God Is Not Mad At You – No Matter What! You’re Forgiven!

Do you remember what it was like when you were a child and did something wrong and got caught? Do you remember how bad you felt when your parents got mad at you and punished you for your offenses? Many of you had parents who punished you harshly and never showed you any mercy or grace and their anger towards you left a deep impression in your heart! Do you find that as an adult when you make a mistake or cause an offense you think that God might treat you in the same way? Do you find yourself lamenting over your failures and crying out to God to forgive you? Well today I want you to know you don’t have to do that anymore because God is NOT mad at you! He loves you unconditionally, forgave you before you ever sinned, and each day His mercy is new, and His grace is sufficient!

Romans 5:8-11 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

When Jesus took on all of the sin of the world at the Cross He paid the price for our deserved punishment and through His sacrifice He reconciled us to God through the shedding of His own blood! Now when God looks at us He sees us through that blood and this is what He says. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) That is so hard for some of us to hear because our entire lives we have been taught that God is mad at us and punishes us when we commit a sin.

Scriptures have been taken out of context like Proverbs 3:11-12 which says, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” People teach passages like this one to justify their thoughts that God chastens us with harshness and punishment. But in reality God chastens the New Covenant believer with His Word which is life giving! In tomorrow’s devotion I will speak more to this truth. We are now under grace and it is now the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, not the anger and judgment of God. In Romans 2:4 Paul writes, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

If we can come to understand this truth we can begin to release the false beliefs we have that view God as a mad God who is out to punish us in the same way our earthly parents did. Do you realize that when we sin (miss the mark) God is faithful in that He restores us to Himself by His grace! People counter me all the time on this and they say things like, “No the Holy Spirit convicts me of my sin and brings me to my knees to beg God for His forgiveness. Oh what a wretched man I am!” That is simply not true! Not one place in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.

The passage they are referring to and misquoting is John 16:8-11 where Jesus said, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” And what is the world’s sin? It is the sin of unbelief! And who does He convict of righteousness? The Believer! And who is judged? The ruler of this world! So if we have professed belief in Jesus Christ we are no longer of the world which means we are of the family of God as adopted sons and daughters, and we are no longer convicted of the sin of unbelief!

When we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our righteousness because Jesus has gone to the Father and now sits on the throne at His right hand! And when that conviction comes to the heart of one who receives it, he/she is overwhelmed by the love of God and His incredible kindness, and he/she is motivated to repent! And do you remember what repent means? It means “To make a change for the better as a result of remorse.” This is the beauty of our righteousness in Christ Jesus as New Covenant believers! Can you see it now? God doesn’t want us falling to our knees and begging Him for forgiveness for sins He already died for. He wants us falling to our knees and praising Him for the forgiveness of the sins He died for on the Cross! He wants us worshiping Him for the resurrected power of Christ that operates in us and holds us securely in right standing with Him by His grace!

God is not mad at us any longer! He is in love with us and sees us as completely restored to Him when He looks at us! I know this may be hard to hear because it contradicts what is taught in many churches around the world, but until we understand this and rebuke the false teaching we will not have any power to reach people with the true Gospel message! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is GOOD NEWS! It is life giving, joy filled, grace infused, love empowered, and worth sharing! If this is not what you are experiencing because you have been taught differently I want to encourage you to spend time in the New Testament which begins at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and read what is written. And if you come upon something you don’t understand ask for help in understanding it. God is faithful and His Spirit will lead you into all truth! If you have already come to understand God’s love and forgiveness, please find someone who is struggling with it and mentor them in the truth.

Prayer: God, You are a GOOD God who loves me so much! When I have a wrong view of You please remind me of what Mark 9:23-24 says, “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” I want to know you, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more! Open the eyes of my heart Lord and let me see you for who You are and who I am to You. Amen