Is God Capable of Forgiving the “Worst of Sins?”

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

In God We Trust takes a deeper look at living a truly God-focused life. You’ll learn not only to defend your faith according to the authority of God’s Word, but also to live it out in every part of life.

Today’s big question: is God capable of forgiving the “worst of sins”?

Clearly, we are all very sinful—a common trait among all men and woman. We are dreadfully evil in the sight of the Lord. We can read about this in the Scriptures; for instance, Isaiah says, “all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). This reality is written so deeply into our souls that we all have a sense of our sin whether we admit it or not (see Genesis 8:21 also).

Many people approach this reality in different ways. Some people claim there is no real thing as sin. Others believe that sin really isn’t such a big deal. However, no matter how we attempt to sweep this reality under the carpet, we will never escape its grasp or consequences (Romans 6:23).

From a Christian perspective, we have forgiveness through Jesus Christ’s work on the cross (2 Corinthians 2:10–11), and we have His mercy! The God of heaven and earth has told us that, when we confess our sins to Him, He will gladly forgive us. I love the message of 1 John 1:9—this verse says, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What an amazing release from the bondage of guilt and remorse from the many ways we have fallen short of God’s standard!

Furthermore, there is no sin so evil that it escapes God’s ability to forgive. God can reach down from the highest heaven to offer His forgiveness (1 Kings 8:27; Ephesians 1:7). What a tragedy it is when people live their lives in this sinfulness but fail to seek God’s forgiveness. It is such a terrible thing when people miss out on God’s gift of forgiveness.

Today’s big idea: God’s mercy is beyond human comprehension—His mercy endures forever!

What to pray: pray that God will forgive you of any sin that you have not yet confessed, and then live in peace knowing those sins have been cast as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12)!