TRUSTING GOD’S PROMISE OF FORGIVENESS
‘David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works’ (Rom. 4:6, NIV).
Two thousand years before Christ, and before the law was given through Moses, Abraham was declared righteous before God, not because of anything that he had done in terms of sacrifice or obedience, but simply because he put his faith in God. He had trusted God with varying degrees of success over the previous decade, but now his faith was defined – it was a turning point, as he leans his weight totally on the promises of God. In unpacking this truth, Paul points us to David, a man after God’s own heart but who knew how to sin – he broke three commandments in the disaster that was his affair with Bathsheba – covetousness, adultery and murder. There was no provision for this under the law, so David was in a place of hopelessness. But he was able to affirm that God had forgiven him anyway, even though there was nothing that he could do about his terrible crimes. He could only cast himself upon the mercy of God, and trust Him for grace.
If we are going to progress in our own faith treks, we need to allow God to forgive us, and believe that He has done it and will do it. Abraham had made some terrible and costly mistakes – and there would be more to come. But faith leans totally on mercy, enabling us to walk forward, without dragging the tonnage of our past failures along with us. Being forgiven isn’t based on feeling, but belief and trust. And it leads to thanksgiving and a sense of blessing, as Psalms 32:2 makes clear. (‘Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit’ (NIV)