Why we need forgiveness
Chapter 2
by Gini Crawford, MSW
The sin problem
Why does every human being who has ever lived need God's forgiveness? I think you know; it's our sin problem!
Did you know God's Word calls us all sinners like Adam and Eve? (Genesis 3:1-15). This is because we are born with a nature that sins. It is reasonable to think that it is unfair that what Adam and Eve did thousands of years ago affects us today. The sad truth is, we all would have eaten from the tree that God commanded, "Don't eat." (Romans 3:23, 5:12).
And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." Genesis 2:16-17. NIV®
It's very important that you realize you are a sinner. This is because if you don't think you are a sinner, then you won't see your need for Jesus' death on the cross to forgive your sin. Even if you were capable of sinning only once in your lifetime, James 2:10 says, you would still fall short of God's perfect holy standard. Remember, just one sin bought death and punishment. If we are honest with ourselves, our natural inclination is to go our own way, not God’s way, isn't it? (Romans 3:9-18, 21-23)
Sin explained
You might be wondering what exactly sin is. To put it simply, sin is disobeying God. It is everything we do that God's Word tells us not to do, or everything we don't do that God's Word tells us to do. Sin also includes our thoughts. If we think thoughts that are against what God desires, it is sin. You might be thinking, "Where did she get that one?" Jesus stated this in Mark 7:20-23,
And he (Jesus) went on: "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come — sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." Mark 7:20-23 NIV®
An important principle to remember is, if you don't deal with your sinful thoughts, they do become sinful actions. Here is an example from my past: My neighbor had a dog that regularly pooped right by my mailbox even though I had asked her nicely to stop the dog. Every time I saw the neighbor or her dog, I would think some pretty nasty thoughts about them. Who likes to step in poop!? I realized if I didn't ask God to help me forgive her and the dog, I would angrily scream something at her sooner or later. (James 1:13-15).
Did you know sin starts in your mind? We could also say, doing what is right, like forgiving others, starts in the mind.
Life Application
Forgiveness and God's holiness
Why does sin need God's forgiveness? One of God's characteristics is holiness (Isaiah 6:3). Since God is holy, He is completely set apart from evil. He is absolutely sinless. God's holiness can't tolerate sin, so He can do no less than punish it. Read 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 5:4; 34:16. Holiness and sin are exact opposites. So, it makes sad sense that our sin separates us from God which is called spiritual death. Read Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 2:1. God's holiness and our sin present an awful problem, because God does not want you to be separated from Him and punished. How did God solve the problem of His holiness that seems to conflict with His love? He sent Jesus Christ! Read Romans 6:23.
Jesus, Who is perfectly holy and hates sin with His whole being because He is God, willingly out of love took our sins upon Himself so we could be forgiven, and be holy. I can't even imagine how hard this was for Jesus to take sin upon Himself, since He is holy. His death paid the price for our sin, so we could be forgiven and delivered from eternal punishment (hell). (1 John 3:4-5). Thinking of what Jesus did to forgive you, do you think He loves you?
We have all sinned. We have worshipped stuff instead of God, yelled in anger, used curse words, made selfish decisions that hurt family and friends, lied to cover wrongs, showed no mercy, gossiped and slandered, and been unforgiving, mean, and intolerant, and of course I could go on. It's obvious that the gift of forgiveness had to come from God, because we have all sinned!
Name a few sins you have done or are doing.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, because you took my sins upon Yourself, I am forgiven. I am humbled by how much You love me to die for me. Thank You!