“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, NASB95)

In this verse, God’s grace is depicted as a stain remover. Sin has permanently stained our lives. There are no re-dos or erasers. The sins of our lives and the sinful nature that clings to us leave an ugly, permanent stain on our souls. Only God can do something about the stain. He has every right to discard us, as we would a stained garment that we owned. But He has not discarded us. Just the opposite. His gracious love for us moved Him to send His son Jesus into the world to become our stain so that we might be made right with Him again. God didn’t just forget about the stain of our sin, or cover it up. He moved our sin to Jesus and punished Him in our place. He bore the sins and the consequences of our broken nature.

This is why God can be so certain that our scarlet and crimson sin will be as white as wool and snow. He performed the work of salvation for us. There is nothing we need to do but graciously receive the free gift offered in the death and resurrection of Jesus. God’s work of salvation is perfect and complete. If you believe in Jesus today, God looks at you and sees you as sinless in His sight. Sinless, because you have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus.

Are you wrestling with guilt or shame today? Is Satan constantly pushing your nose into the mistakes of your past, or into the brokenness of your nature? Go to the cross of Jesus. See it bearing all of that on your behalf because He loves you. Accept the fact that God has done this miraculous work of cleansing within you, and tell Satan to “be gone!” Pick your head up and walk in the light of God’s grace for you!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church