Words of Grace

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

If God were not willing to forgive sin, Heaven would be empty. But there is forgiveness with God. (Psalm 130:4)
If God were not willing to forgive sin, but he is willing. He will forgive our sins, as he said in II Chronicles 7:14.

He is willing to forgive sins because he is “not willing that any should perish,” but he is willing “that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)

When God revealed himself to Moses, he proclaimed himself to be a forgiving God. He forgives “iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:7)

God does not forget about sin. He does not overlook sin. He does not excuse sin. He does not let sin go unpunished. But he will forgive sin.

David knew what it was like to be forgiven. He declared in Psalm 32:1, the blessedness of those whose sins are forgiven. He himself acknowledged his sin unto the Lord, and did not try to hide it. When he confessed it, the Lord forgave him. (V.5)

The story is told about a doctor from Scotland. As a Christian he was very lenient with his poor patients. When he found that it was difficult for them to pay his fees he wrote in red ink across the bill the one wood – “Forgiven.”