We do not have to make ourselves suffer in order to merit forgiveness. We simply receive the forgiveness earned by Christ. 1 John 1:9 says that God forgives us because He is ‘just.’ That is a remarkable statement. It would be unjust of God to ever deny us forgiveness, because Jesus earned our acceptance! In religion we earn our forgiveness with our repentance, but in the gospel we just receive it.
Interpretation
Forgiveness is given freely by God through Christ, not earned through suffering or repentance.
This quote emphasizes the core Christian belief that forgiveness is not something to be earned through suffering or the act of repentance, but rather it is a gift received because of the just nature of God. Timothy Keller highlights that in religious practices, individuals often feel they must work for forgiveness, while the gospel teaches that it is already provided through the sacrifice of Jesus, making it accessible to all who believe.
In practice
In a church sermon about grace, this quote can be used to illustrate the nature of God's forgiveness.
Falling in love in a Christian way is to say,'I am excited about your future and I want to be part of getting you there. I'm signing up for the journey with you. Would you sign up for the journey to my true self with me? It's going to be hard but I want to get there.
Only in Jesus Christ do we see how the untamable, infinite God can become a baby and a loving Savior. On the cross we see how both the love and the holiness of God can be fulfilled at once.
All human problems are ultimately symptoms, and our separation from God is the cause.
While your character flaws may have created mild problems for other people, they will create major problems for your spouse and your marriage.
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.
God's Kingdom is "present in its beginnings, but still future in its fullness. This guards us from an under-realized eschatology (expecting no change now) and an over-realized eschatology (expecting all change now). In this stage, we embrace the reality that while we're not yet what we will be, we're also no longer what we used to be.
The alienation of man thus appeared as the fundamental evil of capitalist society.
I'm sure that everybody feels a kind of permanent anguish about what's going on in the world.
Words. Borne on the ever swelling current of hatred, like flowers opening in the current, petals peeling back, then falling apart.
Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.
How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?
If we all think only of our own interests, we are headed for collective disaster - just look at what we are doing to our planet's climate.
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