Week 5
Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
Do you feel guilty? Should you feel guilty? One supposes that the answers to these questions depends on what the object of the guilt is. But what if the question was this: Should people feel guilty before God? Now the answer to this question is quite CLEAR! The Bible plainly and repeatedly states that every single person without exception is guilty before God. The point is made so commonly in Scripture, it is unnecessary to emphasize it. However, if one wanted to further scratch this biblical truth, the following Scriptures would be helpful to make the point obvious: Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 1 John 1:8
The bottom line to the question of the universality of sin is this: everyone has sinned and falls short of the glory of God! There is no place to hide from this designation: we are all sinners!
It is interesting to note that when the Lord saves a sinner, the first act of that divine operation in salvation is to convince and convict the sinner that he or she is a great sinner deserving of divine punishment and judgment. This brings fear and trepidation to the sinner, and well it should. As the Bible says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
However, the gospel of Jesus Christ (the crucified and risen One) is the gospel of GOOD NEWS! The good news of Christ’s saving work includes the forgiveness of sins. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:7-8a, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us.” Christ’s shed blood on the cross-accomplishing redemption for believers brings us to the forgiveness of sins, manifesting the lavish and abundant riches of God’s saving grace in Christ.
The psalmist says in Psalms 103:12 that God in salvation “removes our transgressions from us.” As if to qualify this glorious assertion, he adds that this removal of sin is “as far as the east is from the west”, which implies spatiality so great as to be beyond spatiality. This is the language of hyperbole; it makes the glorious and soul-inspiring point that God removes our sins from us in Christ and our salvation in Him to the degree that we will never again face our sins or face judgment for our sins.
Christian friend, this gospel truth is true of you! God’s justice against your sins has been satisfied in the death of Christ for you; He died in your place and for your sins. Now, the law of God is fulfilled in your behalf; the wrath of God against you is satisfied. You can now live in the freedom of the forgiveness of God, inspired to love Him and obey Him with all your heart. God has done this great life-transforming work on your behalf in Christ. Rejoice, worship Christ, and serve the Lord well.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for sending Jesus to die for me. Thank You, Lord, that Jesus took my place on the cross. Please accept my praise and thanksgiving for this great sacrifice and help me to live in the sunshine of Your love and grace.