The Basis of God’s Forgiveness

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

–Isaiah 53:6

When we wander away from God, He is longing for our return, ready to offer forgiveness. You might say, “Pastor, you don’t understand what I’ve done. A holy God could never forgive me.” We need to understand the basis for God’s forgiveness. How is a holy God able to forgive our sins?

The Bible acknowledges that God hates sin. The Pharisees had a lot of misconceptions about God, but they got that part right. Psalm 7:11 says, “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day” (NLT). And Psalm 34:16 says, “The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” God hates sin.

The Bible also teaches that God must punish sin. He can’t simply overlook or excuse sin; as an honest judge, He must punish sin. Nahum 1:2–3 says, “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; the LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” It is impossible for a holy God not to punish sin.

But here’s the heart of the gospel: Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin. God had already suffered the pain of our rejection and rebellion against Him. But for no other reason than His great love for us, He chose to come to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and bear the penalty for our sin on the cross.

The prophet Isaiah put it this way: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:4–6). Jesus bore the punishment that you and I deserve for our sins.

That’s how a holy God is able to forgive us when we sin against Him: His Son has already paid the penalty for that sin.

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Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Waiting Father” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org; Scripture quotation marked (NLT) taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.