27th January

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are like red crimson, I will make them white as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18

Sin is serious. Sin has consequences. Sin leaves scars. Yet there is no sin that’s too big for God to forgive, to heal you of or to set you free from.

In today’s passage taken from the first chapter of Isaiah, God is communicating with the people of Judah. They had abandoned Gods laws, God’s righteousness and purposed to live a life in opposition to Him. The first few verses in this chapter are almost like a conviction statement being read out in a court. The verdict was guilty. Even Jerusalem, once so faithful is now branded as a promiscuous prostitute. The situation was looking bad.

Yet in the bleakness of utter condemnation, a light shone in the darkness… Gods never ending, unlimited resource of grace, love and mercy. The judge and prosecutor slams down the judgement… “Let’s settle this”. The next sentence absolutely blows the readers mind.. “Though your sins are like scarlet”..”though they are red like crimson”, “I will make them as white as snow”..”as white as wool”. What a promise. God promised to not only forgive their sins, but to wash them completely clean in His love.. What love is that!

The interesting thing is that although God would and did forgive them, the fullness of that complete personal washing was only fully fulfilled at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was made complete when the sinless Son of man, both fully human and fully God, came and gave His life as a sinless, spotless lamb, bearing our punishment on the cross. He had a clear conviction statement that declared we were guilty, yet in His goodness, presented Himself in our place, as our replacement.

Jesus’ words in Luke 4 are so ever true today, “He has sent Me to proclaim that CAPTIVES WILL BE RELEASED, THE BLIND WILL SEE AND THE OPPRESSED WILL BE SET FREE!” Take your healing, claim your forgiveness and be free. We are no longer prisoners, our ransom has been paid and our crimson stains are washed clean.