TOPIC: GOD IS PERFECT LOVE
Bible Reading: Nehemiah 7-8; Acts 3
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jeremiah 31:34 (KJV)
At the core of the gospel is the fact that God in Christ Jesus has forgiven us because His life has been freely given for us. Ultimately forgiveness is the true strength of love because the love that cannot forgive is weak and impotent. Our Father is all powerful, all knowing and He is everywhere, yet the Bible calls Him Love. 1 John 4:8 (KJV) says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” The Father is LOVE and the test of His character is that He forgives us perfectly without reservation and keeps no record of any wrong done.
1 John 4:18 gives us insight into what love is and the power of forgiveness that it bequeaths. It says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” If God is love then we can say, whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached God’s PERFECTION. God will never bring fear to you. He is never going to punish you again because, in Christ Jesus, He has forgiven you all of your sins.
The word translated as ‘perfect’ in 1 John 4:18 means ‘mature.’ It doesn’t speak of maturity in the context of ‘length of time’ but in the context of ‘character.’ This means that God is not ‘Perfect Love’ because He is the ‘ancient’ of days, He is perfect love because by ‘character’ He defines and embodies whatever could be said to be love and perfect love forgives completely without scars and restores whatever was lost. God’s forgiveness is His strength. No wonder it is said that to forgive is divine!
Our text says that the way we will know God for ourselves is that regardless of our spiritual position – whether we feel like the least or the greatest – God has forgiven us completely. He doesn’t remember our sins so we are not afraid of judgment. We live free and forgiven.
It is in the power of His love that we rise to live out everything He has made us.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, because You have forgiven me all my sins and I can now lift my hands in praise without fear.
Pastor Alfred Samuel