Hebrews 8:10-12
When I was a child growing up in the church, we would sing a song that said, “God can do anything but fail”. I was always fascinated by the paradox that the song introduced; that Almighty God could do anything except mess-up, which meant that there was something that God could not do. I remember pondering on this every time the choir performed it.
I am not as intrigued by that paradox as I once was, but there is another one that still fascinates my imagination: that God knows all things all of the time and has a perfect memory, yet He cannot remember any of my sins. I don’t mean to insinuate that God does not have the ability to remember my sins, but simply that God has chosen to wipe them out of His mind. He does not do this to prove that He is merciful, or to show Himself to be a “good guy”. God forgets our sins because this proves to us that He is righteous.
Paul told us that God proves His righteousness by being perfectly just. If man puts faith in Jesus Christ, God must honor his faith by justifying that man completely. Anything less than this and God would prove to be unrighteous (Romans 3:26), for it would be the equivalent of God saying that Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins was not enough.
The New Covenant which Jesus cut with the Father at Calvary is better in every way than its predecessor, the Old Covenant. We now have God’s laws written into our very minds and hearts, instead of on tables of stone (Hebrews 8:10). This does not make us slaves to “doing right” and “shunning evil”; it simply brings righteousness out of us instead of us putting righteousness on from our external works. He does the work in changing us, while we just enjoy the change!
There could be no enjoyment in this salvation if our sins and failures were constantly nagging us and hanging over our heads. To ensure comfort and peace within the heart of man, Jesus paid for our condemnation in His flesh (Romans 8:3). If Jesus was condemned in His flesh for our failure, how can a righteous God ever condemn us in our flesh for our failure? The peace and assurance of salvation is wrapped up in whether or not the believer truly feels that they are completely forgiven for their transgressions and sins. If you believe that God is still somewhat against you then you are at war with Him constantly. Correct knowledge of your standing in Christ leads to the correct living that all of us want so badly to achieve.
Have no fear that this knowledge will lead to more sin in your life. The opposite is true, and this is why Satan opposes this message so much. The more law and works that are injected into your life, the more that sin takes over (Romans 5:20; 6:14; 7:9). The more that you dwell on His finished work and your forgiveness, the more that grace will bring victory in you (Luke 7:47; Romans 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
When I was a child growing up in the church, we would sing a song that said, “God can do anything but fail”. I was always fascinated by the paradox that the song introduced; that Almighty God could do anything except mess-up, which meant that there was something that God could not do. I remember pondering on this every time the choir performed it.
I am not as intrigued by that paradox as I once was, but there is another one that still fascinates my imagination: that God knows all things all of the time and has a perfect memory, yet He cannot remember any of my sins. I don’t mean to insinuate that God does not have the ability to remember my sins, but simply that God has chosen to wipe them out of His mind. He does not do this to prove that He is merciful, or to show Himself to be a “good guy”. God forgets our sins because this proves to us that He is righteous.
Paul told us that God proves His righteousness by being perfectly just. If man puts faith in Jesus Christ, God must honor his faith by justifying that man completely. Anything less than this and God would prove to be unrighteous (Romans 3:26), for it would be the equivalent of God saying that Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins was not enough.
The New Covenant which Jesus cut with the Father at Calvary is better in every way than its predecessor, the Old Covenant. We now have God’s laws written into our very minds and hearts, instead of on tables of stone (Hebrews 8:10). This does not make us slaves to “doing right” and “shunning evil”; it simply brings righteousness out of us instead of us putting righteousness on from our external works. He does the work in changing us, while we just enjoy the change!
There could be no enjoyment in this salvation if our sins and failures were constantly nagging us and hanging over our heads. To ensure comfort and peace within the heart of man, Jesus paid for our condemnation in His flesh (Romans 8:3). If Jesus was condemned in His flesh for our failure, how can a righteous God ever condemn us in our flesh for our failure? The peace and assurance of salvation is wrapped up in whether or not the believer truly feels that they are completely forgiven for their transgressions and sins. If you believe that God is still somewhat against you then you are at war with Him constantly. Correct knowledge of your standing in Christ leads to the correct living that all of us want so badly to achieve.
Have no fear that this knowledge will lead to more sin in your life. The opposite is true, and this is why Satan opposes this message so much. The more law and works that are injected into your life, the more that sin takes over (Romans 5:20; 6:14; 7:9). The more that you dwell on His finished work and your forgiveness, the more that grace will bring victory in you (Luke 7:47; Romans 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
