Focus: God Forgives And Forgets

Text: Ps.103:12

"As far as the EAST is from the WEST, SO FAR hath he removed our transgressions from us."

Sin is man's basic problem, and all our woes result from it. Prophet Jeremiah says, "Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you" (Jer.5:25). What exactly is this thing called sin? Good question! Sin can be compressed into three negatives:

1. It is NOT loving or serving God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our might.

2. It is NOT having God alone in our lives, that is, having other gods or idols in our lives.

3. It is not loving our neighbor as ourselves.

All the troubles we are having in this world are caused by the sin of either not loving God at all or loving Him less, the sin of making gods out of things, and the sin of not loving our neighbor as ourselves.

But here is the good news: when a sinner receives Christ in his life, God forgives and forgets his sin. Also, when a saint sins against God and repents of it, God forgives and forgets.

In this world created by God, sin is not final, and Satan will never have the last laugh.

The cross of Christ has forever dealt with the problem of sin, and with the blood of Christ, God forgives and washes away our sins, so that our sins leave no stain on our souls, and they are no longer traceable to us.

Our text says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." In geography we learn that if you travel north long enough you will find yourself heading south. The same applies if you are traveling south; you will surely end up going north. But that is not the case with east and west. East and west never meet. They are far apart from each other. There is no meeting point. In the same way, God puts our sins so far away from us that we never meet our past sins again. On top of that, God says, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer.31:34). Again, God says, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isa.43:25). So, you can see that God not only forgives us, but also, He forgets our sins. What a God!

Now we can humbly pray, "Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people" (Isa.64:9). John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1Jh.1:9). God's forgiveness is a blessing to our souls. Receive God's forgiveness and pass it on to others. One way to enjoy God's forgiveness is by letting go of your sins, by forgiving self, and freeing your soul from guilt.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter