DAILY TEXT, Today Friday, October 4, 2024,  Jehovah our God does not tolerate injustice (2 Chron. 19:7).

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Friday, October 4, 2024

Jehovah our God does not tolerate injustice (2 Chron. 19:7).

Jehovah’s decisions are always fair. He is completely impartial. His forgiveness is never dependent on a person’s appearance, financial situation, social standing, or abilities. (1 Sam. 16:7; Jas. 2:1-4) Jehovah cannot be pressured or bribed. And he is not swayed by frustration or feelings. (Ex. 34:7) Jehovah is undoubtedly the best Judge there is because his understanding of us and our circumstances is perfect. (Deut. 32:4) The writers of the Hebrew Scriptures knew that Jehovah’s forgiveness is incomparable. They sometimes used a Hebrew term that, according to one reference work, “is reserved especially to denote the forgiveness granted by God to the sinner.” This work adds: “It is never used to denote that lower kind and measure of forgiveness that is exercised by one man toward another” (Synonyms of the Old Testament, translation and adaptation by Santiago Escuain). Only Jehovah has the power to completely forgive a repentant sinner. w22.06 4 pars. 10, 11.

What does the person who receives Jehovah's forgiveness enjoy? And does Jehovah's forgiveness have an expiration date?

When we accept the fact that Jehovah has forgiven us, “times of relief” come to us. And that includes peace of mind and a good conscience. All of this cannot come from human forgiveness but from forgiveness given by “Jehovah himself.”—Acts 3:19. When Jehovah forgives us, he allows us to be his friends again. It is as if we had never sinned.

After Jehovah has forgiven a person, he never again accuses or punishes him for what he did. (Isa. 43:25; Jer. 31:34) Jehovah puts his sins “as far away as the east is from the west.” (Ps. 103:12) Thinking about the immensity of his forgiveness awakens gratitude and reverence in us. (Ps. 130:4) But whom does Jehovah forgive in this way?

What have we learned so far about Jehovah's forgiveness?

As we have seen, Jehovah's forgiveness does not depend on the severity of a sin. Furthermore, we have learned that Jehovah uses his knowledge as our Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge when deciding whether to forgive someone or not. So what things does Jehovah look for?

According to Luke 12:47, 48, what does Jehovah consider when deciding whether to forgive?

One thing Jehovah takes into account is whether the sinner knew what he was doing was wrong. Jesus made this clear, as we can read in Luke 12:47, 48 (read it). When a person knowingly does something that God condemns and that is evil, he commits a serious sin. He risks not being forgiven by Jehovah. (Mark 3:29; John 9:41) But we must admit that sometimes we realize that we did something that was wrong. In this case, is there a chance that Jehovah will forgive us? Of course there is. And this brings us to another thing that Jehovah takes into account.

What does it mean to repent, and why is it so important to do so?

Another thing Jehovah considers is whether the sinner is truly repentant. What does it mean to repent? It means to change one’s mind, attitude, or purpose. In addition, a repentant person feels remorse and deep sadness for the bad things he did or for not doing the good things he should have done. He feels bad not only for his mistakes, but for the poor spiritual state that led him to commit them. Think again about Kings Manasseh and David. Even though they committed very serious sins, Jehovah forgave them because they repented from the heart. (1 Ki. 14:8) So Jehovah only forgives someone if he sees evidence of repentance. It is not enough to regret the sins committed. You have to put in the work. And that brings us to another thing Jehovah considers.

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