“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. Heb. 10:17-18
Heavenly Father, it’s a mind-centering, heart-encouraging, soul-liberating joy to begin this Sunday remembering your forgetfulness. You promise never again to remember our sins against us. You will never deal with us according to our sins or reward us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10), for on the cross, you dealt with Jesus according to our sins and rewarded him according to our iniquities on the cross.
But that’s not all, gracious Father. Because the gospel is true, you now deal with us according to Jesus’ righteousness and reward us according to his perfect obedience. We are fully and eternally accepted in Jesus. What an exchange. What a salvation. You are fully satisfied with Jesus’ work on our behalf. It’s not cliché; it’s revolutionary to be able to affirm, “Jesus paid it all.”
Our hope, joy, and peace are summarized most profoundly by this bold and beautiful affirmation:
Question: How are you right with God?
Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart. (Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 60)
Hallelujah, many times over! Father, thank you for such a legal, lavish, life-giving salvation. Rescue us in those delusional moments when we forget your forgetfulness; when we act as though Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins wasn’t enough; and when we think there’s something more we can do to gain your acceptance and enjoy your favor. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ great and grace-full name.
