperate with God in removing other imperfections in our lives that we had hardly noticed before. 4.  The final stage occurs in the next life. It is you being as blameless as the sinless Lamb of God, not just by the Judge overlooking your failings, but by God actually making you sinlessly perfect in your every thought and deed for all eternity. Now that we know where this process is headed, let’s briefly re-visit stage one. God’s mind-boggling love for us moves him to give us great dignity by not treating us as objects. God can give us that dignity only by refusing to make us perfect in his eyes unless we want it. But note the progression from stage one to stage four. God treats people as if they were now sinless, only because it is a foregone conclusion that they will become sinless. We can become sinless only by God taking from us not just the sins that disgust us but also by taking from us the sins that delight us. And since God respects our wishes, he will not violate our will. He will not treat us as sinless now if we do not want to be sinless now. We are saved not by our works but by a divine miracle. The tax collector went home forgiven before he had a chance to physically do anything. He received the divine miracle of forgiveness, and the Pharisee missed out, not because of what they did but because of their heart attitude. Jesus gave sick people the divine miracle of healing only because they wanted it. You will recall that he often questioned the sick to confirm that healing was what they really wanted. Likewise, God will treat us as sinless – in other words, forgive us – only if we decide that we want to be sinless. If we had cancer, a big part of us might not want to be operated on but our reluctance is not the critical issue. All that matters is whether, despite our misgivings, we sign over to a surgeon permission to do whatever he considers necessary to remove every trace of cancer and we agree to follow that up by taking whatever medication he prescribes afterwards. Likewise, a big part of us might love our sin and not want to be sinless but our reluctance will not stymie God as long as we muster our will to decide to give God permission to make us sinless and to devote the rest of our lives to cooperating with him in this process. If you were a thousand times more evil than your worst fears, it would not stop Jesus from making you blameless. However, if you were the most saintly person alive and you died thinking you did not need Jesus’ cleansing, you would rot for eternity in the stench of sins in your life that you were too reprobate to even notice. Without exception, all of us are evildoers, but what infuriates God are evildoers who think they are better than other evildoers. Those who think they are good enough just because they seem to be in a bit better condition than some others are unlikely to see the absolute necessity of Jesus perfecting them. This is the most terrifying blindness because it has eternal implications. When people see no great need of the purification that only Jesus can give, the Lord has no choice but to withdraw and leave them to try to work their own way out of hell into heaven, which of course is impossible. Their one hope is to come to their senses and admit that they are as worthy of hell as any and every person on this planet. If only they would humble themselves that way, the Lord would rush to exalt them. Those Who Miss Out We are all like people with cancer that will kill us unless we seek medical attention. Life’s most dangerous act is to live in denial of “sin cancer.” When you are terminally ill, there is no comfort in saying, “His cancer looks worse than mine.” Only after admitting to ourselves that we have this “cancer” will we seek life-saving treatment. So although this admission might initially seem depressing it is actually our passport to life and joy. Ultimately, it is denial that is scary and depressing. We must face the bad news – that we are terminally sin-sick – in order to enjoy the glorious news that we can be cured and overflow with vibrant health beyond our wildest hopes. If ever the saying, “No pain, no gain” applied to anything, it applies to this. This is why Jesus said blessed are they who mourn  now  (Luke 6:21,23). Everyone will mourn over his or her moral condition. The only difference between people is timing. Mourn now over your sin and you will find what Jesus offers and burst into purity and endless joy. Mourn too late, and you’ll mourn forever. Ezekiel 6:6-9  Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste . . . Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD. But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me . . .  They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.  (Emphasis mine) The ones to be envied are those who mourn while the joy of forgiveness is still on offer. Their mourning will turn into dancing; their sorrow into never-ending joy. When you stand before your Judge he will not be interested in even hearing the charges. All that his penetrating eyes will see is whether you have clothed yourself with the righteousness of Christ – whether you are trusting Jesus’ purity for your approval, or whether you have the audacity to try to go it alone. The only people who miss out – and tragically there are many – are those too arrogant to admit that they need Jesus’ purification or who refuse to believe he is powerful enough to make them pristine in God’s eyes. Let’s try a parable. There was once a tiny nation in which everyone not in the king’s palace contracted food poisoning. They discovered that whenever people with this condition prepared food, they unavoidably contaminated it and spread the epidemic. Being unable to keep down contaminated food, and unable to prepare food without contaminating it, they were in a desperate predicament. Alarmed by this, the king prepared from his own supplies a magnificent, endless feast to which everyone was invited. Protocol, however, demanded that no one could attend a royal feast without presenting the king with a highly prized delicacy that he would sample and then add to the banquet. Knowing that none of the invitees could provide uncontaminated food, the king himself, at great expense, provided everyone with food fit for a king that they could then give back to the king as their own gift. Some despised the king’s free entry gift. Being too proud to accept it, they determined to pay their own way. So they prepared contaminated food and offered it to the king. You can imagine how the king felt about that! Others were more noble in that they would not dare risk giving the king food poisoning but, having a low opinion of the king, they could not believe his generosity. They decided it was too good to be true that the king would accept the gift he himself had provided. So they refused to attend the feast and resigned themselves to starving to death. How do you think that made the king feel? But some accepted the king’s generosity and, as the king had always intended, they gratefully gave his own gift back to him. Upon receipt of the gift, the king welcomed them into the feast where they were not only saved from starvation but enjoyed festivities beyond anything they had ever known. To which group do you belong? Those offending the King of kings by offering him their contaminated good works? Those condemning themselves to dying of spiritual starvation and insulting the Lord of Glory by refusing to believe that by his sacrifice the Lamb of God has paid the entry price? Or those with the humility to accept Jesus’ payment and enter God’s magnificent feast? Please keep reading. Continued ..... How can I forgive myself?

To become a genuine Christian is almost impossible 1. The standards required of a Christian are beyond me Everyone who has missed the distinctive feature of Christianity feels this way. Non-Christian religions require their followers to reach a certain standard, but to become a Christian is to acknowledge that none of us can meet God’s requirements. Jesus has done it for us. If you were drowning, would you refuse the help of lifeguards because you are not good enough at swimming? It’s precisely because you are not good enough that you need to be saved. And everyone who lets Jesus save them is a Christian. A different view: People claiming inability to become a Christian usually think they are demeaning only themselves. What they are really asserting, however, is that Jesus is an inadequate Savior. Upon realizing how ridiculous that is, they yield to Jesus and let him transform their lives. 2. It costs too much to become a Christian Offer me an ice cream for $500 and I’d refuse. It costs too much. Offer me a brand new car for $500 and I’d think it so cheap that there must be a catch. It’s not the cost that’s the real issue, it’s what’s on offer. The cost of becoming a Christian is so enormous that it is exceeded only by the benefits. Nevertheless, the rewards are so immense that the cost shrivels to insignificance. What’s in it for me? The wonderful thing about becoming a Christian is that you never do it alone. You are entering into partnership with the One for whom nothing is impossible. He is always with you to comfort, encourage, strengthen, liberate, protect and to shower you with compensations for what you have left behind. Try as you may, you can sacrifice nothing for God. The most you can do is exchange fleeting pleasure for eternal joy. That’s not a sacrifice. It’s an investment. God is a giver, not a taker. What he desires is like a perfect marriage. In every way we benefit from his proposal and God gets the raw end. But God is love. He wants this holy union more than we can imagine. Don’t break his heart by holding back. True marriage costs. It involves total commitment of all that you have and all that you are. It is believing in someone so completely that you entrust your entire being to that person for life. The Lord is eager to be that devoted to you, but for marriage to work, the commitment must be mutual. If a street kid married a millionaire, she would get his riches and he would get her debts. He would be tarred with her shame and she would gain his honor. For this to happen, she must turn from rival relationships and bind herself and her meager possessions to this man in marriage. Everything he has would become hers, provided she lets everything she has become his. Similarly, if we entrust to God everything we have – our time, abilities, relationships and possessions – he will reciprocate, embracing us with divine extravagance. We hand our depravity to Jesus, relinquishing even our fondest sin. It becomes his. That’s what killed him. In return, Jesus’ sinless perfection envelops us, enabling us to be on intimate terms with the Holy God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The culmination of this divine exchange of holiness for depravity will be seen when all evil is finally wiped off this planet – we will be spared and no one can accuse God of injustice or favoritism. He has borne the penalty himself. In entering this love pact, we give God the right to do whatever he likes with our assets, but the Owner of the universe makes his riches available to us. (Philippians 4:19) We trade our talents, for his unlimited power; our attempts to run our lives, for his unrivaled wisdom. We give him our time on earth and he gives us eternity. The following prayer corresponds to wedding vows in which you promise to love, honor and obey the Lord, thus making him your God. In turn, the King of kings makes you worthy of spiritual fusion with him and pledges to devote himself unreservedly to you. If the following accurately describes your feelings, you can make it your prayer by reading it to God. Lord, It’s hard to admit how sinful I’ve been. I have caused you grief, yet you sent your Son who gave his life and defeated death to secure my pardon. (Romans 4:24-25; 6:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8,14,17; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:3) You have given yourself totally for me and I long to reciprocate. In response