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Despite the immensely forgiving and loving nature of our Creator, many people, both unsaved and even believers, are afraid to request His forgiveness. This shame and fear-tainted disposition typically stems from the guilt these people have from their sins and sinful lifestyles. This guilt unfortunately causes these people to believe destructive lies such as they cannot accept God's forgiveness, are too far gone, or must do something to make themselves worthy of approaching or coming back to the Lord. Fortunately, the Scriptures not only disprove these lies, but also reveal how God's love allows all who earnestly seek His forgiveness to come to Him.
First, it is important to realize that people do not have the ability to improve themselves. According to Romans 3:23, all people stand before God as sinful and falling short of God's glory. This is due to all humanity having inherited a sinful nature from our ancestors Adam and Eve, who, as Romans 5:12 states, rebelled against God and gave way for sin and death to come into all Creation. This exposure to sin not only corrupted man's nature, but also, as God warned in Genesis 2:17, killed his spirit, destroying man's sole way to fellowship and learn from God. In this state, sin left man helplessly destined for eternal condemnation because his dead spirit and sin-stained nature caused him to stand guilty before God regardless of his best efforts and works. Thus, humanity can do nothing within itself to improve its standing before God.
Second, God graciously responded to mankind's plight by providing the perfect solution. In 1 John 4:10, we read that despite the sinful rejection and bitter unlovingness that humanity showed Him, God possessed such a profoundly deep love for us that He graciously gave up His Son to save us from sin's eternal punishment. Because mankind's salvation depended on God's justice and love being simultaneously satisfied, Jesus came to this Earth to take our punishment upon Himself. By living in perfect obedience, enduring unspeakable sufferings, and dying on the Cross while bearing mankind's sin debt, Christ met God's righteous demands for the blood of a perfect sacrifice to be provided in our place (Heb 9:12, 22). Without demanding humanity to change or earn its salvation, Jesus lovingly earned it Himself and freely provides it to all who acknowledge their sinfulness and accept it. Therefore, as the Apostle Paul states in Romans 9:16, "[Our salvation] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy."
Finally, God always accepts the sinner's sincere cry for forgiveness, regardless of how deep he is into sin. As previously stated, many people, even some believers, believe they need to make themselves "right with God" before approaching Him for forgiveness. However, such is not the case, as seen in the parable of The Prodigal Son. Recorded in Luke 15:11-32, the story illustrates God's love for humanity through a father and his rebellious son. Despite the great love and providence his father continually gives him, the son decides to leave his father and pursue his worldly passions in another country. When his sinful and wasteful lifestyle gives way to complete poverty, filthiness, and helplessness, the son realized how much better his life was with his father. Despite offering to work for his forgiveness, the father lovingly embraced his son and graciously welcomed him back to his home without requiring him to pay for his mistakes. Like the father in the parable, God does not require us to do the impossible and make ourselves right with him when approaching Him. As Ephesians 2:1-6 proclaim, because Jesus has already paid for all our trespasses, no matter how entrenched we are in sin, God will always lovingly accept our sincere cries for forgiveness and welcome us into His presence.
Because of the destructive misconceptions many people today have of God's love and forgiveness, they are unfortunately hesitant to accept Christ's salvation. Thankfully, God does not require us to make ourselves right with Him because He not only knows we cannot, but He has already paid for all our sins through Christ's perfect sacrifice. As Carl Stevens states in encouraging all to come as they are before God, "...the greatest thing the human race needs is to understand how much God loves us. Dealing with sin isn't the great issue. Deal with how much God loves you, and God's love will deal with the sin. The love of God will produce the change." (Stevens 15)
Stevens, C. H. (1996). Just let god love you. Grace Publications, 1996.
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