When my son was young, we got him a bow and arrow for his birthday. We set up a target in the backyard and let him have at it. In no time, he got good at hitting the target. He convinced me to give it a try, and I couldn’t even hit the mark. It reminded me of how short I fall in obeying God’s Word. Fortunately, His grace makes up for where I fall short.
Ephesians 1:7
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
Three Words for Sin
There are three words prominently used for sin in the Bible. Each has it’s own unique meaning and explains the motive behind our actions. Those three words are sin, iniquity, and trespass. The word sin in Hebrew means to miss the mark like an arrow misses the bullseye. The word iniquity means perversion and gives you the idea of perversion. Finally, trespass means to be somewhere you aren’t supposed to be. Many sins hit one or two of these areas, with some hitting all three.
Covered by Grace
The great news is that the grace of Jesus Christ has forgiven our sins because he paid the debt incurred by those sins. We have been redeemed (means “paid in full”) through the blood of Jesus, and all of our sins were placed on Him at the cross. It’s hard to comprehend what that entirely means, but upon putting your faith in Jesus, you released from the debt that had you going to Hell, and instead, you are heading to eternity in Heaven.
Hitting the Target
None of us deserve that kind of treatment, but that is precisely what grace is. While we were missing the mark and going where we weren’t supposed to be, Jesus loved us. That love went so far to die in our place so that we could have eternal life. Walk in the grace that has been extended to you. Don’t let doubt or discouragement from past mistakes hang over you. You’ve been set free from that guilt.