This is the synopsis for the 1999 film, Double Jeopardy, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd. According to Answers.com, "The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment states: “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”" In the movie, as the synopsis alludes to, Ashley Judd's character is assisted in her attempt to avenge her false imprisonment and find her son because she cannot be tried again for the same crime. Although, I understand why she would be motivated to kill her husband, I would not encourage anyone in her situation to do so. This scenario is a great opportunity to talk about the forgiveness of God.
"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." Hebrews 10:15-18
So many Christians, today, do not understand the forgiveness of God and His grace we stand in. Part of the byproduct of that misunderstanding leads them to believe that people, who take scripture at its word, in that God remembers our sins no more, will use that freedom as a license to sin even more. Like Ashley Judd's character, they feel that since our sins have been forgiven, there is nothing stopping us from endulging the flesh. Therefore, since they don't believe the scriptures, they invent sacrifices for sins that are not required by God nor are they even accepted by Him. I have to believe that there is fear motivating individuals who believe that there is more forgiveness required for our sins. When your premise is off, your findings will be off. If you don't believe all your sins have been forgiven then you must create a sacrificial system to keep yourself in line because without it you think God will have to punish you for them. The passage from Hebrews says that the Holy Spirit testifies to us. How is it that the Holy Spirit testifies? The answer to this will also reveal to us what it is that guides a Christian and encourages them to avoid a life of sin. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God to everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is the Holy Spirit, the actual life of God, breathed into mankind at creation, but lost at the Fall, that leads a believer from within. When we have the life of God leading us He is not going to lead us into a life of sin. And, when the opportunity to sin arises for us, it is the Holy Spirit that presents us with options. Those options are:
- What is it that this sin can provide me that I don't already have in Christ?
- Is engaging in this sin consistent with who I am as a child of God?
- If I do sin, what then must be done since their is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood?
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14
The Holy Spirit testifies to us by teaching us to say "no" when sin is presented in our lives. It does this by reminding us of who we once were before we accepted Christ, when we were slaves to sin. At that time we had no options, but to rely on our own understanding. It is in this condition that we sow to the flesh and are led by it into all sorts of wicked behavior. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit teaches us that there is nothing we can gain from making choices that showed us our need for Christ in the first place. We are children of God. When God sees us He sees the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. He sees His forgiven, sanctified, holy and blameless children. The Holy Spirit reminds us of this eternal truth which leads to us making choices in line with our identity in Christ. When we sin, and we will, the Holy Spirit also reminds us of another truth. And that is that all our sins were taken away from the eyes of God at the cross. Therefore, when we sin, we don't perform a meaningless and bloodless sacrifice meant to get what we have already been given through the death of Christ. Rather, we are reminded that our sins are forgiven and do not separate us from God. This leads to a heart of thankfulness. Furthermore, because our sins are no longer an issue between us and God, we can approach God to find mercy in our time of need. It is there that God instructs us on exactly where it was we weren't trusting Him. It is this truth that allows us to grow in our relationship with God and understand the meaning of there being no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:26-29
For those Christians that believe there is further forgiveness required for our sins, they will use this passage as if it is irrefutable proof of their belief. They believe that the individuals who "deliberately keep on sinning" are those "Ashley Judd's" among us who take the forgiveness of God as a license to sin. However, this passage is actually speaking to them. It is they who are guilty of deliberately sinning. How so? The deliberate sin is not believing Christ's sacrifice was final and that there is no sacrifice for sins left. Every time they ask for, or encourage a believer to seek additional, forgiveness they are calling Jesus Christ a liar. Harsh words? Perhaps. But, it was Jesus Christ who cried out, "it is finished," just before dying on the cross. I don't want to be the one who keeps putting Him back on the cross and, effectively, telling Him, "it is not finished." When we don't believe that the sin issue is over we are trampling the son of God are deserving of punishment; an insult to the Spirit of grace. But, in God's love, He doesn't hold our ignorance of, and denial of, the truth against us. We didn't ask God to send Jesus to forgive our sins. But, we somehow believe we are to ask Him to forgive sins He already died for and that God no longer holds against us. The issue is simple. We were found guilty of sin. The penalty was death. Jesus took it all. There is none left for us to take. What we do is thank Jesus for taking our place on the cross and live in thankfulness by responding to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are free from sin to serve in love and grow in grace. We are not in jeopardy of being held responsible for sins that God has already forgiven!
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