“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, there are many things I’m not certain of, in this post-election moment in our country. Distractions abound and questions multiply. But I am certain of the gospel, and I want to begin this day centering and settling there, anchoring and swimming in the good news of your love for us in Jesus.
This one passage of Scripture sends me to me knees with gratitude, and fills my heart with wonder. I praise you for your forgetfulness! You’ve promised never to remember our sins and lawless acts against us. You’ll never deal with us according to our sins or reward us according to our iniquities; for on the cross, you dealt with Jesus according to our sins and rewarded him according to our iniquities.
Hallelujah… because the gospel is true, you now deal with us according to Jesus’ righteousness and reward us according to his obedience. What a glorious exchange, wondrous salvation, rich standing in grace, and firm rooting in your love. I revel in the gospel today, summarized profoundly in these words from the Heidelberg Catechism:
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)
Father, drive this good news deeper and deeper into our hearts. Much gospel sanity, perspective, and power is going to be needed in these coming days in our country. Help us, as your church, to live out the radical implications of the gospel in our very broken and divided country. Help us relate to our neighbors as you relate to us in Jesus. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ exalted and trustworthy name.