to your overwhelming love, I dedicate all I have to loving you. I yield to your loving protection and guidance. I surrender my sins to you, renouncing even those things that entice me. And in exchange I receive your pardon and purity and your empowerment to live a life worthy of you. Thank you that we have now commenced a union that not even death can break. The Lord of heaven and earth knows your secret thoughts. (Hebrews 4:13) If you prayed the entire prayer honestly, you have entered a new spiritual realm. That’s hard to believe. Everything seems the same. But not from heaven’s perspective. The spiritual contract is sealed. The proof rests not in your feelings (such as whether you feel guilty or happy), but in the integrity of the Holy One. He has given his word (in the Bible) that whoever turns from sin and looks to Jesus for cleansing, has a radically new destiny. (John 3:36; 6:37; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 6:11-18; Philippians 3:8,9; Colossians 1:20-22) God is no liar! I’m not convinced Our desperate need is not for clever arguments but for a powerful encounter with the living God. (1 Corinthians 4:20) And we need not more dramatic signs from heaven, but to act on what we already know. The door to spiritual understanding is not human explanation, but supernatural revelation. It swings not on mind games but on a willingness to surrender our stubborn will to One who knows better than us. (John 7:17; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; 4:3-4; 1 Corinthians 2:4-16; Luke 10:21) Draw near to God and he will draw near to you, promises the Bible. (James 4:8) Until we respond to the light we already have, God is unlikely to squander further enlightenment upon us. With insincere excuses we might even fool ourselves, but not the One who knows everything. We don’t decide how much evidence we need: God does. Neither do we have the final say as to when God will lose patience with us. Right now God is offering the greatest conceivable experience with endless benefits. It’s our one hope and Scripture says he could withdraw it at any moment. (Romans 2:3-6; 2 Peter 3:9-11; Jeremiah 11:10-11) It is understandable that you have a few doubts – this is all so new to you – but every moment you let a little doubt immobilize you, is an enormous risk. The stakes are so mind boggling that Christians are often reluctant to tell it as it is for fear of being labeled scaremongers. I, too, balk at it, but it is the plain teaching of Jesus that your need is desperate. The uncertainty of life and the reality of hell makes the time you remain undecided the equivalent of hugging a bomb that could explode at any moment. If you only knew, all that Jesus offers you would unashamedly beg for it. A different view: Your reasons for not becoming a Christian may be more flimsy that you realize. Years ago, psychologists carefully explained to smokers the danger of smoking. They discovered that those who continued to smoke reported enjoying smoking more than before. Apparently, the discrepancy between their behavior and what they knew they should do, forced their minds to exaggerate the pleasures of smoking. Likewise, a reluctance to become a Christian could subject people to psychological pressures that distort their perception of the benefits or logic of remaining spiritually divorced from Jesus. I’ll think about it Good. If you are caught in a burning building, however, merely thinking about escaping will not bring you to safety. What is needed is not just thought, but action. The cold reality is that you are not guaranteed the next heartbeat. Do what you can now. It is no use thinking, ‘I’ll enjoy my sin for as long as I can and when I’m old I will say I’m sorry.’ Do you really think you could fool God? Such a ploy proves you want your own selfish way, not heaven. A different view: Scripture declares that our thinking on otherworldly matters will remain foggy until undergoing the spiritual transformation that only Jesus offers. Agree to be rid of your sin, just as Jesus agreed to be smeared with your sin. Trust God to treat you as being as sinless as Jesus, just as God treated the crucified Christ as being as sinful as you. Spiritually - not necessarily consciously – you will be instantly transformed. You then have the rest of eternity to think about it, pondering the marvelous implications of what has happened to you and rejoicing in its endless benefits.

