Has God Forgiven Every Rotten Thing I Did?

     Question to O. A.:  I’m a Christian with a simple but important question.  Has God forgiven me for every rotten thing I’ve done in my life?  J. P. in Nevada.

     Dear J. P.:  The short answer to your question is, “Yes.”  You’re a Christian, so God has forgiven you for every rotten thing you’ve done.  The early Christian writer, John, said, “If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins and will purify us from all unrighteousness.”  In his language, John’s word “all” means each thing, everything, anything, and all things.  That’s pretty inclusive.

     What deed could be so horrible that Jesus’s death on the cross didn’t pay for it?  Didn’t His death pay for bank robbery?  Murder?  Drug abuse?  Child abuse?  Lying, cheating, stealing?  Divorce, fornication, adultery, kidnapping, and abortion?  The answer down through history has been, “Yes.”  However, reading between the lines of your question, it sounds as if there’s something you’ve done for which you haven’t forgiven yourself.

     It’s usually harder to forgive ourselves than it is to accept the fact that God has forgiven us.  That’s because the motivation of our selfish human nature tends to enjoy a continuous pity-party.  There’s only one solution for pity-parties: and that’s to be motivated by the inner Holy Spirit.  That’s why Paul, the early Christian writer, said, “Be filled with the Spirit!”  He wrote that sentence in the “command tense” – the tense that army officers used to give orders to their troops.

     So God has commanded us to be filled with the Spirit.  He doesn’t just suggest it or recommend it.  Why?  Because the only time we can feel the full impact of God’s supernatural forgiveness is when we’re Spirit-Filled.  That’s why I begin each day by praying, “Fill me, Holy Spirit.”  Then I pray it again every time I think of it during the day.  I urge you to do the same thing, and you’ll feel God’s full forgiveness for every rotten thing you’ve done.