Forgiveness: There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Ask

Current Teaching Series The Seven Greatest Words of Love

Forgiveness: There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Ask By Rick Warren — Mar 6, 2017 “Yet now God declares us ‘not guilty’ of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins” (Romans 3:24 TLB). When you confess your sin to God, he does not rub it in. He wipes it out! But, there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for forgiveness. Let me tell you the wrong way. First, don’t beg. God wants to forgive you more than you want to ask for it. You’re not waiting on God. He’s waiting on you. Second, don’t bargain. Bargaining is saying, “God, if you will forgive me, I will never do this again!” If that’s your area of weakness, you will be back in that area of sin in a matter of hours or days. Don’t bargain with God and say, “I’ll never do it again,” because you will. Third, don’t bribe. Bribing is saying, “God, if you’ll just forgive me for this, I will …” You’ll go to church every week. You will read your Bible every day. You will tithe 15 … 20 percent! But God doesn’t want or need your bribe. So what do you do? You don’t beg, bargain, or bribe. You just believe. You believe the many promises of God that tell you if you confess your sins, he will forgive your sins. Period. Another great verse of promise is Romans 3:24: “Yet now God declares us ‘not guilty’ of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins” (TLB). I know what some of you are thinking: “Rick, you don’t know what I’ve done.” And you’re right. I don’t know what you’ve done. I don’t need to know what you’ve done. But I can tell you this: It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Your forgiveness is not based on how little or how much you’ve sinned. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. What matters is what Jesus has done for you. That’s what the cross is all about! When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant it. It’s done. The price has been paid. You can be forgiven today. Talk It Over Why do you think God wants you to confess your sin when he already knows everything you’ve done? What other promises in God’s Word assure you of God’s love and forgiveness? What is God waiting on you to confess today? PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

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Series Summary Message 1: ​The Word of Forgiveness Message 2: The Word of ​Assurance Message 3: The Word of Love Message 4: The Word of Substitution Message 5: The Word of Humanity Message 6: The Word of Victory Message 7: The Word of ​Trust PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at pastorrick.com. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe