In 1 John 1:9 we find some incredible news about forgiveness and grace. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

When we confess our sins, we are admitting to God that what we did was wrong. Confession and repentance go hand in hand. Repentance means that I am not only sorry, but I am sorry enough to change.

When I repent and confess, the Bible tells us that God forgives. Have you ever thought about how God forgives? The Psalmist tells us that when God forgives, he removes our sin from us as far as possible. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11-12)

I believe it is intentional that God removes our sin as far as the east is from the west instead of north and south. You can only go north so far before you are headed south again. You can only go south so far then you are going north. But you can go east or west to infinity. When I confess my sin to God, the Bible says that God completely detaches and disassociates your sin from you and it is gone for all eternity. That’s amazingly great news!

Isaiah 43:25 records God’s commitment to forget our sin. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25) That means our amazing, omniscient (all-knowing) God doesn’t just forgive us of our sin, but he intentionally chooses to forget about it. He limits his memory of our past sin … forever. This powerful truth can bring such liberation to our lives.

The blood of Jesus is not a cover-up for our sin. We are redeemed by the blood. The blood purifies us. The blood cleanses us. But the stain of sin has been erased. It is not covered up. It is gone. It will be remembered against us no more.

Our confessed sin no longer exists as far as God is concerned. You may still remember what you did. People may still bring it up from time to time. You may bear the scars of your past sin. But God has taken that sin and removed it from his memory forever.

You may read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or you can email him at [email protected].