God is always Ready to Pardon

Nehemiah 9:16-17 But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments. They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. NKJV

The children of Israel over the many centuries rebelled over and over and yet the Lord because of His great mercy pardoned and restored them every time they would return to Him. It is only due to the Lord Jesus Christ’s mercies that today the earth is still rotating on its axis and men and women are still going about their business and able to draw breath and continue to live. All people of this world are living under the loving-kindness of God because Christ is slow to return and judge the earth because He wants souls to come to Him. The tragedy of our day is the misconception that lost men and women have toward the true God (Jesus Christ) thinking wrongly that because human beings suffer great pain, sorrow, and death that He must not be loving, because if He were He would prevent these things, especially those that are committed against children. Or on the flip side people wrongly think that because God is love (and He is) that He will in the end save everyone no matter what they believe (Universalism). Sin came to men and women because of Adam’s rebellion but Jesus Christ death, burial, and resurrection (the gospel) has made a full payment for Adam’s rebellion.

Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. NKJV

Before any man or woman can receive God’s gracious, merciful, and compassionate pardon they must first and foremost see and acknowledge their sinful heart and confess all their sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and turn from that sin and receive Jesus Christ by trusting Him alone as you would trust any chair when you go to sit down on it, resting everything on Jesus Christ. But surely God’s patience will one day be exhausted and Christ will come to execute judgment on those who know not God and obey not the gospel. Today God is not telling men and women to obey the Ten Commandments (because none of us can) but He has spoken in these last days through my Lord Jesus Christ bidding everyone to come to Him. Only Jesus Christ can forgive a sinner and cleanse and purify his/her heart.

Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" NKJV

Jeremiah 33:8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. NKJV

“We are told what is necessary in order to seek God and to return to him, and the encouragement which we have to do it. The first step is for the sinner to forsake his way. He must come to a solemn pause, and resolve to abandon all his transgressions. His evil course; his vices; his corrupt practices; and his dissipated companions, must be forsaken.” Albert Barnes

“Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation . . . —2 Corinthians 7:10

Conviction of sin is best described in the words:

My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.

Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight . . .” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.

The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.” Oswald Chambers

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle e-books now and will be available in a couple of weeks @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…