God Pardons His People

"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. ¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Micah 7:18-19

Have you ever considered how blessed we are the Almighty God is a forgiving One?  We have long memories when it concerns people who have wronged or wounded us.  It seems only death is able to part people from old grudges.  Long after the offender has gone to the grave, hatred and bitterness towards the person can remain.  God could rightly retain His anger forever, for He is eternal and righteous and we are crooked sinners.  But thanks be to God, for He fully pardons those who humble themselves before Him and repent.  To be pardoned is more than being forgiven, for the connection between the offender and the offence is wiped clean.  It is a proclamation of innocence concerning every charge.

Every honest person will admit they have made mistakes during their lives, "mistakes" which the Bible calls sin.  Even as there are natural laws observed in the world, there are spiritual ones.  On earth what goes up eventually comes down, and the soul that sins will surely die.  God, a righteous Judge, is angry with the wicked every day and will also judge the righteous - His people through faith (Psalm 7:11).  When God forgives us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we are born again, God fully pardons us from all sin.  He also passes over our transgressions, meaning our past sins are not held against us in our present relationship.  God does not burn with anger, hold a grudge, or throw our failures to obey in our face again as a reason to refuse our request, but chooses not to remember them (Isaiah 43:25).  That is a good example for us to follow as believers.

It is impossible for us to love as God does in our own strength.  We are chronically focused on self:  we aim for self-preservation, keep a record of wrongs, angle to insulate ourselves from future pain by maintaining distance, retain our anger, and justify our sinful refusal to pardon others because we are suspicious they will hurt us again.  God never says faith in people is the basis for us forgiving others, but we forgive because He has forgiven us.  God has never commanded us to trust people, but we must trust and obey Him.  God's nature is to pardon iniquity and pass over transgressions.  He is slow to anger and does not retain it "because He delights in mercy."  He removes the stain of sin far from us and relates to us going forward as if we have only done right.  God has compassion on the ones who sin against Him.  Can you show genuine compassion to the person you are angry with?

1 John 1:9 says concerning Christians who have sinned against God, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Isn't the grace of God wonderful?  As we have received, so ought we to freely give to others.  Is it in your nature to pardon iniquity and pass over faults?  It is not in my nature!  Yet since God is our Father, we are to be towards others as He is to us:  to delight in mercy and to have compassion on even those who offend.  With God's help let us pardon others and throw our grudges and burning anger into the depths of the sea.