And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity.] Romans 8:30 (AMP)
The world often portrays Christians as uneducated or crazy because we believe in God and the Bible. But don’t ever allow yourself to feel embarrassed about your beliefs. The truth is, everyone has beliefs, including those who don’t identify as believers.
As followers of Christ, today’s verse says we are declared free of the guilt of sin and dignified. Free and dignified—that’s how God wants us to feel!
When people forgive each other, we assume it means they’re no longer angry with the offending person. When God forgives us, it’s more than that. He removes the sin and shame and all of the things connected to it that would try to destroy your mind and your life. Then He replaces that old nature with a new nature, but you need to start believing it in order to feel and experience it.
What you have but don’t believe doesn’t work in life. For example, my wife Sally loves me. But if I don’t believe that, will I ever enjoy her love? Will I feel it or truly experience it even if it’s true? No, I won’t, so it’s critical to get into God’s Word and grow in knowledge and faith.
All of us struggle along the way with thoughts of, “Am I truly loved? Am I accepted? Am I forgiven?” But God’s Word repeatedly tells us how loved and completely forgiven we are in Him (John 3:16, Ephesians 4:32) and His answers to those questions are a solid yes to each one of us—but we must believe Him to experience it!
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