Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!
7 Promises – I am Forgiven
In the scriptures, the following words jumped out to me:
- Testify
- Receives
- Condemnation
Question: What happens if someone does not believe that Jesus Christ is their savior?
Testify: to make a statement based on personal belief or knowledge
First, to be clear, the “him” they are talking about in Acts 10:43 is Jesus Christ. I really enjoyed learning about the word testify! I often hear about prophets testifying in the Bible, but many times I looked past this word and focused more on other parts of scripture. However, it is important to make note of this. Testifying is based on personal beliefs or knowledge. Many of the prophets who are testifying during this point in scripture had had a personal relationship with Jesus. Sometimes the real history of the Bible can get lost in the translation or interpretation of it, so it is important to remember that when we read about these prophets testifying, their word means a great deal to us! They were there!
Receive: to come into possession of; suffer, experience; welcome, greet
To come into possession of… At first, this definition made me uncomfortable. Any time I think of the word “possession” I think of worldly goods. Forgiveness is not something we can tangibly hold in our hands. It’s not something that can be stolen from us or given away. Then I realized I am taking a very human approach to this definition. God can give us forgiveness, and it is through him that we can possess it. God’s forgiveness cannot be stolen away from us because it’s a Godly gift! A gift was given by the death of His son Jesus Christ. We are so lucky to be in possession of this gift.
To suffer or experience
When I think of God’s forgiveness, I never associate that with suffering. I actually think the opposite! We suffer from sin, and with God’s forgiveness, we have that sin removed from us! This definition is humbling to me for a few reasons. First, it is a good reminder that Jesus suffered in order to let us experience freedom from sin. Without him, we would not be able to join our Father in heaven.
Second, the world still sins, we still sin. Try as we might, we will still suffer some of the effects of sin in our lives, whether that be our own, or others. Finally, just because we believe in God, doesn’t mean life will be easy from now on. It is hard to live a life of righteousness, and I know I often get it wrong. I will continue to suffer for my shortcomings, but there is so much hope residing in the name of Jesus.
Finally, to greet or welcome! This definition fills me with joy! I welcome the freedom that comes with believing in Jesus and thus receiving his forgiveness! Though there are many lessons to learn when diving into the definition of receive, this one will continue to lift my spirits.
Condemnation: the action of condemning someone to a punishment; sentencing
This definition serves as a good reminder of what life could have been like for us. As humans we do sin and we do deserve to be punished for that sin. However, we are in Jesus Christ and so there will be no eternal punishment for us!
Question: What happens if someone does not believe that Jesus Christ is their savior?
This is a big question that cannot be answered in this scripture alone, or can it? I’ll be honest this is something I truly wrestle with within my faith and I do not know the answer. I try to shy away from blanket statements such as “all those who believe in Jesus will be saved and all those who do not believe in him will spend eternity in Hell.” I feel this leaves out so many factors! What about those who never had the chance to hear about the Word of God? It’s not their fault they live in an area of the world that did not allow them to learn about Him. Or what about those who believe in God but many not be sure about Jesus? What about those who believe in God and Jesus but commit atrocities?
I think I will continue to wrestle with this question for many years to come. This may be one of those questions that I will never find an answer to. God is all-knowing, and I trust that he has a plan for all.
Personal belief or knowledge
The phrase that stood out to me most in these scriptures was the definition of the word. I believe we can all testify for the Lord our God. As we wind down 2019 and approach 2020, I hope to do this more! This blog is one of the big outlets for me to do so. I know I do not have all the knowledge in the world, but I do have a personal belief in God and I have a strong desire to share that with the world! I’m forgiven, this is one of the promises God has made me.