Psalm 85:2

Psalm 85:2

The God who forgives sins

At the heart of the Christian faith is the foundational truth that God forgives sins. This truth separates the faith from all other religions and belief systems. None of them are as concerned with the sinful, guilt-ridden state of man. None of their holy books make this single problem the root cause of man’s broken relationships with the divine beings. In fact, most other gods appear to be self-absorbed and rather dismissive of the poor spiritual state of their followers. They leave the “cleaning-up” business to us and insist that we have to make ourselves better in order to approach them! This cultural norm even divides Christians, many of whom believe that they have to be better people in order to be accepted by God.

Our Father has known about our fallen state from the very beginning, its causes are highlighted in the opening chapters of the Bible and our wrestling with the evil within, our sinful thoughts, words and actions, is at the very heart of our faith. The Jews discovered that God could and would forgive sins when He gave them the sacrificial system of offerings and atonement. They could say, “You forgave the iniquity of Your people and covered all their sins.”

Christ came to do just that for all peoples and nations. The heart of our faith is that we cannot cleanse ourselves and God loves us so much, He was prepared to do it for us. The cross of Christ stands tall over all of mankind and offers the removal of sins to all, so that we may approach our God not by virtue of our own efforts but by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, “Who takes away the sins of the world.” John 1:29. He can only do it for us and in us, if and when we believe it!

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