Barbara Latta
To Feel Loved We Must Know that Our Guilt Was Paid For
We are born guilty because of our fallen nature; but because of what Christ did, we are not held accountable. Our guilt has been paid for.
When we are born again, we receive a new nature. The dead spirit is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). Yet we still have a mind that defaults to the old nature. Our spirit is reborn, but our thinking must be re-programmed to discover what God has done for us and how we are to live in our new life (Romans 12:1-2).
Our conscience is the compass that guides us toward good against evil. When we veer off course, we feel remorse because we know we went the wrong way. As long as we follow this guide as correction and not a punishment from God, we are letting our hearts fulfill the right purpose. Other people can punish us, the devil can accuse us, and we can condemn ourselves, but it is not God (John 3:17).
(Romans 8:1-2) tells us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
We were saved from wrath so we shouldn’t feel fear of punishment. Unbelievers are convicted so they will turn to the Lord (John 16:8-9). But once we receive the new nature, unrighteousness is gone and so is the sentence against it.
God poured out His wrath upon His own Son so that when we accept Him we are not judged.
To Feel Loved We Should View God Through the Cross
When our image of God is through the eyes of Old Testament restrictions and judgment, traditions of men, or past experiences we don’t understand, we won’t see Him as the loving Father He is.
Do we approach God through fear of punishment? We will see Him as an angry God.
Do we see God through rules? We will come to Him through our works.
Do we focus on God from lack of understanding? We will view Him through confusion.
We can’t know the true nature of God until we understand the finished work of the cross. The ultimate love that destroyed the debt that separated us from the Father is the sacrifice of His Son.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
The word gospel (Strong’s Greek 2098) means good news. It is too good to be true that God would put Himself in our place when we are the ones who transgressed. No other religion in the world is based on love or has a god that would punish itself in the place of its subjects. Only the true God who IS love could do this.
The Bible says anything that is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23b). If we are not in faith that our guilt is gone, then we are in disobedience.
To Feel Loved We Must Know Our Inheritance
In the first chapter of Ephesians Paul mentions several gifts we have been given because of the victory Christ won:
Every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
Holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)
Adopted as sons (Ephesians 1:5)
Acceptance (Ephesians 1:6)
Redemption and forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7)
Sealed in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
A person who received a large inheritance in the Last Will and Testament of a relative who died wouldn’t go back to living the way they did before. They would celebrate the gift they had received, and they would pursue a different lifestyle.
The resurrection of Christ gave us His Last Will and Testament (Hebrews 9:18). When we live with a righteousness mindset instead of dwelling on offenses, we can live in the freedom of acceptance. Damnation was executed. We don’t need to resurrect it. We inherited righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
