Forgiveness

"‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ " - Isaiah 1:18

The prophet Micah, some seven centuries before Christ, exclaimed, "Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance?" Micah said that God pardons our sin, and because of His compassion, He hurls our sins into the depths of the sea. It is a beautiful picture of forgiveness. It helps us understand that when God forgives, the issue is settled, finished, never to be discussed again.

No matter how good or evil we are, sooner or later we all face the issue of finding acceptance before the Almighty. Does forgiveness come because of what we have done, or is it because God credits us with what Christ has done?

This very issue confronted one of our Guidelines radio listeners who ended up in prison. He thought that his life was finished. Let me quote his letter. "I was arrested on September 13, 1993. At the time I was looking at, at the very least, thirty-six years in prison. I contemplated suicide and even went so far as to write my mother a suicide note. Then I found a pocket-sized New Testament Bible and began reading. I had never read a Bible before. Then some Christians came into my jail cell, and I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and all my suicide thoughts vanished. I thank the Lord so much for bringing me a vessel of honor." He signed the letter, "A brother in Christ."

"Too easy!" you may be thinking. "Isn’t there something I must do?" The simplicity is profound. Isaiah says (1) We turned our back on God and chose our own devious ways, but (2) God sought us as a shepherd looks for lost sheep, and (3) He forgives our sin in response to our plea for help, and then (4) He walks with us as a shepherd, guiding us into the green pastures.

The simple things are never easy. The most difficult thing is to acknowledge our personal need and realize that the solution to our sin is still the grace of God which brings forgiveness and restoration. - Resource Reading: Isaiah 53