Category Archives: Forgiveness

Bible, Calmness, Forgiveness, Jesus, Peace, Scripture

KNOW GOD, KNOW PEACE; NO GOD, NO PEACE

ROMANS 3:17

“AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE WAY OF PEACE.”

Knowing true peace is so…well…peaceful. I am not sure how exactly to explain it. When I am in a deer stand in the woods waiting for a deer, I experience true peace. Hearing the woods come alive as the sun rises or goes to sleep as the sun begins to set, I have this overwhelming calmness. Sure, my heart is beating faster watching for the movement in the woods, but I am really at peace with God and man out there.

Paul again quotes from Isaiah as he starts to wrap up these several verses of Old Testament quotations. Here he quotes Isaiah 59:8 which reads, “They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever walks on them does not know peace.” As my title today says, KNOW GOD, KNOW PEACE; NO GOD, NO PEACE!

APPLICATION

Here is a great explanation of our need for peace based on this verse. “men are naturally ignorant of the way of peace with God; of the first step which God took towards it; of the council and covenant of peace, in which the scheme of it was drawn, and the method fixed; of Christ the peacemaker, and of the way in which he has made it; and of the Gospel, which reveals and publishes it.” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

We need peace. Jesus gave us His peace. In John 14:27 He said, “‘Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” Did you hear that? Do not be troubled or fearful. Why? Because we have His peace. Do you think Jesus was ever troubled or fearful? I don’t think so. Nor should we. If we are consistently walking with the Prince of Peace, we will forever be in His peace.

Jesus also told us in Matthew 5:9, “‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.’” Do you want to be known as a peacemaker, unlike those spoken of by Paul in today’s verse? Then you must have His peace. When you have the peace of God, you will be at peace with God. There’s an old song that says, “There’ll be peace like a river, peace like a river; there’ll be peace like a river in my soul.” Peace will flow through your life when you accept His peace and live for Him.

Lord God, I want to be at peace with You and all men. Give me more and more of Your peace as I continue to surrender my will to Yours.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Blood, Eternity, Forgiveness, Judging, Judgment, Scripture, Sin

WE WILL ALL BE JUDGED

ROMANS 3:7

“But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Queen Gertrude in speaking to the Player Queen says, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” The phrase refers to someone’s excessively strong or insincere denial of something, leading others to suspect they might be guilty or hiding something. That phrase popped into my head when I read today’s verse.

Paul is kind of playing the devil’s advocate here and throwing out another ridiculous question. Can our sins ever cause God’s glory to become greater? Paul isn’t insinuating that. He is really showing the folly of such thinking. But he knows that people want to rationalize their sinful decisions. After all, why should we be judged, right? Because we are sinful creatures in need of Savior.

APPLICATION

God’s glory is not enhanced by our sin. His glory is shown by how He responds to this sin by demanding adherence to His commands. You’ve heard it said that God’s ten commandments are not His ten suggestions. They are meant to be followed. When we choose to not follow them, we are subject to the punishment that will follow, sooner or later.

Why Carl, I’ve been a sinner all my life and God hasn’t stricken me dead yet. That’s right, not yet. But we know that our sins will find us out. We will be held liable for those sins at some point. We see people all around us who seemingly get away with all kinds of sinful behavior. They may not ever face the consequences this side of eternity, but their day is coming. Rest assured, God will not be mocked.

As I write this devotional blog today, the world has been rocked by yet another senseless murder. The man killed loved Jesus and will be seen as a martyr for Christ. Even his last few words were giving testimony to the work Christ had done. And then…the bullet came that took his life. We scream for justice. We scream for retribution. But Christ died for the very man who took Charlie Kirk’s life. Charlie would have been the first to share Jesus with him, if he had only asked. And if by chance this young man turns to Jesus before his death, Charlie will be there to welcome him into heaven.