You are right to reject a religion that’s a list of dos and don’ts, or a gathering of dour-faced, self-righteous Bible thumpers. Jesus would reject it too. Anything Jesus is involved in is vibrant, liberating, compassionate, powerful and supernatural. People dismiss Christianity on the basis of an outsider’s glance, like a little boy certain he will always hate being kissed. Knowing Jesus is more wonderful than the uninitiated could dream. All yearning is a yearning for Jesus, discovered someone enjoying the ultimate adventure. The love, excitement, challenge, fulfillment and understanding we crave are found in the One who made us. Jesus likened the Christian spiritual experience to buried treasure. Millions walk past it, never suspecting the wonders that lie below the surface. Anyone who makes the discovery, however, would eagerly trade for it everything they had previously treasured, like trading trinkets for truckloads of diamonds. To attempt description of the benefits of spiritual union with Jesus sounds as hollow and self-centered as listing receiving a gold ring as a benefit of marrying the most wonderful person. It’s like dissecting the most exquisite, priceless flower and offering the individual parts to the highest bidder. Moreover, it sounds like hype – just too good to be believable. This is to be expected. We were made to enjoy the God who made us, so it is hardly surprising that a relationship with him will fulfill our deepest longing. Nevertheless, it still sounds too good to be true. Here’s a few of the consequences of being united to the One we were made for: The excitement of living life on the edge, as God takes you beyond what you are humanly capable of. Divine power to love the unlovable, to break destructive habits, to resist peer pressure and to control such weaknesses as temper, greed, and selfishness. Being on the winning side – the obvious consequence of having in your life the God of infinite power and infinite wisdom. The ultimate security of knowing you are forever loved and that nothing – not even death - can rob you of its endless joys. The knowledge that you are of the greatest importance to the most important Person in the universe. Having as your best friend the Person who not only sympathizes but knows your every weakness and triumph, your every thought, your every experience since the moment of your conception, your darkest secret, your fondest dream, and is committed to you with unswerving devotion. A life that is highly demanding and challenging, with the greatest power in existence willing you and empowering you to achieve. A brand new start in life. The thrill of knowing you can now achieve things of eternal significance. Involvement in the greatest conceivable good. Reaching your highest potential. Finding and fulfilling your reason for being born. Living life to the full. Entry into the spiritual dimension. Supernatural dreams, visions, miracles, angelic visitations and other amazing spiritual experiences are possibilities. Being at peace with God. No longer running from reality. The lifelong opportunity to love and thank the Giver of every good and beautiful thing everyone has ever enjoyed. The freedom to look in the mirror and know that no matter what your past, you are now pure in the eyes of the holy God. Knowing that God is working within you and in your circumstances to make you more and more like Jesus. Answers to prayer. Joy and peace and fulfillment, each of which are so far beyond what anything else offers that it defies description. Deliverance from the endless torment of hell. Not even all God’s incomparable gifts, however, reach the ecstasy of enjoying and knowing intimately the most exciting Person in the universe. He is so special that falling in love with God is the inevitable consequence of truly knowing him.

Unchangeable Truth Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins Ephesians 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins Return to the webpage God will use to set you free

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Romans 3:20 Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (21) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, Romans 9:30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; (31) but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. (32) Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling-stone”. Galatians 2:16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no-one will be justified. Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 4:17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. (16) Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. And very many other Scriptures. Return to the webpage God will use to set you free!

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us Introduction Maybe the person who sinned against you murdered your child, sentencing you to a lifetime of heartache. Maybe he stole your wife, plunging you into a icy loneliness. Maybe you were cheated of your life’s savings, or you were scandalized, your reputation shattered by malicious lies. I obviously cannot focus on each of the endless possibilities, but regardless of the offense the principles remain the same. For simplicity’s sake I write the following as if a man had sexually violated you in an horrific manner. You should have no difficulty in applying this to your specific situation. Should you forgive your abuser? Some dear people try to forgive their abuser by convincing themselves it was all their fault, not their abuser’s. They try to forgive by taking upon themselves blame that rightfully belongs to their abuser. Don’t do that! You’re not Christ! Only he can fully bear the sins of another. Your attempt will help neither you, nor your abuser. Others try to ease their tortured conscience by putting all their guilt upon their abuser. It’s quite possible that all blame for your abuse belongs with your abuser. Like all of us, however, you have other sins for which there is no one but yourself to blame. Trying to put all the blame for our sin upon anyone other than Jesus is ineffective because only Christ, who alone is without sin, can bear our guilt, absorbing every stain until not a trace remains. Perfect justice means I couldn’t suffer punishment for someone else’s sins because anything I suffered would be what I deserve for my own sin. So put all guilt upon the spotless Son of God. Then you will be clean, not only in your own eyes, but in the holy