If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The gospel of our salvation was being accomplished through the evil of sinful men as they killed the Son of God. The answer is, yes, but in making such an affirmation one can never relativize the serious nature of all sin. God, who is perfect and holy, does not sin. 7:11). Always I am in the debtors corner. be acceptable in your sight, A child of God being conscious of sin, takes the candle and lantern of the Word, and searches into his heart. But just because God may use our sin for his glory, does not justify our sinful actions. Does the all in the all things of Romans 8:28 include my sin? WebYes, my friend, God can even use your past sin to work together for good. In other words, through this people would come the divine Messiah, who would bear the sins of all Gods people and by his mercy break over boundaries of Israel and gather his elect from all the peoples of the world to be one new people of God, the bride of the Son of God. Hello, Pastor John! There is no gospel, there is no salvation, if God cannot, in perfect holiness, govern the acts of sinful men in bringing his Son to the cross. It has been 22 years, and only now only now can Joseph see what in the world all of that loss, and slander, and loneliness, and affliction, and injustice, and seemingly pointless righteousness was about. God may have forgiven me, many of us think, but he certainly must think less of me. Jesus gave this proclamation to His disciples after His resurrection. This was explicitly forbidden by God in Scripture. He knew more about sonship; he knew more about his Father, he knew more about his Fathers love. But when our focus shifts to the wonder of Gods grace and mercy, then we view our sin in a whole new light. And its the story of the whole Bible and of your life as a child of God. As Hebrews affirms, God disciplines us so we can become more like him (Heb. If we, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, we will live." Lets also allow the Lord to give us the freedom of trusting that when he says he makes all things new, he means it. The saying is trustworthy, he wrote, and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. Right up there with the Eucharist and the authority of the Church is the certainty of absolution, the confidence Catholics have that when God absolves us through the priest our sins are utterly washed away, removed as far as the east is from the west. We confess our sin by recognizing that we have disobeyed Gods law. All of our problems and our suffering, including death We are the creators of suffering. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom (Acts 14:22). hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Then Joseph had a dream that his brothers and his parents would be bowing down to him someday, and the text says his brothers hated him all the more (Genesis 37:5). For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. You have to constantly submit every thought that you have about God to other thoughts about God so that God manages your brain. For then how could God judge the world? Dr. Patrick,Thanks for clearing that up. 6:16-19). Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. The Bible teaches that Satan is the author of sin. Romans 6:23 GODS WORD Translation (GW) 23 The payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord. Its true. The key lies in giving up our doubts and our feelings of guilt and resting in Gods promises of forgiveness. God enters into our suffering in his pursuit of us. There are some Christians who believe that seeking medical attention is demonstrating a lack of faith in God. God Does Not Deal with Us According to Our Sins Our good and gracious God, on I must confess I stumble a bit even at the current BF&M wording on this point. The cross strikingly displays, in harmony, aspects of the divine character that might otherwise appear irreconcilable. All of it was like Josephs brothers, and Potiphars wife, and unjust years in the dungeon of Egypt. When we understand this, then even our past failures can be used for good. Now, I know that this introduces a distinction that many people have not, perhaps, thought about namely, that in heaven, there will be varying rewards, which correspond, I think, to varying capacities for happiness; meaning, everyone in heaven will be fully happy (thats the meaning of heaven), but that some will have capacities of fullness greater than others. wondrous things out of your law [your instruction!]. They are not a punishment for sin, rather, they are a correction, as a parent would correct a child. The only time that we should hate on our Christian walk of faith is when it comes to sin. It is good to find out our sins, lest they find us out. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! And then Jacob has twelve sons who become the twelve tribes of the people of Israel. And here goes somebody with their logic: "Cool! The driver was a mechanic. Therefore, we not only have to deal with Gods discipline for our disobedience, but we also have to deal with the natural consequences resulting from sin. And he says in chapter 6, "Shall we sin that grace may abound? "Well, if God is sovereign, then he is responsible for evil. His feet were hurt with fetters; Take my life. