Most people like to go to amusement parks. They enjoy the rides. However, those same people wouldn’t want their lives to be like a roller coaster, plunging them down after each high point.
Salvation’s Roller Coaster?
I’ve known quite a few people who worry every time they commit a sin that if they died at that time they would not be saved. They think their status as “saved” is paused until they confess their sin and ask for forgiveness. I remember discussing this with other students at Bible college. It is kind of like being on a roller coaster. No one wants salvation to be like that. No one wants this kind of worry. I don’t want to worry about whether or not I’m saved each time I sin. My friends in college didn’t either.
A Sure and Steady Salvation
The passage in today’s lesson shows why we don’t have to worry. We recall when God “remembered” Noah during the Flood. Of course, God had never forgotten Noah. The Bible speaks about God remembering when he acts. When we read that God will “remember our sins no more” it means that he will not act on the basis of our sins. On Judgment Day, God will act on the basis of Christ’s blood, which has cleansed us of our sins.
In addition, the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice is contrasted with the old sacrifices that needed to be repeated. Christ’s sacrifice purifies us from all our sins. Confessing our sins after we have been justified is good, as John reminds us. However, we don’t need to worry about our “saved” status. When we confess Christ and are baptized into him, God forgives our sins on the basis of Jesus’ blood. He promised not to bring our sins against us. Jesus is the Perfect Redeemer. He won’t let us down. If he’s promised not to bring our sins against us, he won’t. We can relax, confident of God’s forgiveness. |L
Mike and Tabi Boyce are preparing to be missionaries to Chile, and live in Alliance, Ohio.