Sins left unconfessed and uncovered by the blood of Christ will cost you everything. You will lose an eternity with God. But if you confess and turn to Him, all is forgiven, no matter the gravity of the sin. Have you done that?

O Lord, forgive us for judging others when we have no right to do so. You are the one who is worthy to judge all mankind.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Forgiveness, Jesus, Judging, Judgment, Salvation, Scripture

ONLY ONE JUDGE

ROMANS 3:6

“Far from it! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?”

There are only a few absolutes in this world. One is “There is a God,” and another is “You’re not Him.” You may have heard that before. In this day of more and more “graying,” people refuse the black and white decisions. You tend to justify just about anything. We blame criminal behavior on poverty or skin color. We excuse anti-authority behavior on the zeal of youth. Sorry, my friend. Our world is a world of absolutes.

There was never any question in Paul’s mind about who would judge the world. Of course, God would. He was the only judge who had that right. Albert Barnes makes these comments about this verse. “It may be remarked, however, that God will judge offences, not from what he may do in overruling them, but from the nature of the crime itself. The question is not, what good God may bring out of it, but what does the crime itself deserve? what is the character of the offender? what was his intention?”

You see, our choices do have consequences, quite often eternal ones.

APPLICATION

The concept of God’s right to judge mankind is written throughout Scripture. In Genesis 18:25b we read, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” If God is anything, He is a just judge. He rules every action equally. You may have heard it explained this way. God looks down on our sin as you might look down on a large city from above. From a great height it is not possible to tell which building is the tallest. All you see are the rooftops. God sees our sins that way. In His eyes sin is sin. All sin must be judged.

In Ecclesiastes 12:14 we are told, “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” Same truth! Every act will be brought to judgment. And in

Ecclesiastes 11:9c Solomon gets more direct. “Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.” There is no escaping God’s judgment for our sins unless…

The Great Judge provided the way of escape. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for all our sin. God judged His Son on that cross, demanding holy blood be spilled to cover us for eternity. God does have the right to judge, but He also loves us enough to give us a way out. Have you chosen that gift? Judgment will come. If you are in the family of God through Jesus, your judgment has been settled.

Father, thank You for being the only Judge Who can judge mankind and thank You for providing a way of escape.


If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Eternal Life, Forgiveness, Righteousness, Salvation, Scripture

RECKONED

ROMANS 2:26

“So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision?” 

Here in the South, the term “reckon” has a whole different meaning than we see biblically. Here we say, “Well, I reckon I can do that,” meaning I think I can do it. It’s often used in the shortened form of “reck’n” when asked if you think something is true or false. But this word is definitely not a slang word in Scripture. Let’s take a look.

The Greek word Paul uses here is logizomai. It has a lot of defining words attributed to it like impute, number, reason, suppose, credited, consider and as in today’s verse, regarded. It is used 41 times in the New Testament with 19 of those occurring in the book of Romans. Paul’s point in today’s verse is that these uncircumcised would be counted among the righteous if they kept the law just as any Jew would if he did.

APPLICATION

In Romans 4, logizomai is used in Paul’s discourse about Abraham. Look at what 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” Remember, Abraham was considered or reckoned by God to be righteous BEFORE he was circumcised. He was considered righteous BEFORE the law was given. So, being reckoned as righteous has nothing to do with law keeping or circumcision. It’s about the heart.

What do you reck’n? Are you reckoned as righteous in God’s eyes? If you have given your life to Him, you are. Nothing can change that. God looked you over and, knowing your heart, has reckoned you as righteous. Unlike Abraham, we have the Holy Spirit that seals that in us. No lie from the enemy can disrupt your righteousness in God’s eyes.

While you are reck’ning, think on these verses in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. “17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

God, I give You praise for reckoning me as righteous and for “not counting” my sins against me now.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Forgiveness, Grace, Judgment, Mercy, Payment, Repayment, Repentance, Scripture, Works

REPAYMENT PLAN

ROMANS 2:6

“who WILL REPAY EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:” 

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Payback is H..LL.” Right? I don’t want to sound crude, but some people take this seriously. If you hurt them, they will hurt you back. If you damage them in any way, they will make you pay. Gang wars are based on this. That’s why these fights never end. Our flesh thinks we have the right to retaliate. Paul addresses today the only One who has the right to repay someone for their actions.

