1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
The promise of God is that His Love will cover the multitude of our sins. Jesus sprinkled the blood of the Lamb on the mercy seat of God to make atonement for the sins of the world. God the Father, the Almighty Judge, sees the blood of Jesus instead of the sinner, and accepts us into His eternal kingdom. ”When I see the blood I will pass over.” When we see the Blood we are seeing the Love of God. Blood = Love. When we look at the Cross we see the love of God; when God looks at the Cross He sees no sin in us for it is covered. Sin is not only covered from view, it is also removed and forgotten. Because of the covering blood, when the Lord looks upon us He sees Jesus, not our Sin.
”Charity” is the King James English word for Love. The love of God for me put Jesus on the cross to shed His blood to “cover,” which means hide, remove, forget. Christ covers the multitude of our sins. ”Multitude” simply means our sins are many, from the past and the future. But we know that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins, not one is left unforgiven. This is a promise and a guarantee.
Secondly, this promise also declares that the Christian’s love for others covers a multitude of their sins. Our love for others comes from God’s love for us. The believer prays daily: ”As we forgive those who trespass against us.” When Christians love and forgive and cover, the world is a better place. Covering stems the tide of strife from running rampant in our families and communities and our world. Thank God for this powerful promise. Use the promise to cover the multitude of sins.