Devotion: Do you have the assurance that your sins are forgiven?

1 Corinthians 15:17 – And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

We have just marked Easter, the second-biggest holiday on the Christian calendar after Christmas, though in my opinion, it should be the biggest. It is during Easter that we celebrate the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the question we need to always ask ourselves is; what are the benefits of the resurrection? Yes, we believe that Jesus died, was buried and three days later he rose from the dead, but what does that mean for you and me? Why is this such a big deal? One of the most famous bible verse world over is John 3:16

John 3:16 (NKJV) – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God loved us so much but remember we were in a sinful state as a result of the original sin committed in the garden by Adam and Eve. God, in his love for us and in his desire to still connect with us as his children, sent Jesus his only-begotten son, the perfect sinless sacrifice to die on the cross to pay the debt we owed once and for all so that whosoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have everlasting life. He took our sin upon himself and gave us his life, abundant!

When we elaborate on the benefits of the resurrection, top on the list is that our sins are forgiven if we believe in Jesus, and we are reconnected back to God the father!

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) – For the wages of sin is death, but the [a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The sad reality is that some have rejected the gift, but is readily available to anyone who will claim it. As we remember the death burial and resurrection of Christ, let us not forget that it was through his death and resurrection that our sins are forgiven, and we have access to the father, and we are given eternal life!

Ephesians 1:7-9 (NKJV) – In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [a]prudence,

Reflections

Do you have the assurance that your sins are forgiven?
What is one thing someone did that you struggled or still struggle to forgive?
When was the last time you told somebody that if they believed in Christ, then their sins are forgiven? Tell someone this week.