Forgiveness:

 

            Forgave our transgressions:

 

Colossians 2:13-14

13     When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

     14     having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

     

            Again, we don’t have to get good enough for God to forgive us. Jesus’ death, long before we came to Him, was all that was needed. And, we don’t have to earn salvation. It is a gift. God not only forgave us, He made us alive together with Jesus when He was raised from the grave. There was a certificate of debt against us. It told of all the laws of God that we had broken. There was no way that we would have ever been able to repay the debt that we owed. When the nails went into Jesus’ hands and feet, that certificate of debt was nailed to the cross with Him. It no longer applies to us. It applies to the “old man” that we were.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have forgiven you My child. There is nothing that you have done that is so terrible that I would not forgive you. When My Son died on the cross, it was enough to take care of all your sins, not just the ones others would say are little. There is nothing that will be held against you. No one can lay a charge against you, for My salvation is bigger than all things. Trust in Me that I am able to do this and have already accomplished it.”

 

            7. God has forgiven me all my transgressions that I committed before I came to Him. There is nothing that I have done that He has not forgiven me. My debt which I could not pay has been erased for ever.

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day

Believe in the Son:

 

John 6:40

40     “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

 

            This means that since we have believed in the Son, we can be certain that we have eternal life. Also, we know that we will not spend eternity in the grave. If we should die, Jesus will raise us from the grave when He returns. This is the great hope that we have. Remember that Paul said we hope for that which we do not yet see. If I have a dollar in my hand, I don’t have to hope that soon I’ll have one. I already have it. Hope in the Bible is not a wishful thinking. It is a confident expectation. One day we will see that hope realized.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You have beheld My Son. It pleases Me that you looked on Him with a favorable eye. That is the way I look upon Him continually and the way I look upon you. Trust in Me and My words. I will raise you up on the last day. There is no doubt that should arise in your heart. I have promised it, and I will do it.”

 

            6. I have believed in the Son, Jesus. Therefore I have eternal life and will be raised from the dead, if I die before He returns.

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come

 Book of Life:

 

Revelation 17:8

8     “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 

            This verse says that our names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. We’re not going to debate predestination … that is, God decided who would get saved and who wouldn’t with us not having a free will to choose or refuse. We will just say that God knew who it was that would accept His Son as Savior. So He wrote down the names from the beginning. He wasn’t waiting for us to get good enough. You can’t. That’s why it took the blood of the spotless Lamb of God to save us.

           

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I knew that I wanted you from the beginning. I wanted you so much that I wrote your name in My book of life. It was because I knew you would love Me and want to be with Me forever.”           

 

            5. My name was written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. Therefore, I am confident that one day I will be with Him.