About CFC
It’s all covered
By Frank Galbraith
17th February 2012 | Category: Join the Journey 2012
Key Verse
“If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, he is guilty”.
Central truth
Even if we sin without knowing it Jesus has it covered
Main Content
God's grace
It is often said that ignorance is no excuse and that is certainly true in the Kingdom of God. God’s provision for dealing with our sins is so great that it not only takes care of the sins that we are aware of but even of sins that we have no idea that we have committed.
In today’s New Testament passage we see the Pharisees challenge Jesus about His disciples’ adherence to the Law and even that of Jesus Himself. Jesus responds not by saying that the Law was wrong in any way but rather that it was the Pharisees’ interpretation that was at fault. In fact the Law gives us a fascinating insight into the mind of God.
It is not just a matter of having a clear conscience
The sacrifices and offerings of the Law all speak to us of the Person of the Lord Jesus and what He accomplished for us by His death on the cross. With the provision of the sin offering we understand that the measure of our suitability to come into the presence of God cannot be our conscience. Even if we have a completely clear conscience with no knowledge of any shortcomings in our lives, God says to us that this is not a high enough standard for fellowship with Him. God’s aversion to sin is such that He cannot allow us to be the adjudicator and so He makes provision for the sins of which we are unaware and sins which we have committed unintentionally.
The work that Jesus carried out on the cross is so complete and all encompassing that all our sins, whether we know of them or not, are dealt with once and for all.
Total freedom
This gives us complete freedom to worship God, unhindered by any thought of sin. Prior to coming before God to worship we can examine ourselves and know that we have a clear conscience, but there could always be the possibility that there is some sin that we are unaware of. God says to us, ‘Don’t even think about it, Jesus has dealt fully with that as well, just come before me and worship with all your heart.’
Consider:
Is there anything that we are allowing to hold us back from uninhibited worship?
Bring it before God and thank Him that all has been dealt with by Jesus, even issues that we are unaware of, and get on with giving Him the glory and honour He is due.
Frank Galbraith
Frank is married to Pauline and they have both been longstanding members of the congregation at CFC. They have 2 grown up children, Paula who is married to Michael Patterson and Josh who still enjoys the comforts of home. Frank is yet another Sullivan prodigy and attended Queen's University, although it is probably more accurate to say he attended the Snack Bar and went to the occasional lecture. He currently supplies Accountacy Services and when he has the time he enjoys cycling, walking and reading.
