The word remit means to forgive. Remission of sins, therefore, means the forgiveness of sin. Now, God is not out there forgiving us, he has already forgiven us. It is left for us to just believe. It is in believing that you receive the forgiveness that Christ paid for with his blood (Acts 10:43).
If you think there is something for you to do to receive complete forgiveness then you are working for it. It is Jesus blood alone that brings forgiveness. You may say what about the scripture that says you must forgive others before God can forgive us. This scripture was spoken in line with the law before Christ’s crucifixion. His death changed that. We are to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32). This shows that as believers, we have forgiveness. It is not that he is forgiving us. He has forgiven us.
So focus more on His forgiveness. Those who focus on their sins will always live a defeated life. Always running from God because they feel God wants nothing to do with them until they get their act right. Act right by running to God. That is how we deal with condemnation because in Christ there is none (Romans 8:1).
Condemnation is in two folds, guilt and bitterness. Guilt comes as a result of something you have done wrong. Bitterness comes when someone does you wrong. Forgiveness breaks the chain of both of them and brings freedom. Knowing you are forgiven makes you forgive others and makes you forgive yourself.
You should be running to God in whatever state you are in because through his son’s finished work, he will be merciful to your unrighteousness and your sin and iniquity he will remember no more (Hebrews 8:12).
The forgiveness of sin deals with two (2) things:
- The consciousness of sin
- The consequences of sin
Consequences of Sin
There are consequences for any decision you make. If you borrow money, there is a chance that if you cannot pay it back you could get arrested. When you were a sinner, all that sin represents has the legal license to operate in your life. But now that you are in Christ it does not have any power over you.
Sickness has no power over you. Christ has paid the price for you to be healthy. Sin is the root of sickness, the forgiveness of sin is the cure. Isaiah 33:24 shows us that we are not supposed to say I am sick. We are supposed to be saying what Christ has done. We are to say intentionally I am the healed of the Lord.
Consciousness of Sin
When thoughts come to your head of all the wrongs you are doing or have done and you leave the thoughts to run freely, it can handicap you. You will begin to believe that God is angry with. You won’t pray or even do any spiritual exercise believing that since God is angry with me there is no need. That is sin consciousness. You feel you deserve to be sick, poor or a failure. That is sin consciousness. What will you do if you knew that God is never angry with you and always with you? Would you keep on sinning or would you begin to live above sin? How can we that are dead to sin live any longer in it (Romans 6:1-2). Bad habits are hard to break when you feel God is not for you. Then you go in your strength and keep losing. Where there is forgiveness, there is no barrier. When you know he is for you, nothing will hold you back from victory.
In Romans chapter 5 – chapter 8, sin is mentioned 41 times. Once as a verb (Romans 6:15) and 40 times as a noun. This means that sin is given the characteristics of a person. It is represented as a person. The old man who represents the sin nature is dead. It cannot resurrect, only Jesus has the power to resurrect. You are now a new creature that represents the righteous nature. So we have the power over the law of sin and death. That is the way we ought to live.
