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“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”  ~ Genesis 28:13b-15

Shockingly, as Pastor Danny walked us through Genesis 28 this past Sunday, we saw God speak these words to Jacob off the back of the abysmal Genesis 27 episode in which he and Rebekah deceive Isaac for the blessing. It’s not hard to see why some, as Pastor Danny mentioned, could feel scandalized by what appears to be God ignoring Jacob’s sin. Maybe some of us are even among that group. “Where’s the correction?! Where’s the judgment?!” we might ask. Thankfully, a right understanding of Christ’s work on the cross really helps us out at this point:

“For there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”  ~ Romans 3:23-26 (emphasis mine)

In this incredibly familiar passage, Paul teaches a number of vital truths concerning what Christ’s death has accomplished, and among them is a fascinating bit about “sins previously committed”. Amazingly, we see that the Crosswork not only paid for the sins of New Covenant believers, but that it also covers those in the Old Testament who responded in faith to God’s covenant by His grace. Pastor demonstrated from the text this week that Jacob had one of the passage’s two correct repentant responses to grievous sin; and what do we know to be true of our gracious God interacting with true repentance? Jacob’s sins, along with yours and mine, are not looked over, not swept under the rug, but completely and ultimately paid for in Christ’s complete, sufficient work.

What should this understanding do in you and me? Well, maybe in seeing God’s incredible grace and patience, it can temper our haste to jump to, “Where’s the correction?! Where’s the judgment!?” How quickly can you and I allow these thoughts in inappropriately (recognizing that there are times to carefully ask for God’s justice in certain situations) and forget that we have needed and continue to need God’s great patience, mercy, and grace ourselves. Even just this last week I found myself battling with similar questions toward those who have hurt Mindy and me pretty severely in this last year. Ironically, anytime I have left my flesh to dwell on those thoughts, I am slower to identify, confess, and repent of sin in my own life—those sinful thoughts included! This week, let us

1) take great care not to walk in self-righteous judgmentalism and grow in exercising patience and forgiveness; and

2) be more vigilant and intentional to identify, confess, and repent of the sin in our own lives.

“Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”  ~ Romans 2:4