If one should enter a jewelry store and ask to see a diamond or any other precious stone, the jeweler would first spread upon his showcase a black cloth and then place the diamonds upon it, not only for protection but also in order that the black background might bring out distinctly the brilliancy and worth of the gems. So God gives this best of all promises with the dark picture of sin clearly and thoughtfully portrayed.
But first, think about the fact that for each of us, there will come a time of judgment. We will be judged and then receive eternal punishment for our sins.
Every sin we have ever committed is written down. Every unkind word, every impure thought, and every godless act will be written down. When we stand at the judgment there shall appear before us all our sins of commission and all our sins of omission, the sins we have long forgotten, and more recent sins we have committed against our fellow man and against God. There is not a sin of your youth, or passion of our mature years that is not recorded. Every act, feeling, or imagination has been indelibly recorded. All the efforts of man cannot erase this record, nor will time dim it.
It is indeed a black picture that our sin paints of us. We are hopelessly in debt to God. It is a debt of sin. One that we have absolutely no ability to pay.
God is a just God who punishes the unjust. God is pure, therefore He cannot abide any sin whatsoever.
The Bible tells us,
“The wicked will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 11:21).
“The one that sins…will die” (Ezekiel 18:20).
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
How can there be any hope for us? There would be none, except for the shed blood of Christ that washes away our sins. It is the power of the blood that can take our black sinful past and leave us as white as snow.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
How is it possible for God to take our black sinful past and change it to a past that is white and pure? God’s gracious answer to this important question is, “I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25).
More than a century ago, John Chapman stated it well: “Our sins are blotted out from God’s memory. The last of this wonderful text is the best. When we detect a failure of memory here in this world among our friends it is evidence of weakness, but it is no weakness in God to forget. This is but another of those expressions descriptive of God in which human language is used to describe a thought and in which human language is too poor an agency to convey all the depth of the meaning. It is just another picture of God stooping down to meet our weakness and it is God assuring us that our sins are gone completely. It is as if they never existed, for they will never stand against us, and on the day of judgment, they shall not even be mentioned. Our sins must have been a grief to God, just as the sin of an earthly child is the source of sorrow to an earthly parent; but they are no longer, for He has forgotten them.
The Bible represents God as being angry because of our transgressions, but if ever there was anger with Him it is so no longer, for you cannot be angry with a person whose injury against you you have forgotten entirely. We do not in this world speak of what we have forgotten, nor will God speak of our sins. We do not punish what we have forgotten, nor will God permit us to be punished, for He has blotted out our transgressions and will remember them no more. There is no waiting penalty for your sin, there is no judgment to meet at the great white throne, there is no hell for you at the last, for your sins, for Christ’s sake, have been forgotten.”
“Our sins are forgiven, never to be remembered again. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12).
We were hopefully in debt to God, and our obligation has been canceled; our sin debt has been erased, our slate is clean. Jesus paid for our sins with His life blood.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood” (Romans 5:9).
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7).
There is just one thing between us and judgment, and that one thing is the precious blood of Christ. We cannot discount the importance of the shedding of the blood of Christ. It was vital for the forgiveness of our sins. His blood cleansed our black past, making us as white as snow. We are free of our sinful past because of His blood, just as the old hymn says.
“Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”
The precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, (1 Peter 1:19) paid in full the debt of sin we owe to God, and we need no further sacrifices for sin. Jesus said, “It is finished” as He was dying. He was not speaking of His physical death, He was saying that the entire work of redemption was completed forever, “having obtained eternal redemption” for us (Hebrews 9:12).
We may have things in our past that we regret and are ashamed of. Thankfully, if we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our sins have been forgiven and forgotten, and we will not be facing a coming judgment from God. We will not have to face the shame of having the whole world know of our every sin and mistake. We may never forget them, but God has. We may not understand how that is possible, but God is God and His ways are far beyond us to understand. It is enough that His Word says it is so.
If you don’t know Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then there is no better time to change that than right now. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, rose from the grave, and is alive today; then ask Him to forgive your sins, (we are all sinners). If you have sincerely done that, then you are forgiven, and your sins have been forgotten. You are now a child of God. It is that simple. If you have made this decision please let me know in the comment section.
This post has been taken from my book, Basic Christianity.
Books by Jerry, many of which you may read for free: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Blount/author/B06XK4GJT1
- Things You Probably Didn’t Learn in Chruch
- Basic Christianity: Living a Joy-Filled Life and Making a Difference
- The End Times: Signs and Prophecy
- Noah and the Great Flood: Proof and Effects
- Following Jesus and Fishing Along the Way: Stories of God’s Great Outdoors
- The Rapture: Coming Soon
Sharing Jesus 