The Depth of God’s Forgiveness
The score is 68 to 51; we are losing, and if we don’t get our heads in the game, we will NOT BE ABLE TO WIN A “V” for our “ME” team.
Wins and Loses—we have kept score of so many “life” actions:
- We have more success than you (do).
- We can endure longer than you (can).
- We are smarter, taller, faster, and healthier than you (are).
- We do so much more than you can ever think (to do).
We strive to be greater, better, smarter, stronger, more worthy of the victory than anyone else because we have read more, studied more, attended more classes, learned more, discovered more, done more, and won more than the other person could ever accomplish.
- If we are honest, we like to win.
- If we are really honest, we will do everything possible so that we never lose.
- If we faithfully keep our eyes upon Jesus, then we are continually reminded how God does not keep score!
Did we catch that?
GOD DOES NOT KEEP SCORE!
EVER!!!
We know this to be true because the Bible says it is true. Let’s pause in our astonishment and see exactly what God’s Word reveals about the way God looks at His creation.
“Out of the depths I have
(Psalm 130: 1-4 NASB)
cried to You, LORD
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the sound of my pleadings.
If You, LORD, were to keep
account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You
So that You may be revered.”
- Have we ever sinned?
- Have we ever told a lie?
- Have we ever spouted words in anger?
- Have we ever wished success for ourselves, or have we been okay even if another suffers?
- Have we ever wanted more for ourselves, even if our neighbor struggled to have enough?
- Have we ever climbed over another in our pursuit to the “top”?
- Have we ever pondered a thought that we know we were wrong to think, yet continued anyway?
- Have we ever gone somewhere we should have never gone, or done something we should not do, or even participated in an action that we knew from the beginning was wrong?
- Have we ever whispered words under our breath that we knew were too vile to speak aloud?
Have we ever sinned?
OF COURSE WE HAVE & WHAT’S EVEN WORSE, WE WILL SIN EVEN MORE!!!
EVEN TODAY, IF WE STRIVE TO WALK THROUGH A SINLESS DAY, WE WILL FAIL IN OUR WALK TOWARD PERFECTION!!!
If God were keeping a tally of this competition of “SINNER” vs PERFECT, SINLESS SON of GOD, we would find the final score to read something like this—
US (SINFUL HUMANITY)—A GINORMOUS-LY LARGE NUMBER OF SINS COMMITTED!
&
GOD (PERFECT IN EVERY ACTION, THOUGHT, & INTENTION)—NO SINS—EVER—COMMITTED!
Normally, the high score wins, but if this “game” of life was dependent upon our good actions and our lack of bad actions—well then, we would be LOSERS even before we stepped on the field because the psalmist David reminds us how we were “born in iniquity.” So, what that means, is that on our own, there would be NO WAY POSSIBLE for us to ever “measure up” OR to ever “do enough” OR “think enough good thoughts” OR “speak enough good” to EVER EARN ETERNITY IN GOD’S PRESENCE IN HEAVEN!
THANK YOU GOD, WE DO NOT HAVE TO DO, THINK, SAY, OR BE “GOOD” ENOUGH—BECAUSE YOU ALREADY PAID OUR COST UPON THE CROSS!
We The Kingdom sings the melody “God So Loved” & Matthew West also sings another melody “How Good of God” that proclaims through song what I am stumbling to share. Pause, grab your earbuds with me, and be reminded of the “LOVE & GOODNESS” of ALMIGHTY GOD!
Jesus Christ, the Son of God said—
(John 3: 16-17 NASB)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.”
Not only did God love every man, woman, boy, and girl so much “that He gave His only Son,” but the Word of God tells us that God did this for us while we are still walking, talking, thinking, and living in our sinful state.
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
(Romans 5: 6-9 NASB)
For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
- THAT’S—GOD’S AMAZING MERCY!
- THAT’S—GOD’S AMAZING GRACE!
THANK YOU GOD FOR YOUR AMAZING GRACE YOU OFFER EACH ONE OF US!
- THANK YOU GOD FOR NOT KEEPING A TALLY OF OUR WRONGS COMMITTED AGAINST YOU!
- THANK YOU GOD FOR NOT REQUIRING US TO LIVE OR BE “GOOD ENOUGH” AS WE WALK THROUGH LIFE!
THANK—YOU—GOD—FOR SENDING US JESUS—YOUR BELOVED SON!