Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.** Psalms 32:1-2 (NIV)**
Reader, it does us well to remember our natural state. Apart from Christ, we are all doomed to destruction. The Bible teaches us all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory which, BTW, is the only way to life eternal. And in and of ourselves, we are incapable of being sinless – flawless - in our natures and beings. Think for a moment how guilty we each are apart from Christ. Even the most “perfect” person that may come to mind is flawed by sin – there is no one perfect in their natural state, not even one the Scriptures tells us. Yet, in Christ we are fully and freely pardoned. The Perfect Lamb of God took our sins upon Him so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Amazing.
What cost Him so dearly, cost us nothing. By Christ’s effective sacrifice – which extends to all sins of those who would believe in Him – past, present and future – our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. We stand pure before Him. Paul writes these amazing words in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV): “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” No sin can stand before the effectiveness of Christ’s blood shed on our behalf.
When God looks down upon the believer’s life, He sees a perfect life – not counting men’s sins against them. We were once dead in our trespasses and sins and now we stand forgiven and alive – cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Paul again writes in Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV): “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
To be sure, there are only two things eternal in this world – the Word of God and the souls of men. The soul cannot be annihilated – it never dies and has sensibility forever. Forever. Let that soak in. That is why it is so amazing that our Christ – the perfect Lamb of God – took upon His perfect body the sins of the entire world – past, present and future – for those who would believe in Him.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.** 1 John 1:5-10 (NIV)**