The Length of God’s Forgiveness
What is the length of God’s forgiveness? How long will God forgive?
Describing the extent that God forgives, David wrote:
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Psalm 102:11-12 ESV
How far is the east from the west? It is an infinite distance. David’s message to us is that God grants infinite forgiveness for the sins of people who follow Him.
Christ followers can have confidence in the infinite sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ to cover their sins. When Christ died on the cross on behalf of sinners like you and me, He purchased forgiveness for our sins–past, present, and future (Hebrews 10:11-14; 1 Peter 3:18). When He cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” Christ declared that He accomplished the Father’s plan for Him to atone for the sins of His followers and ransom them from their sins.
So what sin do you have in your life that Christ’s blood is not sufficient to cover. For what sin did He fail to accomplish atonement and forgiveness. He did not fail to accomplish what the Father sent Him to accomplish–to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
So, we can have confidence in the infinitely sufficient blood of Christ to cover our sins. We can rely upon the promise that God’s forgiveness is eternal, ranging as far as the east is from the west. This confidence in Christ does not give us a license to sin but grants us hope when we do sin.
John’s confidence in the sufficiency of the blood of Christ to cover sin led him to write:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 ESV
I pray that this devotional grants you hope in God’s willingness and ability to forgive you of your sins. This forgiveness is only found in Christ.
Do you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?
If you have questions about how you can follow Christ, shoot me an email at tim@drtimmcknight.com.
Blessings!
(For more posts from Tim McKnight click here.)
Tim is the Director of the Global Center for Youth Ministry and Associate Professor for Youth Ministry & Missions at Anderson University. He is lead pastor/planter of Mosaic Church of Anderson. Tim is also the author of Engaging Generation Z (Kregel Academic), No Better Gospel (Seeds Publishing Group), and the author and editor of Navigating Student Ministry (B&H Academic). His comments do not reflect the views of his employers and are his own personal views on various subjects.
