Forgiveness

Last week at church, a man in our congregation talked about forgiveness. As an example, he used the story of King David and Bathsheba. All it took was one small look at her for David to fall into a spiral of sin. With her husband off at war, there was nothing stopping him from sleeping with her. Then she became pregnant. So David had her husband brought home to be with her so everyone would think he was the father. But he wouldn't go into his house. He slept on the steps of the palace. David panicked. He had Bathsheba's husband put on the front lines of the battle so he would be killed. He was now able to marry Bathsheba, but the damage had been done. David knows what he has done. So does Bathsheba. And so does God.

In one of the Psalms, David is crying out to God for forgiveness. The guilt he had been carrying was tearing him apart. He couldn't live with it. David knew his transgressions were great. He needed God to help him. God forgave him of his sins.
In the next Psalm, he praises God for his loving power and forgiveness. This is so wonderful to me. No matter how many times I mess up, miss the mark, lash out, God will forgive me if I ask. He will cast my sins "as far as the east is from the west." They're gone, forgotten.

So this brings up a question.
If God will forgive us of all our sins, why do some people think that their sin is too great to be forgiven? I've never quite understood how people are able to think this. I've been a Christian since I was five. I've never had that experience. It hurts me to know that some people have so much grief over what they've done that they think they are unforgiveable. They think nothing can save them.

When Jesus was on the cross, he took away all the sins of the entire world. All the sins of the past, present, and future. He took away my sins over 2000 years before I committed them! Every bad and terrinble thing you can think of, Jesus put upon himself. I think that's the reason why he said "It is finished." Our sin was finished.