Forgiveness

Of the many benefits of belonging to a God who treats us as a compassionate father treats his children, arguably the most soul-healing is the forgiveness of our sins. How does God forgives our sin?

To begin with, God forgives us instantly. The moment we ask, there’s no hesitation: God forgives us immediately. Isaiah 55:7—I love how this reads in Today’s English Version, “Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the Lord our God. He is merciful and quick to forgive.” Don’t miss that: He’s quick to forgive. We have a hard time grasping this because we’re slow to forgive. We tend to hold onto our hurts. We like to nurse our wounds before we forgive. We want people to grovel or suffer first—a least a little—before we forgive them. But not God! He never makes us grovel or feel his pain—Jesus did that for us! The moment we confess, the Bible says God removes our sins and remembers them no more. So why should we hang onto our sins if God doesn’t.

Likewise, God forgives us willingly. That’s why God can forgive instantly! Nehemiah 9:17 says, “You are a God of forgiveness, always ready to pardon, gracious and merciful … full of love.” Did you notice that? Always ready! Micah 7:18 tells us, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Don’t pass by that too quickly: He delights to forgive! That is what God does best—and enjoys most! Hebrews 7:25 says, “(Christ) is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Forgiveness is what Jesus died for; forgiveness is what he lives for!

Furthermore, God forgives us completely. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “You were dead because of your sins …Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” That means if you’ve given your life to Jesus, he took all of the guilt and punishment for all of your sins upon himself so you don’t have to. You see, Jesus was nailed to the cross so you could stop nailing yourself to the cross. That’s why this is called the Good News. God doesn’t punish Jesus plus you. It was all put upon Jesus. II Corinthians 5:21 reminds us of that: “God made Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That truly is good news.

Not only that, God forgives us unconditionally. No strings attached. People really stumble over this, because their sense of justice demands that somebody pay. They’re right: Somebody did pay—Jesus! Jesus paid for all your sins in full, at no charge. Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Think about what that verse means: It means that you can’t buy your forgiveness. You can’t earn what you could never afford. Forgiveness is completely free to you—at Christ’s expense. That’s why we call it grace—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!

And finally, God forgives us continually. I John 1:7 reminds us, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” The word “cleanses” in the Greek text is in the present tense and in the active voice. That means Christ’s blood not only forgives you right now, it removes your sin for good since the action is continuous. Theologian Adam Clark says, Christ’s blood “keeps clean what it has made clean.” Hallelujah, the cleansing grace of Divine forgiveness heals, and keeps on healing us from the sickness of our sin.

Yes, one of the best blessings of belonging to God is to enjoy that kind of forgiveness—immediate, willing, complete and with no strings attached. “O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!” (Psalm 103:1-2, MSG)

“Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, ‘I can clean that if you want.’ And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin.” ~Max Lucado

Reflect & Apply: Healing grace that comes through forgiveness is released to you through confession. And the amazing thing is, it’s really pretty simple—as simple as ABC: Admit, Believe, Commit. A – Admit you’ve blown it; you’ve sinned. Admit that God is right and you are wrong. Own up to it before God. B – Believe that God wants to forgive you instantly, willingly, completely and unconditionally. Believe that in his grace, Jesus paid for your sins so that you wouldn’t have to. That’s Christianity pure and simple—just believe. C – Commit your sins and guilt to him. Then commit your life to his Lordship.