Does Forgiveness of Sins Mean Purification and Salvation?

Every sincere believer in the Lord wants to escape the bonds of sin and obtain God’s approval. We try hard to restrain ourselves and betray our flesh, and we often confess to the Lord, fast and pray, but we continue to sin despite ourselves, unable to practice the Lord’s teachings. For this reason, some people cannot help but feel confused: We have been forgiven of our sins through faith in the Lord, but why are we still bound and constrained by sin? Actually, we need to understand the true meaning of the forgiveness of sins before figuring this issue out. So, what does the forgiveness of sins truly mean? How can we thoroughly cast off the bonds of sin? Let’s discuss and explore these questions below.

What Does the Forgiveness of Sins Truly Mean?

What is the true meaning of the forgiveness of sins? Let’s first have a look at what the word of God says.

God says, “At the time, Jesus’ work was the work to redeem all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer of sin, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins. Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin.” It can be seen that forgiveness of sins refers to being freed from being condemned and put to death under the law after accepting the Lord Jesus’ salvation and confessing and repenting to Him. As we all know, in the late period of the Age of Law, mankind was more and more deeply corrupted by Satan and they were unable to abide by the laws. There were no longer enough sin offerings they could make, so they were facing the danger of being convicted and put to death by the law. Unable to bear to see mankind put to death under the law, God became flesh as the Lord Jesus and came among men. The Lord Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and taught man to confess and repent. In the end, He personally became the sin offering to take upon Himself the sins of mankind, completing the work of crucification. Ever since then, as long as one accepts the Lord Jesus’ salvation and confesses and repents to Him, he won’t be convicted or put to death by the law, but is able to enjoy the abundant grace, peace and happiness bestowed by the Lord. This is what forgiveness of sins truly means. Just as what the Lord Jesus said, “For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

What the Lord Jesus did was the work to redeem man but not to purify man. Therefore, accepting the Lord Jesus’ salvation only meant that our sins would be forgiven and we would no longer be convicted or put to death by the law, but the corrupt dispositions within us, such as arrogance, craftiness, and evil, continued to exist. These things are deeper and more obstinate than sin, and unless this God-defying satanic nature and these corrupt dispositions are resolved, even if our sins are forgiven, we will keep involuntarily committing sin. For example, we often tell lies and engage in deception for the sake of fame, gain, and status; we can be jealous of others and can hate others; we are even capable of following worldly trends, lusting for riches and coveting vanity; we even complain against and betray God when natural or man-made disasters come upon us or when we suffer trials and tribulations. This shows that if our satanic nature and dispositions remain unresolved, even if our sins are forgiven a thousand times, ten thousand times, we will still continue to do things that rebel against and resist God at any time and in any place. We will not be approved by God, but instead we will suffer God’s condemnation and punishment. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35), and it is recorded in Hebrews, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26–27).

How Can We Cast Off the Bonds of Sin and Attain Purification?

So, how can we whose sins are forgiven by the Lord thoroughly escape the bonds of sin and be cleansed? The Lord Jesus once prophesied, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). “He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). It is recorded in 1 Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” John 17:7 says, “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth.” And Revelation 22:14 prophesies, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

It can be seen from these scriptures that when the Lord returns, He will express the truth and do the work of judgment beginning at the house of God, purifying and changing man with His truth, so that we can completely break free from the bondage of sin. Therefore, we must accept God’s judgment work of the last days to no longer be subject to the bonds of sin and to attain purification. This is the only way we will be qualified to enter God’s kingdom.

The Lord Brings Man the Path to Purification in the Last Days

Now the Lord Jesus has returned and He is Almighty God incarnate. Almighty God expresses millions of words and does the work of judgment beginning at the house of God to judge and purify man, so that man can have his sinful nature completely resolved and be brought into God’s kingdom. This precisely fulfills the prophecies about the Lord’s judgment work of the last days. Let’s take a look at the words of Almighty God.

Almighty God says, “Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.”

“In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.”

These two passages of God’s word allow us to understand that during the last days, Almighty God does the work of judgment beginning from the house of God based upon the foundation of the work of redemption of the Lord Jesus, and expresses all the truths for the salvation and purification of mankind. He uses many aspects of truth to judge and expose man’s satanic nature and the various intentions and impurities in their belief in God, and show man God’s holy and righteous disposition tolerating no offense. Through the judgment of God’s word, man is able to clearly see the truth of their deep corruption by Satan, and really get to know God’s holy essence and His righteous disposition intolerant of offense, gaining reverence for God. They thus escape the bondage and control of sin, and achieve cleanness. By the judgment and revelations of God’s word, we see clearly the truth that we’ve been deeply corrupted by Satan, that our nature is arrogant, deceitful, selfish and despicable. Although we believe in God we cannot let God be exalted, and we don’t have a heart that fears God. We believe in God but worship and follow man. Once we have status, we even show off ourselves and build ourselves up, so that people will listen to and obey us. If we expend a little, do some work or suffer a little for God, we will flaunt our seniority, demanding grace and blessings from God. As soon as our desires are not satisfied, we will become negative and slow down or quit our work, etc. We can see that our corruption by Satan runs too deep! We have not lived out the image of human beings at all! We are all deeply ashamed and extremely remorseful, and we gain some true knowledge and experience of God’s holy, righteous disposition, developing a heart that reveres God. We cannot help but fall down before God, regretting our evil ways, and despising our satanic nature; we are willing to practice the truth to satisfy God. We gradually detach from the binding of sin, living out the likeness of a real man and becoming truly fearful of and obedient to God.

Today, those who accept Almighty God’s work of the last days and are raptured before God’s throne are experiencing the judgment and chastisement of His words, and their corrupt dispositions begin to be purified and transformed. They have born various testimonies and these testimonies have been turned into videos, such as Farewell, People-Pleaser!, Reaping Joy Amid Suffering, and The People of the Heavenly Kingdom. They are now publicly available online and allow man to see that Almighty God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days can indeed purify and change people. Therefore, in order to thoroughly cast off the bondage of sin and attain purification, we must accept God’s judgment and chastisement, which is very critical. Only then will we be qualified to enter God’s kingdom.

Conclusion: Do you now understand the true meaning of the forgiveness of sins? Do you know what the fruits of the Lord Jesus’ work are? Have you found out how to completely cast off the bonds of sin and attain purification? Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us using the online chat buttons at the bottom.