“WHERE DO MISTAKES GO WHEN YOU RUB THEM OUT?”
Raymond Elliott
The title of this article was the caption under a picture in a comic strip. The scene depicts a young girl sitting at her desk with a pencil in her hand. She had made a mistake in spelling a word and had erased the letter. At this point she asks her teacher, “Where do mistakes go when you rub them out?” Now, that is a pretty good question. My thoughts immediately turned to the mistakes we all make in life. Some mistakes are not always sinful; however, all of our sins would indeed be mistakes. Sin is a transgression of God’s law; sin is unrighteousness; sin is a failure to comply with the commands of God (I John 3:4; 5:17; James 4:17). Sin is universal in scope: “There is none righteous, no, not one.” “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23 ASV). When a person complies with the terms of pardon presented by the Christ, forgiveness can be obtained. “In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
When sin appears as a debt, an unfilled obligation, then pardon is spoken of as a cancelling. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgression for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25). “Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19). Jesus cancelled out our debt of sin on Calvary when he shed his atoning blood for us
When sin appears as an estrangement from God, then forgiveness is represented as reconciliation. Man’s sins separated him from his God (Isaiah 59:1, 2). But God has made it possible for fallen man to be reconciled to Him through his Son Jesus Christ. This was the message of reconciliation proclaimed by the inspired preachers in the first century (II Corinthians 5:18-20). It is in the body (church) of Jesus that both Jew and Gentile can enjoy friendship once again with the Heavenly Father (Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:18).
When sin appears as an indictment, forgiveness is spoken of as a justification. Paul expressed it in this manner: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). To be justified is to be declared guiltless, to be absolved of any wrong doing, to be acquitted, to make or to be declared right. The whole world has been indicted by the court of heaven as being under sin (Romans 3:19). To be set free from the guilt and bondage of sin, justification must be sought in Jesus Christ.
When sin appears as pollution, forgiveness is represented as a cleansing. Zechariah prophesied; “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1). The apostle John spoke of the savior when he wrote, “…unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Revelation 1:5). Jesus himself declared as he instituted the supper, “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). That fountain which was opened was the side of our Lord from whence flowed His atoning blood.
When sin appears as a disease, forgiveness is represented as a healing. In reference to the coming Messiah, Isaiah wrote: “But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). In the New Testament, we learn of the work of the Great Physician, “Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sin, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes we are healed” (I Peter 2:24). There is a balm in Gilead; there is a physician there. Jesus Christ is the healer of the malady of sin (Jeremiah 8:22; Matthew 9:12, 13).
Where do our sins go when they are forgiven? That too is a most difficult question. However the word of God does offer us some understanding on this subject. Take for instance the passage found in Micah 7:19: “He will again have compassion upon us: he will tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Sin in this verse is regarded as a personal enemy which by God’s sovereign grace will be entirely subdued. As God destroyed Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, so shall he cast our sins into the depths of the sea of forgiveness and forgetfulness (Exodus 15:4, 10). If you will observe, the Lord will cast our sins into the “depths of the sea,” and not near the shore where they can be washed back again. In Psalms 103:12, we learn, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” In reference to the new covenant that God would make with Israel and Judah, the promise was made: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34: Hebrews 8:12; 10:17). Thus we learn that the Infinite Intelligence possesses the attribute of forgetting sins that are forgiven. To some degree we understand how this is possible. Loving parents have often forgotten as well as forgiven the mistakes and sins made and committed by their children. In perfection, our Heavenly Father forgives and forgets the sins of His penitent children (I John 1:7, 9).
My friends if you have not had your sins blotted out by the blood of Christ, please, as a penitent believer, be immersed in His name in order to obtain His divine forgiveness (Acts 3:19; 2:38). And God who forgives will also in His mercy forget your transgressions.