Forgiveness
“I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you.”
Isaiah 43:25
Because of God's grace, you are forgivable. Yes, you sin and make mistakes—sometimes really big ones. But God is always ready to forgive you.
Two Truths from Isaiah 43:25
Forgiveness Is Who God Is
God doesn't forgive your sins because you deserve it. He forgives because of who he is. It flows from his very nature — not from anything you have earned.
God Holds No Grudges
God “will not hold your sins against you.” He does not carry grudges. When he forgives, he truly lets it go — completely and permanently.
Those truths may be hard for you to believe! Many people think of God like an unpleasable parent—someone who's always saying things like, “That's not good enough” or “You blew it again.” But that's not who God is. Instead of condemning you, God forgives you and covers you with his love.
“Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before him covered with his love.”
Ephesians 1:4 (The Living Bible)
The Living Bible paraphrase says it like this: “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before him covered with his love” (Ephesians 1:4).
Covered with His Love
When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for all of your sins—the ones you've already committed and the ones you haven't even thought of yet. He's paid for every single one of them. And because of that, you don't have to pay for them. Your sins are covered with his love.
You don't have to earn forgiveness. You only have to receive it.
God chose you before the world was made, decided to make you holy in his eyes, and sent his Son to cover every sin you would ever commit. That is the breathtaking scope of his grace.