Instant Forgiveness and Salvation.

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" 
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you today; you shall be with Me in Paradise."
Luke 23:39-43

Two Sides.

by

Dwight L. Moody

The cross of Christ divides all mankind. There are only two sides, those for Christ, and those against Him. 

Think of the two thieves; from the side of Christ one went down to death cursing God, and the other went to glory. 

What a contrast! In the morning he is led out, a condemned criminal; in the evening he is saved from his sins. In the morning he is cursing; in the evening he is singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In the morning he is condemned by men as not fit to live on earth; in the evening he is reckoned good enough for heaven. In the morning nailed to the cross; in the evening in the Paradise of God, crowned with a crown he should wear through all the ages. In the morning not an eye to pity; in the evening washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb. In the morning in the society of thieves and outcasts; in the evening Christ is not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him down the golden pavements of the eternal city.

And that, my friends, is just what Christ wants to do for you. That is the business on which He came down from heaven. That is why He died. And if He gave such a swift salvation to this poor thief on the cross, surely He will give you the same if, like the penitent thief, you repent, and confess, and trust in the Savior.

Psalm 51 - David's Sin and God's Forgiveness.

Psalm 51 - What it means to me.

David wrote this song after he had committed adultery and murdered her husband. God forgave him.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Verse 10

Sometimes I say this prayer for myself. The previous verses spoke about being born sinful. We are all born that way and need to be born again, as Jesus said. Being born again means God giving us a new heart. Along with a new heart, David asks for a steadfast (constant, firm) spirit.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.  Verses 11-12

David asks for a willing spirit. All our willing to do good comes from God. Any good we have in us comes from Him. David had fallen so far he had lost his joy in salvation. He asks to return to God as he was before. God never turns us away, no matter what we have done. Many times there are consequences to what we do but God will be with us through that.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.  Verse 17

Micah chapter 6 deals with the sacrifice God loves.

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Psalm 38 - I Have Sinned.

Psalm 38 - What it Means To Me.

This is a prayer confessing sin and asking for God's forgiveness. All of us have felt guilty for things we have done and God will hear our prayer and forgive as he forgave David for adultery and murder.

Your arrows have pierced me,

and your hand has come down on me.

Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;

there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

My guilt has overwhelmed me

like a burden too heavy to bear.  Verses 2-4

The Treasury of David

"For thine arrows stick fat in me." By this he means both bodily and spiritual griefs, but we may suppose, especially the latter, for these are most piercing and stick the fastest. God's law applied by the Spirit to the conviction of the soul of sin, wounds deeply and rankles long; it is an arrow not lightly to be brushed out by careless mirthfulness, or to be extracted by the flattering hand of self-righteousness. The Lord knows how to shoot so that his bolts not only strike but stick. He can make convictions sink into the innermost spirit like arrows driven in up to the head. It seems strange that the Lord should shoot at his own beloved ones, but in truth he shoots at their sins rather than them, and those who feel his sin-killing shafts in this life, shall not be slain with his hot thunderbolts in the next world. "And your hand presses me sore." The Lord had come to close dealing with him, and pressed him down with the weight of his hand, so that he had no rest or strength left. By these two expressions we are taught that conviction of sin is a piercing and a pressing thing, sharp and sore, smarting and crushing.

For I am about to fall,

and my pain is ever with me.

I confess my iniquity;

I am troubled by my sin.  Verses 17, 18

Lord, do not forsake me;

do not be far from me, my God.

Come quickly to help me,

my Lord and my Savior. Verses 21,22

The Treasury of David

"Forsake me not, O Lord." Now is the time I need you most. When sickness, slander, and sin, all beset a saint, he requires the especial aid of heaven, and he shall have it too. He is afraid of nothing while God is with him, and God is with him evermore.

Psalm 32 - We Are Forgiven.

Psalm 32 - What it means to me.

Fortunate is the one

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord does not count against them

and in whose spirit is no deceit. Verses 1,2

It is a wonderful feeling to be forgiven. I have sinned against people and when they say they forgive me it gives me happiness and relief. To know God forgives every sin, even if we fall again and again - as Jesus said to Peter, 

"And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." Luke 17:4

Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.  Matthew 18:22

Jesus wants us to forgive as God forgives - a limitless amount of times.