Psalm 103:8-12. 8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
How do you relate to God? When you’re with God, what do you spend most of your time thinking, meditating, and praying about? If you’re like a lot of Christians, the answer is your sin. Do you deal with God according to your list of sins? Do you believe that is how God will deal with you today? According to your sins?
Christian, here is the most glorious of truths and the foundation for all growth in Christ: God does not deal with us according to our sin. God keeps no record of our wrongs. God holds no grudges. God is done chiding us. God will never repay us for our offenses.
GOD’S NOT KEEPING SCORE.
Do you believe this? Like in the movies when the superhero swoops in and grabs the bomb that is about to explode and carries it off into space, this is what Jesus has done for us. He has carried the bomb of our guilt far, far away. As far as the east is from the west. Just as east and west never meet, so too you will never meet the fate you deserve for your sins. Not today. Not on judgment day. Never.
Hebrews 9:28. so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Have you ever stopped to think that when you spend time with God and are constantly reviewing all your sins with him, that he is probably thinking, “I don’t want to talk about those; I already died for those. Let’s talk about me instead.” God wants to talk to you about his mercy and grace. His slow anger and steadfast love. He wants you to know that he loves you to the universe and back again. He wants to relate to you as a compassionate father. He wants you to know that he has given his life for you and to you. He wants to talk about your life in Christ!
So are we saying that God doesn’t care if I sin? No, he cares deeply. He knows how much pride and self-righteousness are tearing you apart. He knows how your mistakes and rebellions bring so much pain and sadness to yourself and others. He wants you to live in freedom from sin. But he wants to deal with your indwelling sin, not your individual sins.
Most of us think God is dealing with us one sin at a time, so we desperately try to remember each failing and confess it to God. We start to attribute our daily trials to our daily sins. We try to keep “short accounts of sins” so that we don’t fall out of fellowship with God. But none of this thinking reflects the freedom of the cross. Rather, it’s the bondage of guilt and shame.
To live is Christ means we can spend each moment in God’s presence beholding the wonders of his love. God has dealt with every sin you have and ever will commit when he died for you on the cross. They’re gone. Removed. Crossed off. Debt paid. Nailed to the cross. Cast into the sea of forgetfulness. Praise God!
And now God is dealing with the source of those sins, the power of indwelling sin within us. How? By teaching us to rest, enjoy, behold, and wonder at the glory of his grace for us in Christ.
You: How do you relate to God? As a sinner, or as his child?
You in Christ: Praise God for the removal of all your sin in Christ Jesus!
Christ in you: What might guilt-free living look like for you today?
To Live is Christ 