In verse 6, Paul references a couple of verses, according to most scholars. His words here are not the literal words of these verses but more the idea behind them. God is holy and will not allow mankind to escape judgment. Albert Barnes says this, “It is not true that God will treat people according to their external conduct: but the whole language of the Bible implies that he will judge people according to the whole of their conduct, including their thoughts, and principles, and motives; that is, as they deserve.”

APPLICATION

One of the verses in Paul’s thoughts is Psalm 62:12 which says, “And faithfulness is Yours, Lord, for You reward a person according to his work.” The first “work” is our decision to follow Jesus. Did we give Him our all? I was reading an article this morning about the Discipleship Gospel. It said (and I agree) it is, “about both salvation and discipleship. All who respond to salvation are freely saved and, at the same time, called to discipleship by faith, no exceptions, no excuses (Mark 8:34–38; 1 Cor. 15:1–8). It is about kingdom life then and there (when we die), but also here and now (in this life). It is about surrendering to the risen and saving King to have our sins forgiven and our lives changed, so that we learn to die to ourselves and live for him (Galatians 2:20).” (What is the Discipleship Gospel? by Bobby Harrington and Curt Erskine)

Another possible verse on Paul’s mind in verse 6 is Proverbs 24:12. “If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’ does He who weighs the hearts not consider it? And does He who watches over your soul not know it? And will He not repay a person according to his work?”

Jesus makes mention of this repayment in Matthew 16:27. “‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.’” What is your response? I want to be repaid by God for my deeds – my good deeds, my allegiance to Him, my acts of kindness and mercy, my obedience to Him. Surrender your self-will for His will today. Then you can rest in the repayment plan issued by God Himself.

Father God, I know I will be judged by You for my works. Let every action I take reflect Your glory.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Excuses, Forgiveness, Judgment, Mercy, Scripture

NO EXCUSE

ROMANS 2:1

“Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, every one of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” 

That’s the bottom line – we have no excuse. After the past several verses of chapter 1, Paul simply says, “Therefore you have no excuse.” Have you ever had to admit that? I sure have. I’m 64 years old and have been married almost 40 years. There have many things I have done in those years for which I had no excuse. I have learned to just admit when I’m wrong (well, at least most of the time, lol). I don’t need to rationalize my decision.

The literal Greek for that first phrase is “Therefore inexcusable you are.” Ouch! The Greek word for “inexcusable” is anapológētos which has that same negative prefix alpha which we saw in 1:31. The second part of the word comes from apologeomai which means to defend or excuse. One source I looked at said it “frequently describes the hopelessness of trying to defend a case in court, while lacking an adequate defense.”

APPLICATION

But you have to read the rest of the verse to see what Paul is talking about. He is telling these Roman believers they had no right to judge those people he had just been writing about. In fact, he says, “for you who judge practice the same things.” Isn’t that still the case today? Usually, people who bark the loudest are the most guilty. Take the beam out of your own eye first, we are told.

Who will do the judging? God will. We will all stand before a holy God one day. Unbelievers will face a harsh judgment and be separated eternally from God. Believers will be judged on their works here on earth. But we will all face God. We have no excuse. We won’t be able to point our fingers at our spouses or employers or the government. No one is going to be held accountable for our sins but we ourselves.

When you see a brother or sister struggling in sin, pray for them. If you are able to help restore them, do that without entangling yourself. Remember, except for the grace of God, there you go also. None of us have arrived. We are all on this journey together. We have no excuse for our own sins. Repent today and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.

O Lord, forgive me for being judgmental of others and pointing fingers at their sin when I have sin in my own life which need to be confessed.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Church, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Masters, Scripture, Slaves

THE RETURN

COLOSSIANS 4:9

“and with him is Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.”

Sometimes people move away and then return years, maybe even decades, later. I know when I go home to visit my family in South Georgia, I may see someone I haven’t seen in a long time. Most of them I recognize, but some are almost unrecognizable. While I remain eternally youthful, they have aged badly. Lol. Seriously, people change when they move away.

Onesimus was no different. We know Onesimus from Paul’s letter to Philemon, his owner. We know from that book that Onesimus had run away and had perhaps stolen something from Philemon. Now Paul is sending him back home with a letter for the church. I am pretty sure he delivered that letter to Philemon at the same time. He is a changed man. He is now a believer.

APPLICATION

Paul had paired Onesimus up with Tychicus (whom we discussed the last two days) knowing that Tychicus could guide him well and speak on his behalf to Philemon and the church. Even though Onesimus had probably left on bad terms, he was now returning as a “faithful and beloved brother” of Paul. That in itself should have spoken loudly to his owner and the church. If Paul trusted him, they could too.

Whom has harmed you in the past, only to return to make things right later? What did you do? Did you forgive them? Did you listen to their story of how they had changed? Take another look at the book of Philemon and put yourself in his sandals. How would you have reacted?

As Christians, we must always look at what God has done in a person’s life and evaluate from God’s perspective. In today’s verse, it is obvious that Paul had placed a lot of trust in Onesimus. Now he was placing a lot of trust in Philemon and the Colossian church to receive him back with open arms as a brother in Christ.

When people see you after years apart, are they amazed at what God has done in your life? Are you a shining example of God’s grace and mercy? Our goal should always be to encourage others in their walk and live a life that reflects His glory. Let us all strive to be like Onesimus, faithful and beloved.

Lord, You have done such wonderful works in all of our lives. Thank You.

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Bible, Christ, Forgiveness, Scripture, Wronged

FORGIVENESS

COLOSSIANS 3:13

“bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.”

Forgiveness! This is probably the top personal relationship issue that brings Christian growth to a halt or pushes one’s growth to higher levels. Forgiving someone is not an option. It’s a command. We are expected to forgive others when they do us wrong – even if they don’t realize they have harmed us. I’ve had to deal with this. I am sure you have as well.

Paul is continuing his thought from verse 12 (take a sec and review that verse). In verse 13, he addresses the issue of forgiveness. It is important to note that the two verbs in this verse – “bearing with” and “forgiving” are actually participles tied back to the main verb in verse 12 which is “put on.” In other words, to be able to bear with someone or forgive someone you must first have put on this new heart Paul talks about.

APPLICATION

As I read Albert Barnes’ words on forgiveness on this verse, I felt I needed to share his words in entirety. So, here they are:

“If any man have a quarrel against any – Margin, ‘or complaint.’ The word used here – μομφή momphē – occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, ‘fault found, blame, censure;’ and here denotes occasion of complaint. The idea is, that if another one has given us just occasion of complaint, we are to forgive him; that is, we are:

(1) to harbor no malice against him;

(2) we are to be ready to do him good as if he had not given us occasion of complaint;

(3) we are to be willing to declare that we forgive him when be asks it; and,

(4) we are always afterward to treat him as kindly as if he had not injured us – as God treats us when he forgives us; see the notes at Matthew 18:21.

Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye – Learn here that Christ has power to forgive sin; compare the Matthew 9:6 note; Acts 5:31 note. Christ forgave us:

(1) freely – he did not hesitate or delay when we asked him;

(2) entirely – he pardoned all our offences;

(3) forever – he did it so as to remember our sins no more, and to treat us ever onward as if we had not sinned.

So we should forgive an offending brother.”

Wow! No way to say that better. Forgive each other! Bear with each other! Just as Christ forgave you, forgive them. And that means we must die – die to our rights, die to our emotions, die to our self! Can you do that today?

