Two thousand years ago, in order to redeem us from Satan’s hands, the Lord Jesus was crucified and became mankind’s sin offering. He forgave all our sins. Since then, every time when we commit sins, as long as we confess and repent to the Lord, our sins can be forgiven. However, in recent years, I often hear brothers and sisters say that though our sins are forgiven by the Lord, we still often tell lies and engage in deceit, and cannot keep the Lord’s teachings. Since the Lord’s precious blood has cleansed us of our sins, why do we still can’t resist sinning constantly?
Thank God for His preparation. Some time ago, I met Sister Yang, who has been a preacher for many years. About this question, she read me two passages, “At the time, Jesus’ work was the work to redeem all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer of sin, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed” (“The Vision of God’s Work (2)”). “Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons had already been planted within him and, after thousands of years of being corrupted by Satan, he has within him an established nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been redeemed, it is nothing more than a case of redemption in which man is bought at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him has not been eliminated. Man that is so defiled must undergo a change before becoming worthy to serve God. … For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of mankind sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even though the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)”).
Then Sister Yang fellowshipped with me, “The Lord Jesus forgave our sins through the redemptive work. These sins refer to the sins that violate God’s laws and commandments. We accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemption, so the Lord no longer treats us as sinners. When we commit sins, as long as we pray to the name of the Lord Jesus, and confess and repent to the Lord, our sins would be forgiven, and we would no longer be convicted and punished by law. However, the Lord Jesus only pardoned our sins; our inner arrogance, selfishness, deceit, evil etc., that is, our corrupt dispositions, are not purified. These are more corrupted things, running deeper than sins. If these satanic dispositions are not resolved, we cannot help but still commit sins and resist God. We may even commit sins that are even worse than breaking the law. For example, when we work with some co-workers, we can scheme against and have jealous disputes with each other for fame, gain, and status, and even attack and repel against others. When we fall ill, or our home life is troubled, or when we encounter something that is not agreeable to our conceptions, we can still blame God, and even deny and betray God. Nominally, we believe in God and follow God, but when we encounter things, we don’t seek the Lord’s words and practice according to the Lord’s requirements, instead, we ask the pastors and elders, and listen to and obey the words of them, without having a space for God in our heart. It can be seen that though our sins are forgiven through the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work, our sinful nature is still deep-rooted, and we can still often commit sins and resist God.
To solve this problem, there are prophecies in the Bible, ‘So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation’ (Hebrews 9:28). ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17). The Lord Jesus said, ‘He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:48). ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come’ (John 16:12-13). The Lord Jesus’ words are very clear. Because in the Age of Grace, people’s stature was small and they couldn’t bear it, the Lord Jesus didn’t tell people all the truth mankind needs for salvation. In the last days when the Lord Jesus returns, He will express the truth, to perform the judgment work beginning with the house of God, to completely remove our sinful nature, so that we can break free from the bondage of sin and our corrupt dispositions can be purified. In this way can we enter into God’s kingdom.”
The fellowship of Sister Yang benefits me a lot. So I’d like to share with all those who long for and seek the truth, hoping that more people can benefit from it.
