June 12

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”—ISAIAH 43:25

God has a unique ability concerning sin. He not only forgives sin, but remembers it no more. God who knows all things will never recall what He knows about us, never use it as ammunition against us, never call us to account for it, and never condemn us for it. He will treat it as though it never took place. 

If a person has cheated us, or taken a swing at us, or falsely accused us in some grave way, a red flag will go up when we encounter that person again. That does not mean we have not forgiven them, but we will probably treat them with caution. Although we have the capacity to forgive sin, we do not have the capacity to “remember it no more”. God does, and past sin that has been confessed and forgiven means nothing to Him now.

Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” God does not speak of north or south because they are fixed points on the globe. We could travel continuously north or south, and reach a point where we would eventually be going in the opposite direction. But travelling continuously east or west, we would keep going east or west, because a fixed point where east meets west is non-existent. As far as the east is from the west, God removes our transgressions, so it is as if they did not exist.

Isaiah 38:17 says, “You have put all my sins behind your back.” God is in all places at all times, so where is there such a place as behind His back? This does not exist either, but is a profound image that depicts the infinity of distance and space into which God has taken our sin. Micah 7:19 says, “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Our iniquities hurled into the depth of the sea paints another picture of something that is irretrievable. Our sin is washed away, gone forever. 

I have said this many times. “The only way sin leaves our bodies is through our mouths.” We must first acknowledge our sin, confess it and repent of it, which is to set our minds against it. Then God forgives our sin to the extent that He remembers it no more. Paul says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). This is present tense… no condemnation! The guilt is gone and God holds nothing against us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I am so grateful and humbled by your amazing grace. Help me to be as forgiving to  others as You are to me. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I confessing my sin to God and repentant of it?