God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:19 New King James Version

 

The cross profoundly demonstrates God's perfect love for us.

Sin separates us from God and the consequence of this separation is death. Despite our best efforts, God knew we cannot defeat sin—which is why He sent Jesus to save us from our sins. Jesus accomplished everything God sent Him to do and because He did, we are fully reconciled to God and brought back into a right relationship with Him.

It is so amazing that God is reconciling us to Himself—without us having to do anything more than rest in Christ’s finished work. Therefore, keep your focus on Jesus by holding on to the truth of the gospel.

A positive effect of being reconciled to God is that sin is no longer imputed to us. To impute is to either credit or charge someone for something the person has done. Genuine reconciliation with God will not be possible if sin remains imputed. If God still imputes sin—after what Jesus had done for us—then God wasn’t sincere about forgiving our debt of sin in the first place.

We have a most generous and forgiving Father who never stops showing His tender mercy. If you are feeling guilty and discouraged by your sinful habits, don’t lose your faith in God’s forgiving nature but draw strength from the truth that God no longer counts your sin against you. Knowing that God has already reconciled you to Him empowers you to live victoriously.

Victorious living is not an unattainable goal but rather a reality, and how many victories we want to experience really rests on us. Being made new in Christ, we no longer have a sinful nature, but we will still have sinful habits. This is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us recognise thoughts of temptations and strengthen our relationship with God. It is through walking in constant awareness of the Holy Spirit that we overcome habitual sins and experience the victory Christ already won for us.