30 October 2016

One concept central to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that of forgiveness. In preaching this Gospel, we are often reminded to repent of our sins and to ask God for His forgiveness. Forgiveness from God is unconditional, vastly different from what we as humans are used to, living in a world where there is “no free lunch” and that everything comes with a price. God wants a holy relationship with us but because of this matter of sin in our lives, He is unable to this desired relationship. But because God is love, He has made this forgiveness of sins to be experienced by us so that we can have this holy relationship with Him.

God’s love is one which surpasses anything within the human realm. We are taught in the Bible that His forgiveness comes with no-strings-attached for “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We have done nothing to deserve this forgiveness from God and will never be able to do anything to deserve it, even if we try. For this forgiveness, we have to be endlessly grateful, as without it we would never be able to bridge the gap driven between us and God because of our sinful nature and we would never be reconciled with God.

Jesus said, as He hung on the cross dying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Such forgiveness of our sins comes from God. As we are all sinful creatures, we can never atone for our sins. Nothing we can do will put us right with God. The only thing which can clear us of our blemishes is forgiveness which comes from the one and only perfect one, our sins atoned on the cross at Calvary by the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

While we have enjoyed God’s forgiveness, and should be unendingly thankful for God’s merciful forgiveness of our sins, we must also remember that He taught us by example to forgive others. Jesus taught the disciples: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). The Apostle Paul affirmed this teaching in Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”