16. When Jehovah forgives our sins, why may we feel assured that he views us as clean thereafter?

¹⁶ Have you ever tried to remove a stain from a light-colored garment? Perhaps despite your best efforts, the stain remained visible. Notice how Jehovah describes his capacity for forgiveness: “Though the sins of you people should prove to be as scarlet, they will be made white just like snow; though they should be red like crimson cloth, they will become even like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) The word “scarlet” denotes a bright-red color.a “Crimson” was one of the deep colors of dyed material. We can never through our own efforts remove the stain of sin. Yet, Jehovah can take sins that are like scarlet and crimson and make them white like snow or undyed wool. So when Jehovah forgives our sins, we need not feel that we bear the stain of such sins for the rest of our life.