When Jesus forgives us for our sins, He forgives us completely no matter how many sins we have committed or how bad they were. All of our past sin is gone, wiped spotless by His blood shed on the cross. He became the substitute that would pay the penalty for our sin, permanently! 1 John 1:7 tells us that Jesus’ shed blood purifies us. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

When our dirty clothes are washed with detergent, they come out spotless. The blood of Jesus is the most potent detergent in the universe. It completely cleanses us from all sin. This purification is an ongoing work of continual cleansing in the life of every believer. As believers, we will make every effort by His grace to walk in the light so that we can have intimate fellowship with God and each other.

A woman once washed Jesus’ feet with her tears because she was so grateful for the forgiveness of her sins. Jesus said, “…her many sins have been forgiven for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).

Real love for Jesus comes from a deep awareness of our past sinfulness and that He has forgiven us completely. Some say that they have made such terrible mistakes and sinned so horribly that God could never forgive them. Not true. No matter what the sin, everyone is forgiven for much, because God loves to forgive sin when we repent and turn to Him!