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:28-29, ESV). BothNathan (Luke 3:31) and Solomon (Matthew 1:6) were sons of David through Bathsheba (1 Chronicles 3:5). Their falls lead them to humiliation, to the acknowledgment of their weakness and depravity, to prayer for the guidance andoverpowering influence of the Holy Spirit, to vigilance and caution againstall carnal security, and to reliance on that righteousness provided fortheir appearance before God. It was Sunday and we were driving on a lonely stretch of interstate when the car died. Like the prodigal father later in Lukes Gospel, he delights in you. And yet, we read in Judges 14:4, His father and mother did not know that it was of theLordthat He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? Among those biblical truths is Paul contemplating the thought in Romans 3 and 6, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" However, while sin is evil (not good), God can use it for good. St. Pauls afflictions (pardon the expression) were but a play to him, in comparison of his sin. First, he uses my sin to help conform me into the image of Jesus Christ. and broke all supply of bread, He imperils the life of his people through testing, and he plans and performs their salvation from his own peril. This is not random evil against Jesus. 8:18-27). God did not spare us trouble. As stated previously, our sins are forgiven at salvation (positional forgiveness), but our daily fellowship with God needs to stay in good standing (relational forgiveness). He brings everything back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks to their partnership in our mission, we reachmore than 20 million unique users per month! But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16, ESV). let them not have dominion over me! But God is able to redeem all that and use it for your good. This is important stuff! He is author of. 11:32). Then he predicts it in a dream. Samson told his parents to go and get him a wife from the daughters of the Philistines. Sin repulses God. Gods grace gives us forgiveness for our sin. God has been so good to me! It is us saying to God: You dont get to make the rules! God hates sin (Prov. His father Jacob plays favorites and treats Joseph better than his brothers. You can come back from your sins. ( Nehemiah 9: 17; Psalm 86:5; Isaiah 55:7) When he forgives us, he does so completely. This is complex. In redemptive-history, this became the very spot on which the Temple would be built (2 Chronicles 3:1). And you, like Joseph, are utterly perplexed. God does punish us for the sins of our first parents (see Rom. The writer makes it clear in numerous ways. 4) Sin puts a child of God upon self-conflicting. TY! But what did he do? She hasnt been forgiven because shes shown love. 31:34; Heb. What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). and righteous altogether. God's Forgiveness. Just because we live under grace, doesnt mean that God ignores our sins. When I think of Bible Study Fellowship, and all the people that I have known over the years who taught in BSF, I think of people who live and die by what the Bible teaches. 1. Everything that is hard and seems wrong in our lives is a divine invitation to turn to God. Everything that we face can make us more holy. God is And this is the most famous verse in the entire story, and perhaps one of the most important verses in the Bible, when you understand it in relation to the entire course of redemptive history. No, actually, its more provocative than that: its the story of how God himself brings his own people into the life-threatening danger of extinction, all the while planning their unimaginable rescue. Thats how to biblically deal with the reality of sin in your life. God promises to seek out and save those who are lost, and to bind up the injured (Ezekiel 34:11-16). WebGod Uses Suffering and Evil For His Glory and Our Good. Genesis 50:1920: Joseph says to his brothers, after his fathers death, when they are terrified that he will now take vengeance on them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? That is, any time something happens, we can be confident that God is using that life circumstance to change us inside out to be like His Son. First John 1:9, which was written to believers, says: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Confessing our sins to God is indispensable in our Christian life. Ithank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. It does not say, You meant evil against me, but God used it for good. It says, You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, and the same word for meant is used in both cases. Who can discern his errors? God gives me this grace, not because I deserve it, but because it is his character to do so. We should always hate sin and evil and continually be at war with them. Your past failure does not have to be for naught. What a great calling you have! Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of Gods reign of righteousness and peace. Web42 Bible Verses about God's Forgiveness. Web8. In contrast to hiding or lying, a confession of sin is acknowledging the wrong we have committed before the parties injured. Genesis 37:4: all his brothers . He wrote: [For the believer the all things in Romans 8:28 includes even our falling into sin, even our backslidingGod can turn it to the advantage of the Christianwhen we truly repent He stands ready to forgive usThe prodigal son knew much more about his Father after he came back than he ever knew before he left home. You can't throw that out and just go do your own logical thing. Learn more about the consequences of sin and how to overcome our temptations of the flesh with these 20 scripture quotes. Theres a picture of how there can be perfect happiness in everyone in heaven, and yet there can also be degrees of rewards, greater or lesser capacities for happiness. How many times I have heard godly people speak of praying for safety in the morning, the terrible accident happens in the afternoon, and as I hear the story unfold, they start telling me of the amazing providences: He hit his head just this way; another millimeter would have killed him. God forbid! Very practically, the devil and our own sin can incline us to use the sovereignty of God to justify complicity in sin. 1 Modern secular thinkers conclude that God if hes out there cant keep good people from harm; we must make the best of suffering even if we dont understand it. He knew more about sonship; he knew more about his Father, he knew more about his Fathers love. Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. You are not your sin. 11:32) was working together for his good and the good of Gods people. He desires to know the worst of himself; as a man who is diseased in body, desires to know the worst of his disease. The Bible says bad things that happen to us are a result of Gods discipline. One of the ways our enemy tries to silence us is by reminding us of sin we have committed in the past. 9:7). Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. And Isaacs son, Jacob, is the chosen seed, not Esau, even though Esau was the older brother and, by all human reckoning, would be the heir. It is an offense to God. About thirty years ago, when I had four children at home, and one of them was 9 years old, we were hurrying from Minneapolis to get to a special gathering in South Carolina with my father. I had prayed in the morning that God would protect us from harm and from trouble. He knows sin is a bosom traitor, therefore he carefully observes himself. Double warning lets heed Pauls warnings as we try to answer the question, Does Romans 8:28 mean that even our sins work for our good? he had sent a man ahead of them, There may be nothing that I love to do more than to open Gods word and exult over it with people who share my estimate of Gods word as more precious than gold or health or life itself. making wise the simple; What we call the story of Joseph (Genesis 3750 almost a third of the book) is the story of how God does not let that happen. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I am being conformed to his image. God created everything that is not God (Genesis 1). Yet he had been forgiven and set apart by God to carry the message of forgiveness to others who also needed forgiveness for sin. But even with all the beautiful imagery, its a conjunction that really gets me: hence. We've got to latch on to them biblically. When I am in a relationship with him, learning to love him more and more, he will use everything in my life to help conform me to the image of Jesus Christ. Consider several examples in Scripture: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his comments on this passage, explained that the prodigal son wouldnt have known the Fathers love and grace to returning backsliders if he had never left home for the far country. Im quite pleased with the information in this one. Reuben rescues Joseph from their hand, and instead of killing him they sell him into slavery and he winds up in Egypt (Genesis 37:36). So, 7 years of prosperity go by before the famine comes. But this is different from saying that sinning works for our greatest happiness in eternity. WebGod is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. Its beautiful to see the abandon with which she throws herself at the feet of Jesus, her utter lack of shame as she bathes his feet with her tears. The focus is on Gods ability to forgive, not my ability to sin. I'll just click on as much pornography as I can, and commit as much fornication as I can, and steal as much as I can, and be as greedy as I can. WebEverything that is hard and seems wrong in our lives is a divine invitation to turn to God. Better is that sin which humbles me, than that duty which makes me proud. xxxii. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! When WebPaul focuses on the sinfulness of every human being, citing Ps. Discipline is a good thing! Literal Standard Version as free, and not having freedom as the cloak of evil, but as servants of God; Majority Standard Bible Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. If we but place no obstacle to the workings of grace we can avoid all deliberate sin. We must see ourselves for what we are and have the desire to make the conscious choice to change. God can use the coronavirus for good because God is good. While He may not punish us for our past sins, out of love He will discipline us for our future growth ( Hebrews 12:6 ). But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Pharaoh has a dream, and his cupbearer remembers that Joseph can interpret dreams. Thus the sins of the godly work for good. Good Friday marked the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. 2. WebYes-- God allows bad things to happen to humans. And put to death what is earthly in you. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; God doesnt say in so many words, Thou shalt not have sex before thou art married, but in Genesis 2:24, he says, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. 1 John 1:9. WebGod can show us our sins, but He cannot and will not force us to overcomethat decision is ours. God no longer punishes us for our sin because Jesus took that punishment. In his amazing grace, God makes some sins gloriously devastating to our ego, and thus exceptionally fruitful for our eternal joy. When he lays anything to a saints charge, he is able to retort and say, It is true, Satan, I am guilty of these sins; but I have judged myself already for them; and having condemned myself in the lower court of conscience, God will acquit me in the upper court of heaven.. The law of the Lord is perfect, WebIt is good to know our sins, that we may not flatter ourselves, or take our condition to be better than it is. Our sins are blotted out, or erased. Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting and transformative Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more. , . Our life is a wayfaring life, and a war-faring life. This sets up years of hatred. until what he had said came to pass, In this way, we can see how even the sin of a believer (Heb. The promise of working for our good is not the same as the promise of working for our maximal happiness. Revelation 2:10), but because these fire-fights refine the gold of our faith (1 Peter 1:7), in life and death. And I will try to Declare me innocent from hidden faults. the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Sin is the reason that we have afflictions, including death. Thats a long time for God to keep his servant in the dark about what hes doing through the miseries of his life. If God is a good God, then why does he allow the bad? It was when he was received back, when he saw his father running to meet himwhen he was yet a long way offand embracing him. He is the moral governor of the universe, and if he wishes to forgive, that is his prerogative. Scripture teaches us that Christ was raised from the dead to serve his people. [D]o not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. They look rational. WebSome sins of Gods people simply work for our good and Gods glory because they Suppose Satan was involved in breaking the water pump, thinking, I will make this family miserable, and I will make them doubt the goodness of God. What, then, could we say to Satan? Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart He that feels his sin, as a sick man feels his sickness, how welcome is Christ the physician to him! So you see, though he was quite wrong in leaving home and going to that foreign landand all he did there in his riotous livingit was all wrong; but he was a very much better man at the end than at the beginning. It is about crossing lines that have been laid down for us by God. Amen. Satan is the author of sin. Through my example and the evidence of Gods grace in my life, others will come to understand that they can be forgiven as well. Its not by Gods design, its by our sin. Again, God gives Joseph favor and success with the keeper of the prison, and he puts Joseph in charge of all the prisoners (Genesis 39:22). Even if all you want to do when you think of your wild (or judgmental or selfish or skeptical) college days is to crawl under the covers and wish for a do-over, God can use them. Why didnt God prevent Joseph from being sold? Adam, federal headship, and original sin. But if through my lie Gods truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? But how did this bird of paradise weep and bemoan himself under his sins! Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Because of Gods great love for us, Jesus bore not only the judgment of God for sin but also our sickness and disease. This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid of something. To him that is overcoming (Rev. 6) Sin puts the soul upon self-reforming. There is a duel fought every day between the two seeds. More precious than gold, We cant know all that God is doing through suffering and evil but we can be sure of one thing: God uses the pain we experience both for our good and His glory. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. By no means! For example, all the good works the Pharisees didtheir giving, fasting, and teachingwere done to bring glory to themselves, as they sought the praise and affection of people instead of God (cf. God judges sin. They are not going to want to hear the Bible say that the sinful selling of Joseph into slavery was, in fact, Gods sending of Joseph for the very salvation of the very ones who sold him. And the car died seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There will be no reward for them, only eternal condemnation and punishment. After God brought the plague to an end, David purchased the land around the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite in order to sacrifice to the Lord (2 Samuel 24:18-25 and 1 Chronicles 21:18-30). Our sins do not constitute the rule or standard or plumb line according to which God makes his decisions on how to treat us. He is in charge of everything in the story from the beginning. Leaving out the details, Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and sends for his father, and all the twelve tribes of Israel the chosen people of God move to Egypt. Do those of you who are older remember how humiliating it is to wait on the side of the road hoping someone might stop before you have to take out a white handkerchief and look foolish? If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, which is it? God had ultimate power and authority over Davids sin as he committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11-12), over Jobs sin as he wrestled with doubts of Gods justice , and over Judas sin as he betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26-28). Some ancient philosophers reasoned that suffering isnt really bad but offers people the opportunity to prove their true moral character. WebMany Arminians believe God can forgive sins at his discretion. Sin is left in a godly man, as a cancer in the breast, or a hunch upon the back, to keep him from being proud. Interesting articles too by noteworthy saints. Why does God allow suffering? Thats why Good Friday is God redeems our sin and uses it for good.
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