In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:7

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

After we confess our sins, grace takes the next step on the road to life: God forgives our sins. It cannot be overstated what it cost God to grant us forgiveness. From the beginning, God instituted one consequence for disobedience: death. For every act of disobedience, regardless of how small or insignificant, the sentence is death. If that seems excessive, then you have not fully considered the absolute pure holiness of God.

Pure is a definitive word. It means 100 percent free of contamination. It is not a gray term; it is black and white. Something is either pure, or it is not. When a company reports that its gold bars are 99.999 percent pure, it is confessing that its gold bars are not free of contamination.

We are accustomed to calling things pure that are not pure because achieving absolute purity in a contaminated world is all but impossible. In our context, close enough is enough. Why else would a soapmaking company brag that its product is 99.44 percent pure? Have you ever wondered why they can’t seem to remove that last 0.56 percent of contamination?

God does not live in our contaminated context. God’s context is pure — pure life, pure light, and pure love.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11–12

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him, there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world, we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:16–18

With absolute 100 percent purity established as the standard, the need for forgiveness comes clearly into focus. Anything falling short of purity must be removed from the presence of God. There can be no deviation from the standard. God cannot ignore even the slightest amount of contamination, nor can he excuse it or gloss over it. No sin may be in the pure presence of God.

When Adam became contaminated, he was removed from the pure light, life, and love of God. That left him in darkness, death, and hate. These three words sum up our existence on the road to death. If we experience anything better as we travel that miserable road, it is only because of the grace of God.

You and I carry the contaminated DNA of Adam. At birth, we are already traveling on the road to death. While Adam’s contamination is enough to secure our condemnation, we also have sinned. We cannot blame Adam. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

The bottom line is this: we are guilty and condemned. Unless something is done to remove the contamination, we remain condemned to travel the road to death.

Thankfully, God did something. He came to earth to pay the penalty of death for us. He did this through the pure and uncontaminated life of Jesus Christ, the innocent for the guilty.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him? For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6–11

Reconciliation is a miraculous transaction, empowered from start to finish by the grace of God. By God’s grace, we are awakened and convicted. By God’s grace, we are empowered to confess. By God’s grace, he forgives and reconciles us to Himself.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13

God’s forgiveness is perfect. What I mean is this: when you and I forgive, we retain the memory of the offense. We don’t want to remember them, but those painful memories are stored in our brains. Unless God gives a miracle, you and I will never be able to forget what an offender has done to us. We can forgive, but we can’t forget.

God’s forgiveness is perfect because he can remove your offense from his memory: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:34

Try to imagine how God sees you after he grants forgiveness. No matter what you’ve done, God retains no memory of it. You stand before him as a new creation, fully reconciled and free of all sin. His complete forgiveness is the reason we are granted the miraculous opportunity to experience his presence. It is the reason the Holy Spirit can take up residence in us. It is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!