How Forgiven Are We?

Psalm 52 in the Bible is a poem of confession. And it makes two vital points.

When I hide my sin, God is against me. Or as the poet put it, “When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away.,” “My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” Fact is, God punishes sin.

But when one owns up to his or her sinful deeds, God is prepared to forgive. He is ready to wash us clean and give us a new start. The poet uses words for this life: “Blessed,”   “You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

Is this true? Really? Can one believe it?

I know a boy whose father told him never to throw rocks on the farm, but that is just what the lad did. He struck a prized rooster, killing it. The boy quietly buried it. But as his guilt wasted him, the son several days later dug up the carcass, took it to his dad, and confessed in sorrow. The father forgave him and told the child to go bury the rooster. That he did. But a week later the son was overcome with remorse, dug up the carcass, carried it to his papa, and confessed again.

The father stoutly told his boy, “I forgave you. Go and bury the thing. And never bring it up again or you question my character.”

Augustine called confession “the vomit of the soul.”  Indeed, it is a purging, an unburdening. And it is met by the merciful character of God.

That is what the cross is all about. Sin demands punishment. But God took it for us. And in His substitutionary sacrifice, any who call on Jesus for mercy are wonderfully forgiven.

And just how forgiven are we? Consider… Psalm 103 teaches, “As far away as the east is from the west does He remove our transgressions from us.” And just where are the east and west poles? They are non-existent.

In Isaiah 43:25 God promises “I will remember their sins no more.”  In Micah 7:19 God pledges to “Cast our sins in the depths of the sea.”  Then in Revelation 21:1, it proclaims, “And the sea shall be no more.” And I love Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow.”

Now, do you see why the gospel of Christ is called Good News?  If you have been hiding your sin and God is against you, your strength dried up as in summer heat, come now to Jesus. Confess your sins. Ask Him for mercy. Let Him forgive you.  Indeed, you can have a new start.

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The Reverend Stephen Crotts is the director of the Carolina Study Center, Inc., a campus ministry, located in Chapel Hill, NC. Pastor Crotts may be reached at carolinastudycenter@msn.com.