Forgive Us All Our Sins

One of the controversies in the early church involved the question of whether a person could be forgiven for sins they committed after they had been baptized. There was no question that being baptized meant the complete forgiveness of all of a person’s sins. But was it only once for all? The result was that people began putting off baptism until they neared the end of their life just to make sure they’d make it to heaven.

Yet this isn’t the way Jesus operates. Jesus’ love and forgiveness extends to us all for all of our sins, past, present and future. No sins are so great that they cannot be forgiven through Jesus’ death on the cross. That doesn’t mean that we should go out and sin because we know that we’ll be forgiven. Our sinfulness can blind us, preventing us from knowing God and God’s love.

As John points out, “No one has ever seen God. It is God, the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (verse18)

Thank you, God, for forgiving our sins and for loving us over and over again. We have all received that love, grace upon grace. Amen. — HF