Forgiveness

 October 6, 2022

“I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” So goes the Apostles’ Creed which we recite every Sunday morning. I like repeating the ancient words of the Creed; they ground me, pulling me away from what I may feel at any given time and reminding me of what I believe. Psalm 103 is like the Creed when it begins, 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; 

And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, 

And forget not all His benefits: 

Who forgives all your iniquities, 

Who heals all your diseases, 

Who redeems your life from destruction, 

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 

Who satisfies your mouth with good things, 

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

—Psalm 103:1-5 

David here is speaking to his own soul; his innermost being, reminding him of truths that tend to be forgotten in the rough and tumble of life. The forgiveness of sins is one of those truths that tends to slip away from us. We believe in it generically; I believe in it for you, and hope for it for me, but sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my mind and heart around the truth that God actively and continually and repeatedly forgives my sins. I don’t believe I’m alone in this. The pervasive anxiety that plagues people, the depression, the anger and blaming belies the guilt that underlies much of human life. Because I know myself better than anyone else knows me, I often find it hard to believe in my forgiveness.

But that’s the rub: Failure to believe in my forgiveness is failure to believe in God’s goodness; failure to believe his Word, failure to believe in his faithfulness. If I refuse to believe in my forgiveness, I am accusing God of being a liar, declaring his promise to be untrustworthy, for David says quite clearly, “[Remember] Soul…He forgives all your iniquities.” Not just some. All. If I refuse to believe my sins are forgiven, that unbelief is in itself as sin that separates me from God. Hear the Good News: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19). In Jesus Christ, ALL our sins are forgiven! All YOUR sins are forgiven! All MY sins are forgiven!