Solus Christus- Christ Alone Forgives Sins

DAY 31- 3/31/17 CHRIST ALONE FORGIVES SINS

No one can forgive sins but God alone…but that you may know the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, take up your mat and walk.    (Mark 2:7ff)
All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. (Acts 10:43)

Thoughts: Our hope is not in ourselves and Christ or someone and Christ.  We fail ourselves.  Others fail us.  Christ never failed and never fails.  What makes us realize our sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west is that Christ has paid the price for them.  Many do not name “forgiveness” as their problem. Guilt and shame are not perceived in our culture.  But alienation from others, depression and loneliness, and purposelessness are aching and nagging problems.  But the root of these things is our own selfishness and pride- which are also sins that we must somehow get past.  Sadly, we usually cannot name our basic sin, but we can only name the symptoms without naming any kind of real cure.  The cure to emptiness, depression, and purposelessness is the hope offered by Christ- and that is the hope of the cross.  It is on the cross alone that we can get past our past failures and alienations to move on in life.  Forgiveness is not made up for by doing good.  For how much good do we need to do?  We cannot earn our way to feeling better and being reconciled to God, others, and ourselves.  If we could, then we could boast about how good we are.  However, Christ gives us a way to pay our debt from outside of ourselves.  The Creator who designed things and holds things to account- also made a way to reconcile us to Himself.  He Himself has paid the price and bore our sins.  To think that we have added to that payment by our own small acts of goodness is demeaning to the majestic cost of the cross.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the forgiveness offered in Christ.