He forgave us all our sins …
Summary: Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God forgives us all our sins. But how much is “all?” The answer to that question is worth thinking about.
How many sins is “all”?
When Paul writes that God “forgave us all our sins,” what comes to mind?
The Greek word Paul used for “sin” in today’s passage is “paráptōma.” Its meaning can include both unintentional errors and willful transgressions. So, are we back to counting errors and omissions, right?
Not so fast …
If you start thinking about things you “might have done” that are sins, you are missing the point. Everything we do on our own falls short of the mark.
In John’s Gospel, he quotes Jesus saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The last part of that quote is brutally honest: Without Jesus, we can do nothing.
Let’s review God’s standard for hitting the mark.
Jesus summarized all of the “Law and the Prophets” this way: Love the Lord your God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). So the question becomes, “How much of what we do every day meets this standard?”
But wait (as they say on TV), there’s more!
Jesus equates being angry with someone to murdering them (Matthew 5:21-22). So if we have an angry thought about someone, we have failed God. A few verses later (verses 27-28), he goes on to make the point that as far as God is concerned, if a man has a lustful thought about a woman, he has already broken God’s law against adultery.
God’s standard of behavior includes our thoughts. The goal line for perfection is infinitely high. Without Jesus, we can do nothing good. As Isaiah points out, “our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
When Paul writes, “He forgave us all our sins,” he doesn’t mean that God sees us as “mostly good” needing only occasional forgiveness. He knows how God sees us. Everything we do, even trying to do what is right, falls short of the mark.
If we were a sponge, we’d be dripping with sin.
And that’s okay. God forgives us when we put our faith in Jesus and turn from putting ourselves first to putting God first.
Application: Think about sin as a condition rather than one thing.
Food for Thought: What do you call a “sin” that happens after we have been forgiven? Is it still a sin?
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Continue reading “Colossians 2:13b – Dripping Sin”