Forgiveness can be hard, Lord. Give me the ability today to forgive those who have wronged me and those who even refuse to offer me forgiveness.

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Bible, Blood, Forgiveness, Redemption, Sacrifice, Scripture

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

COLOSSIANS 1:14

“in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Forgiveness is a big thing! Probably the biggest struggle Christians wrestle with is forgiveness. Many can’t believe that God would forgive them of all their sins. They were just too bad. Others believe because God has forgiven them of their sins, they are free to live any way they want. Both thoughts are in error. That reminds me of Matthew 22:29 where Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” I think that verse applies to this topic of forgiveness.

Paul is reminding these Colossian believers that their forgiveness rests only in the redemption they received through the blood of Christ. We do not have the ability to pay the price required by God. He demanded shed blood and not just any blood. It required the divine, pure blood of the Lamb of God. That redemption was provided for all of us for eternity. We just have to accept the free gift offered and live for Him.

APPLICATION

The Greek word used here for “redemption” is apolýtrōsis. HELPS Word Studies gives this definition, which I think is so good. It “emphasizes the distance (“safety-margin”) that results between the rescued person, and what previously enslaved them. For the believer, the prefix (apó) looks back to God’s effective work of grace, purchasing them from the debt of sin and bringing them to their new status (being in Christ).”

We have been delivered a safe distance from sin’s power and the penalty of it. We just have to believe that Christ has done that. We don’t have to understand it. We just accept it. If we could really understand all that went into our forgiveness, it would not be a God given miracle, would it? Accept it and believe it.

How about the extension of that forgiveness to others? If Christ has forgiven us so much, can’t we forgive those who have hurt us? This is another part of forgiveness that cripples so many believers. In order to please our Lord, we must forgive others as He has forgiven us. Everything else falls short. Forgive someone today.

Lord, thank You for forgiving me. I know I did not deserve it, but I am so thankful for it.

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Abiding, Bible, Forgiveness, Holy, Imitation, Righteousness, Scripture

IMITATE

EPHESIANS 5:1

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;” 

Isn’t it cute when you see a small child imitating their parent? When we lived in South Carolina, my son when he was three or four years old would follow behind me as I mowed the lawn with his little bubble mower. Do you remember those? They would blow out tiny little bubbles as you pushed it. He loved that thing and would pretend to be cutting the grass with me. (Don’t worry, we had him following a safe distance.) And now, guess what he does for a living. Yep, he has his own lawncare and landscaping business.

Paul begins chapter five (there really weren’t any chapters in the original) with a continuation of the idea he was writing in the previous verses. The word “therefore” ties these two chapters together. Then he says, “be imitators of God.” Okay, Paul, let’s keep that bar high. Imitate God? It’s not possible, right? God does not expect us to be just like Him, only to strive to be like Him. We will not reach perfection until we receive our glorified bodies in heaven. Until then we imitate Him.

APPLICATION

The word used by Paul here for “imitators” is mimētḗs. It is used five other times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14 and Hebrews 6:12) and each time in a positive manner. It means to act like or mimic someone. In fact, we get our English word “mimic” from the root of the word. It refers to emulating someone worthy of it. And certainly, God is worthy. Amen? So, mimic Him. But what does that mean?

In Gill’s Exposition we read, “Be ye therefore followers of God,…. Not in his works of infinite wisdom and almighty power, which is impossible; but in acts of righteousness and holiness, and particularly in acts of mercy, goodness, and beneficence; as in forgiving injuries and offences, and in freely distributing to the necessities of the saints; as the connection of the words with the preceding chapter, and the instance and example in the following verse show: and this should be done by the saints,.”

Can you be righteous and holy? Yes! Can you show mercy and goodness and be benevolent? Yes! Can you forgive someone? Yes! Can you provide for the needy? Yes! So, we can all mimic or imitate God, if we want to. Do you want to?

Father, help me follow Your example each and every day.

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