Digital Logos Edition
Every Christian has experienced days or even seasons of feeling extreme guilt over past or present sins, thinking that God is angry or disgusted with them—sometimes even wondering if they’re truly saved. This often happens when believers fixate on their sins while forgetting what Christ has already done on their behalf at the cross. Sam Storms explains it this way: “What consumes us is what we have done by sinning. What ought to consume us is grateful meditation on what God has done with our sinning.”
In his latest book, Storms addresses this anxiety over sin by reminding believers of the good news of the gospel. Beginning with an explanation of the glory of penal substitution, he walks through 12 things God did with their sin, including forgiving it, passing over it, and casting it into the depths of the sea. He also explains 3 things God will never do with their sin, such as counting it against them. Walking through the Bible’s teaching, Storms helps believers find freedom, joy, and peace in knowing what God has done (and will never do) with their sin through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus.
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“When it comes to my eternal union with God, I have been fully and finally forgiven of all my sins—past, present, and future. I need never again ask for forgiveness for sins when it comes to my salvation or my eternal union with God or my deliverance from guilt and the divine wrath it evokes. But when it comes to my sanctification or my daily experiential communion with God, I need to confess and receive forgiveness in order that I might fully enjoy and delight in and be satisfied with all that God has done for me in Christ.” (Page 23)
“Let me tell you why we think this way. Let me tell you why you aren’t living in the fullness of the joy and peace and satisfaction in your relationship with God that you so desperately desire. It comes down to one thing and one thing only: you and I have failed to believe what God himself says he has done with our sins. What consumes us is what we have done by sinning. What ought to consume us is grateful meditation on what God has done with our sinning.” (Page 18)
“At the cross of Jesus, God’s morally serious conscience and his mercifully generous heart combined perfectly to forgive us. God feels good about forgiving our sins. Which means we can feel good about being forgiven.” (Page 9)
“Simply put, either Jesus bears the wrath of God in your place or you bear it yourself.” (Page 34)
“Some of you react this way because you are plagued by an overly sensitive conscience” (Page 17)