A Love Stronger than Sin

Sin can be a scary thing. You don’t have to read the Bible for very long to come across passages where God condemns sin. Even as Christians, we fall into sin again and again, and this can make us feel isolated from God. Is God’s wrath upon us when we have sinned? As our loving Creator, God is the source of all goodness, and sin twists His good design. Sin hurts everything it touches, and God hates the brokenness sin brings on the world and the suffering it causes. When the first humans sinned by going their own way against God, our relationship with God was broken and it became impossible for us to live sinless lives. Yet God wants to repair the relationship we broke—and repair all the brokenness caused by sin. So God did the unthinkable. He took the punishment our sins deserve on Himself. This is the good news: Jesus died and rose again to save us, sinners helpless to save ourselves. God longs for all people to put their trust in Jesus so He can forgive us and bring us close to Himself. Once we’ve been saved, it’s easy to think obedience should be easy now. After all, we have the Holy Spirit—God Himself is living in us and empowering us to follow Him! But God never promises us the Christian life will be easy. Actually, Jesus warned His disciples that they would face opposition in the days to come. What Jesus does promise us, however, is that He will be with us every step of the way, and His forgiveness is enough to cover all our failures. God loves His children, no matter what we’ve done. No sin you have ever committed is too much to drive God away from you. His love is steadfast, and He grants us mercy that pardons our sin again and again. As we continue to struggle, awaiting the day our fight with sin will finally be over, God will be steadfastly loving us, even in our darkest moments. • Joseph Brink • Do you think God understands our struggle with sin? Why or why not? • God is a perfect judge, but He also freely offers mercy. How might this truth challenge you? • Do you ever feel frustrated with yourself for sinning? You’re not alone! (Romans 7:17-8:4) For more on forgiveness, check out our “Know Jesus” page. But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15 (NLT)