“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

When sin came into the world, mankind was separated from God.

It took the crucified Christ to make things right again.

“By His stripes, we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

But sin remains.

People sin every day.

Is there any sin that God can’t forgive?

What must you do to truly be saved?

Are All Sinners Considered Equal When Proven Guilty?

Think of some of the worst offenders in history:

• Herod the Great
• Judas Iscariot
• Caesar Nero
• Adolf Hitler
• Josef Stalin
• Ivan the Terrible
• Genghis Khan
• Mao Zedong
• Charles Manson
• Saddam Hussein
• Osama bin Laden
• and ISIS, to name a few

I wouldn’t expect you to add the Apostle Paul to this list.

But Paul considered himself the worst of the worst! The chief of all sinners!

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

– 1 Tim. 1:15

Even so, Paul understood the grace of God.

He took to heart that our Lord is longsuffering toward us.

God is ready and willing to forgive anyone who cries out to Him in repentance.

“However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”

– 1Tim. 1:16

And if God could forgive Paul for all of his sins…He could forgive anybody.

He could forgive you and me no matter who we are, or what we’ve done.

No question each one of these men committed horrendous sins.

But I think we can agree that each suffered (or will suffer) the consequences of their sins either in this life or the next.

The amazing thing is, Christ died for all of these sins. 

And God has no favorites!

He wills that ALL sinners come to repentance and receive His free gift of salvation and undeserved forgiveness!

Is Murder Worse Than Telling A Lie?

With one significant exception, the Bible doesn’t classify sins.

The Word doesn’t say one sin is worse than the other.

• Homosexuality isn’t worse than adultery.
• Drunkenness isn’t worse than stealing.
• And murder isn’t worse than telling a lie.

Sin is sin in the eyes of God.

Because all sin is our direct rebellion against Him.

And a life of habitual, unrepented sin will keep you out of heaven.

The one unforgivable sin is rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ, the free gift of salvation by grace through faith.

Matthew 12:31 says, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”

It makes sense!

Rejecting the good news of Jesus Christ is essentially saying to God that you don’t want Him to be your Savior and Lord!

Now look at your own life. (Not to compare you to Hitler or any of these other people.)

Do you think any of the sins you have committed in your lifetime are unforgivable by God?

I think it’s tragic that anyone could think that their sins are so bad that God won’t forgive them, because He can, and He will.

Now, unfortunately, too many people today say, “I don’t believe God could ever forgive the sins I’ve committed.”

But what they mean in their heart is, “I don’t want to think about God’s forgiveness because I want to keep doing what I’m doing. I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do.”

God will forgive us of any sin we have committed or will commit against Him in future, but many people don’t want to change their sinful ways and receive it.

That’s because when you’re sinning, you’re not thinking about God’s forgiveness and plan of salvation.

It’s not until you’re faced with the consequences of your actions that you start to think about changing the way you see God and approach life.

Here we find the common question about God:

“How could a loving God allow so much pain and suffering in the world?”

This question is usually asked by someone struggling with the consequences of their own sinful lifestyle.

There’s another way to look at it: what if there were no consequences for our sins?

What if we could do wrong against someone and get away with it every time?

How Do the Humanists and Atheists View Morality?

Now let’s ask the humanist and the atheist these questions:

• If there is no God, how do you explain morality?
• What is the evolution of morality?
• How do you explain the basic need for humanity to live in peace?
• What “force” causes us to get along?

Enter the Atheist Astronomer who says we are made of stardust. What compels us “Stardusters” to live in peace?

Why not just take advantage of anyone and everyone and get away with whatever you can?

After all, if evolution is true, isn’t life about the survival of the fittest and the boys with the most toys wins?

The truth is, they have no sound explanation!

Morality has become relative to them based on man’s opinions, not absolute truth.

In other words, they believe, “nobody is objectively right or wrong; and because nobody is right or wrong, we ought to tolerate the behavior of others even when we disagree about the morality of it.” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism)

This concept is also found in the Bible in Judges 17:6 where it says that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

But just because a person considers it “right” in their own eyes, doesn’t mean it’s right in God’s eyes.

The only basis we can use for good and evil, right and wrong, is the Word of God.

The absolute truth found in the Bible, period!

Will God Really Forgive You of All Your Sins?

One thing we can be sure of is that sin is real.

It’s demonstrated every day in the headlines.

So we must all come to understand the nature of God.

Our God is all about forgiveness.

David came to understand God’s forgiveness first hand when he committed adultery, fornication, deception, and murder.

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” – Psalm 86:5

Our Lord took drastic measures to put us in a position where our sins could be forgiven.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

– Ephesians 1:7

[bctt tweet=”Even in our ignorance, as we sin, Christ died for us.”]
Jesus’ ministry clearly showed us His teaching about forgiveness,

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

– Matt. 5:44-45

And in Matthew 6:14 Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness,

“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'”

– Matt. 18:21,22

The point our Lord was making is it’s not about how many times you forgive.

“Forgiveness is not a number, it’s a concept.” – Pastor Jeff Gill

Jesus, while he was dying for you and me on the cross, cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”   Luke 23:34

We should be like Jesus and never stop forgiving.

It’s fascinating to think that even in our most desperate hour, when we confess our own sins, God is waiting in the wings to bring His comfort, His peace, and His forgiveness.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lord Jesus, help us all to be more forgiving like You.