You may have heard the old expression that “God hates the sin, but He loves the sinner”—and it’s true. Even when we turn our backs on Him and deliberately refuse to do what is right, He still loves us and is ready to forgive us.

After all, the Bible tells us that we are all sinners, and we only deserve God’s judgment as a result. But if God hated us as well as our sin, He wouldn’t have sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins and bring us into His family. In other words, if He hated us, He wouldn’t have bothered to provide a way for us to be saved. But He did! The Bible says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

But don’t misunderstand me. Sin is very serious in God’s eyes; it is so serious that it took the death of His Son to make our forgiveness possible. If we persist in our sins and refuse to turn to God, however, we have no reason to expect His forgiveness, and in the end we will be lost. The Bible warns, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18).

God loves you; He loves you so much that He wants you to spend all eternity with Him in heaven. But have you ever responded to His love by committing your life to Christ? Don’t let another day go by without Him, but by a simple prayer of faith ask Him to come into your life and cleanse you from your sins.