I Did a Terrible Thing

Everyone has done a terrible thing at some point. We are all guilty.

Are there skeletons in your closet? Is there a terrible thing, or more than one, in your past which you want to keep in the past? Have you done things for which you are deeply ashamed? If we live long enough to discover the difference between right and wrong. Then, sin comes to be a plague on the soul of every man. The only exception I am aware of is Jesus. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Only He never did a terrible thing to anyone.

No one can honestly say, “I have never sinned!” We all have regrets. There are things in our past which we would undo if we could. I’m not interested in dredging them up, but I do want to acknowledge that the Lord has a remedy for them. It is His blood. It can forgive and wash away the guilt of every terrible thing we have ever done. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

The depth of God’s forgiveness is one of the hardest lessons in life to grasp, and one of the most important. God loves us! Christ died for us! His blood can cleanse us! He is no respecter of persons. His forgiveness is accessible to all, but on His terms, not ours. If we truly believe in Him, will repent of our sins, confess His name, and be baptized, His blood will cleanse, and He will add us to His church. As long as we walk in the light (are faithful to our commitment), His blood continues to provide cleansing. And, when we sin, doing another terrible thing, if we will confess those sins and seek His forgiveness, we will find it (1 John 1:7-10).

We are all guilty, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, we all have access to the same remedy, His blood, and we can share in the forgiveness He came to provide. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

God’s love, mercy and grace are sufficient to save. Three names immediately come to mind – David, Peter, and Paul.

• King David, though called “a man after God’s own heart,” committed adultery, tried to cover it up, and then conspired to have the woman’s husband murdered. Yet, when he sought forgiveness, God granted it. Of course that did not mean that David avoided the consequences of his sin. He had to live with his mistakes, but God still forgave him.
• In a moment of weakness, Peter denied his Lord three times, but when he recognized his sin, he repented in tears. Christ forgave him, and did not remove the “keys of the kingdom” from his hands.
• As Saul of Tarsus, Paul was an ardent persecutor of Christians. He operated under the misguided belief that he was serving God when he hunted down, arrested, and brought to trial men and women whose only crime was believing in Jesus. When he discovered the truth and turned to Christ, he also found forgiveness (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

They each did a terrible thing, but God forgave them. If they could be forgiven, then so can we. Will you accept His forgiveness?

Salvation:  Hear - Believe - Repent - Confess - Be Baptized - Live Faithfully