Isn't God a loving and forgiving God?

This is another question we hear over and over again while we share the Gospel. After going through some of the 10 commandments, the person will realize that they have indeed fallen short of the glory of God and will face judgment. But they will ask, "isn't God a loving and forgiving God?" They have probably heard that from church but haven't understood the full meaning of the Gospel.

To help, it has been effective to share the court room analogy. Ask them to think about a man standing in a court room, proven to have robbed a bank several years ago, and just recently caught. But the man asks the judge to forgive him of the crime, because he is truly sorry, hasn't robbed banks since, attends church weekly and gives money to the poor. Should the judge forgive this man's crime? Of course not. A good judge must have the man pay the proper penalty for his crime. And God is a perfect judge and He will judge all sin.

Then you also tell them, that God did something to allow him to go free, but still satisfy the sin debt. He sent his only son, Jesus to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life and then be killed on the cross and take on the full wrath of God on our behalf.

Jesus paid the penalty of death for our sins. Then He rose again to prove that He has defeated death and therefore we too can rise again if we have faith in Him and repented of our sins.

Ken