Blessed by Forgiveness

“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12

Sin is sin, we are taught this in Sunday school and Bible studies, ministers preach it from the pulpit. Yes, it is true that sin is against God and He encourages us to confess our sins. Our Lord sent His son to die a horrific death in our place, giving us the gift of eternal life through confessing our sins. The ultimate sacrifice became the ultimate gift!

I never considered myself wicked, a little off track definitely but surely not wicked! The first time I read Hebrews 8:12 I was certain it did not apply to me. One of my good friends who I love argue with about the Scriptures explained to me that wickedness referred to the sin that was committed, not the actual person. A person can be living a Godly life yet will gossip about the man in the moon, gossip is considered a sin and is therefore wicked. But fear not, the Lord promises that if you come to Him and confess your sins (and turn away from the sin), those sins will be forgiven and erased.

When I was teaching my daughter this concept I took a small dry erase board and wrote down a list of sins that she had committed that day – lying, cheating on a test, disrespectful. I left them written on the board for the rest of the day and moved the board from room to room with her so she had to look at the list all day long. The next day I explained that Jesus had died for her and that He washed away her sins, but that in order for her sins to be washed away she needed to confess them to the Lord and repent or apologize. As she said each sin – lying, cheating, disrespect – I took an eraser and erased that sin from the board until the board was wiped clean. It is that easy, yet it is one of the hardest things we have to do.