HE PARDONS INIQUITY: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 7TH DECEMBER 2018.

MEMORISE:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1 John 2:1

READ: Isaiah 55:7-11

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

MESSAGE

Our God is the Righteous and Merciful Judge who does not change. Although He cannot behold iniquity, He still forgives sin when all the conditions He has set for pardon are met. 

The Holy Spirit reveals these conditions in Isaiah 55:7, saying:

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

From this scripture, it is clear that our God pardons iniquity. He does this because He loves sinners, even though He hates their sins. Those who profess to speak for God should have this truth at the back of their mind. 

Some religious zealots today cannot fathom why God will pardon the sins of those who have committed so much evil. I will refer such people to the words of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 55:8:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

The will of God for sinners is that they should repent so that He can pardon their iniquity. Religious zealots are like Jonah who knew this truth and yet refused to go and preach to Nineveh. 

He actually wanted God to destroy them. Nevertheless, he was forced to preach to them, and even though their sins were great, God pardoned them when they repented. Jonah 3:10 says:

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

Surprisingly, Jonah was very angry with this outcome.

Jonah’s attitude sounds shocking and unbecoming of a prophet, but you need to ask yourself if you are not a Jonah in disguise. Are you like the Pharisees who grumble whenever Jesus forgave any sinner? 

Do you look at unbelievers around you with disdain, believing that they are too beneath you for you to relate with or share the word of God with them? 

Do you find yourself getting upset when you hear that a really bad person has given his life to Christ, thinking that such a person deserves to suffer in hell? Do you write people off as being irredeemable? If you fit any of these descriptions, then you are a 21st century Jonah and you need to repent too.

ACTION POINT:

Pray for unsaved souls around you, that God will touch their hearts and bring them to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Daniel 1-2 John 8:12-30

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 3: WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SINS?

1. What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

o Refrain:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2. For my cleansing this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my pardon this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

3. Nothing can for sin erase
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of works, ‘tis all of grace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

4. This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.