eyes of Almighty God. Your abuser doesn’t deserve to be forgiven Neither do I. Neither does anyone. It is hypocritical to want God’s forgiveness for oneself, and to want the sins of someone else to remain unforgiven. ‘Why should I forgive them!?’ thundered her e-mail As a child her uncle had molested her and her parents abandoned her. In middle age she had been stalked, tied up and raped. Some of the several attempts to murder had her sent her to hospital. So great was her torment that several times she had tried suicide, even using a gun, but to her disgust she was still alive. Why indeed should she forgive? There is much I might have said, but what flashed into my mind was the highest reason of all: Because it’s Godlike. God forgives those who have no right to be forgiven. He forgives his haters. Christ was abandoned. The Innocent, was accused, condemned, and made to feel like low life. His holy body was violated by whips, nails, spear. He was mocked, maligned, tortured. And he forgave. He’s God. And he has the power to make you like God. The Lord of all wants to make you royalty – a child of the King of kings. Not an adopted child, but born into his family, bearing his nature – his genes as it were. And part of the beautiful, divine nature God wants released into your life is an attitude of forgiveness. ‘God’s not fair!’ ‘It’s not fair that God should ask me to forgive such horrible acts!’ she complained. See the Son of God betrayed, abandoned, slandered, sadistically subjected to a perversion of justice. See his flesh shredded by instruments of torture; the King of glory savaged, defiled, reduced to an object of shame; stripped naked, publicly humiliated, robbed of every speck of decency. Our sin did that. That’s what it cost the Holy One to forgive our sin. For God to do that for us sinners isn’t ‘fair’ but he still did it. But my tormentor’s sin is so much worse than any normal person’s sin. Suppose he’s violated ten people. Does that make him more worthy of forgiveness than someone who has violated a thousand people? It’s so hard for us to grasp that none of us are worthy of forgiveness. Part of the problem is that most of us spend our lives trying to squirm out of our personal guilt by taking secret delight in the sins of others. But there’s only one way to eternally deal with guilt and that’s to let Jesus deal with it. I’m about to describe a spiritual reality that is beyond our intellectual powers to grasp. Despite our inability to even imagine it, the fact is that as immense as his sin against you is, what he has done to you pales in comparison to what you have done to God. Your sins didn’t just violate Jesus’ holy body; your sin murdered him. I think much more than this is involved in the gravity of our sin against God but my darkened mind cannot go deeper. In Jesus’ parable about the necessity of forgiving those who have hurt us, (Matthew 18:21-35) he said the degree extent to which we have hurt God is like us owing an impossibly huge debt and in comparison the person we find hard to forgive is as though he owes us a much smaller sum of money. In the parable, the difference is 60,000,000%! Like me, you may be unable to imagine how your sin against God is so many times worse than your abuser’s sin against you, but you can still accept it as fact. The degree to which we forgive others is the degree to which God will forgive us. Jesus’ teaching abounds with this concept. Even the Lord’s prayer says it. [Relevant Scriptures] Put bluntly, if you are expecting God to forgive, when you yourself refuse to forgive, you have every right to be plagued with guilt feelings. God will not overlook such hypocrisy. What you are not required to do To forgive doesn’t involve denying that what this person did to you was despicable and evil. It doesn’t mean excusing his actions, or imagining he was in any sense justified in what he did. It doesn’t mean he is not deserving of punishment by the law. It means you want God to convict him, not so that you can get revenge, but so that he can obtain God’s forgiveness. It means you want the best for him even though he doesn’t deserve it, just like God wants the best for us, even though we don’t deserve it. None of us can point the finger at another. We each deserve hell. When you simply cannot forgive Given the immense suffering inflicted on you, it is hardly surprising if you struggle with this side of forgiveness. Don’t let Satan try to accuse you over any inadequacy you feel in this aspect of forgiveness. Perhaps it’s literally beyond your ability to forgive what you have endured. That’s not a problem. Jesus forgave his haters and abusers as they were gleefully driving nails through his flesh. He can transmit to you in miraculous proportions his supernatural power to forgive. Our dear Lord never asks the impossible of us. All he asks is our willingness to let him make us willing to forgive. And, despite what we feel, we can ask God’s blessing upon that person. We can bring before God the person we struggle to forgive and through sheer will power ask that the Lord bless that person as much as we would like God to bless us. Perhaps you’ve heard how they catch wild monkeys. A jar is tied down and filled with nuts. The monkey slips in its hand and grabs the nuts, thus making a fist that is too big to come out of the narrow neck of the jar. All the monkey has to do is let go and it’s free. But instead it holds on to the nuts, and is caught for the sake of a few nuts. Don’t be like that monkey, losing so much by holding on to unforgiveness. Once we grasp what Jesus has done for us and what he wants to do for us, we need no longer waste our lives finger pointing, despising, and growing bitter. We are freed to get on with life. Return to the webpage God will use to set you free!

God is utterly unselfish. He loves you more than you love yourself. Only the Almighty can make perfect decisions because he alone knows everything, including the future, and he alone has the intellect to know the million-long chain of events stretching for all eternity, set off by your every minor action. He alone knows how you can find your greatest fulfillment, for he alone knows your full potential and the exact reason why you are on this planet. To imagine that you could come up with a decision that is smarter, more loving, or more in your best interests than God's moment by moment plan for you, is the height of stupidity. Return to the webpage God will use to set you free!