Recently I was reading a book called Unspoken by Dee Henderson, and she brought out an important question I had never thought of before: How can God say He is pure and perfect and He loves us, and also extend the same love and forgiveness to a truly wicked person who has repented? I found this question interesting from a human point of view: it would be hard to love and forgive someone who had hurt many people, compared with someone who had never done so. I thought about the question for a while and this is the answer I came up with. If God can do no wrong, that includes forgiving anyone who truly repents.

God does not hate anyone, merely sinful actions. While it may be hard to accept that a serial killer or kidnapper, having repented, will have his spiritual slate “wiped clean,” I find it comforting to know that no one, no matter what they’ve done, is out of God’s reach (Romans 6:23).

No matter how badly we mess up, if we repent He will forgive us, as it says in Acts 3:19. How could He extend anything less, being who He is?

While God will forgive us, it does not erase the consequences that come from leading a life of sin. All sin, no matter how small or trivial it may seem, still carries consequences that must be paid. God is pure and just; it could be no other way (Hebrews 9:28).

In Acts 2:38-39: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”