Following the practice of repentance, the next step in the restoration process for those who fall into moral sin is reconciliation. This is simply the means of repairing a relationship to the level it was before the offence was committed. This has three primary facets, reconciliation before God, reconciliation with people who have been hurt or damaged by our poor decisions, and reconciliation with ourselves.
The good news is, if we have properly followed the earlier process of repentance, our reconciliation before God is complete. Confession and repentance before our loving Heavenly Father will allow him to forget our sin and see us as justified or “just as if I’d never sinned”! We have this promise in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God’s act of purification is complete. When our sin is forgiven, God chooses to forget it. Again, he gives us a promise on which we can hang this hope. Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
I began here because unless we accept that we are fully reconciled with God, we will never be free to pursue reconciliation with ourselves or others. Satan’s primary role is to deceive believers into doubting God. He began in the Garden of Eden with the challenge, “Did God really say…” This was followed by a misrepresentation of God’s truth. This tactic is still at play. Satan will throw lies at you such as, “How can God love you, much less forgive you when you have done such a vile thing?” Or “God knows that you are too weak to avoid that sin again. He won’t forgive you if he knows you are going to fail.” Let me repeat, THESE ARE LIES FROM SATAN! We have God’s promises noted above and there are many examples in Scripture that prove his word is dependable.
King David was an adulterer who resorted to murdering the husband of his mistress to cover his sin. He lied to do this. As we’ve looked at in earlier posts, when David cried out with a repentant heart, God forgave him and allowed him to serve his Lord and Israel faithfully for many years. God even calls David, “A man after my own heart!” When we repent of our sin, we MUST trust God that the sin is gone, and his love and forgiveness is solidly in place.
As was mentioned above, this is a vital starting point if we are ever going to reconcile with ourself and others. Next week, we will discuss how this plays out in these human relationships
. In the meantime, take time this week to affirm your trust in the power and authority of God to do in your life what he has promised to do.