This love that He had for us, the fact that He became sin with our sin—we just don’t fully appreciate that aspect of what the remission of our sins really is.  You know, we’ve talked about it in the light of justification.  He died for our sins.  The Scripture tells us very clearly in Isaiah 44:22, “He blotted out our offences, our iniquities, and redeemed us”—now we all know what “redemption” means in the Greek, of course.  Redemption means áphesis, and it has to do with a total deliverance, to be put at liberty from, or an omission of whatever this offence was.  Romans 3:25 says that Jesus was that “propitiation” for us “through faith in his blood.”  And we receive “His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.”  Let’s celebrate that for just a minute.  Anybody ever have the devil try to bring up a past sin?  I mean even from a long time ago.  And he’ll come, and of course, we know his job is to be an accuser of the brethren.  What is it that makes that so vile?  The devil comes, and if we have the wrong understanding of the remission of our sins, if we have the wrong understanding of our justification, then we can almost think, “Well, he’s accusing me of these things, and after all, I did it.”  Really?  Where’s the record of that?  And tragically, the only record of the sins we’ve committed that remains is the one that’s in our mind.  Or maybe a few other people’s minds who would like to remind us of it periodically.  But we won’t talk about that.

“The remission of sins that are past.”  Can I ask you a question?  Is yesterday past?  The remission of our sins that are past.  Don’t raise your hands, but did anybody sin yesterday?  Did you receive the forgiveness of those sins through faith in the redemptive work of Jesus?  Then it’s past.  “There is therefore now no condemnation” to those of us who live with sins in the past (Romans 8:1), praise God!  Of which there is no record.  Remitted.  We’ve been delivered from.  Every record has been blotted out.

As we look at Colossians 2:14, our hearts just rejoice!  Again, it’s one of those things that are just beyond the natural comprehension.  He’s speaking to us (the Holy Spirit), and the Scripture tells us that verse 12, “We were buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye were risen with him through faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you”—say it— “all trespasses;  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us”—all those accusations— “and took it out of the way”—He took it out of the way— “nailing it to his cross”; hallelujah!

“He nailed it to the cross.”  This phrase “blotted out” is interesting.  It doesn’t just mean “an erasing,” it means “to abolish utterly.”  To wipe out any indication that it ever existed; to fully erase.  And we’ve shared that in the past, in that aspect of justification.  Once we realize, when we became righteous with His righteousness, there is no vileness left in us; there is no wickedness.  There is no history of sin, because this happened before the foundations of the world.  I know, our minds kind of…we were forgiven; it was forgotten before it occurred.  That pretty sure “abolishing.”  It’s eternally abolished; amen?  That’s the freedom that’s afforded us, if we’ll walk in faith, if we’ll truly trust the love that God had for us, if we’ll believe that, that message that just continually comes to us, that the justified “live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).