It is so good to know that God forgives and forgets. King David wrote,
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
Psalm 86:5
God wants to forgive us. He loves us and desires to restore broken fellowship. Isn’t that amazing? He is not the one who rebels. He is not the one who offends. Yet in spite of the way we treat Him, He is always willing to forgive us. That is a miracle! That is grace!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
You have more sins than the hairs on your head. And each sin must be accounted for. Just think, if the punishment for just one sin is eternal death (never-ending separation from Christ), then additional sins only add to your guilt and deserved punishment.
Multiply all your sins by infinity, and you have calculated the degree of your offense against God. Now consider the punishment that will match the offense. Justice requires a punishment that equals the offense in order to right the wrong. An infinite offense requires an infinite penalty. This is the reason the wages of sin is death, eternal death. This explains why hell is forever.
What a relief it is to receive God’s mercy and grace when He forgives you! Romans 5:1 expresses the experience of salvation by saying,
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
However, don’t think that your sins went unpunished when you were saved. You are forgiven only because someone else was punished for you. God requires justice for crimes because He is a just God. So He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for our sins with His life.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Ephesians 1:7 says, because of Jesus,
… we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
If that doesn’t make you appreciate Christ, nothing will!
Has God forgiven you?
