Sins Like Scarlet

Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow.

If you are at all like me, then you have probably done some things you knew were not good or right. You might have even got away with doing them for a while, but eventually each of us must deal with the consequences of our actions - and that is never an easy task.

Sometimes we learn from our mistakes, but more often than not, we forget what happened the last time we "fouled out" and so we continue making the same mistakes - over and over again.

So it was with the people in the Bible. Even though God made it known to them that living for self was not the way to go, they did it anyway - time and time again. Each time resulted in dire consequences and each time God bailed them out of their troubles. (Read the book of JUDGES for a good example.)

Twenty-seven hundred years ago, a man by the name of Isaiah was chosen by God to be a prophet. A prophet was someone chosen by God to speak to the people and call them back to the heart of God. The book of Isaiah contains probably the most familiar prophecies of all. Take Isaiah 1:18 for example;

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Scarlet and crimson were drawn from the same source, the crushed body of an insect. God chose scarlet not because of the color, but because this bright red "dye" could not be washed out.

What wonderful news! Even if our sins are like scarlet - impossible to remove - God will do it, if only we will turn to him.

Sometimes people cannot forget the wrongs they have committed; their past is fixed in their mind, forever coloring their outlook. How wonderful it is to realize that God can and has purified us via our faith in the finished work of his son Jesus, so that in his sight we are "as white as snow"!

See video version of this post: Stubborn Stains