Sins Gone Forever

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And he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure. --Isaiah 33:6 I don’t have to tell you that we live in a changing society and culture. No thoughtful person can look at our world and the advances of technology without feeling a bit apprehensive. Humankind now has the capability of destroying the world as we know it. Yes, we have more power than ever before in our history. And not only that, but we live in a revolution of rising expectations with the influence of media and social media on society. This generation is one which demands everything now. As a result, people have become frustrated, impatient, and most of all, confused. But the one thing that can hold our world together is an anchor. You see, when a ship needs to stop, it can’t just put on the brakes. No, it has to anchor itself to something solid. It has to touch something tangible, something not susceptible to tossing and turning like the waves of the ocean. Because no matter how big the ship is, the waves will always win. Do you want stability in an ever-changing and chaotic world? Let Jesus be your anchor. Find your rest and your peace in Him alone. That doesn’t mean you can’t change, but it means that when you do change, you’ll do so with a firm foundation of the Solid Rock-- the Lord Jesus Christ! IN A CHANGING WORLD, LOOK TO CHRIST AS YOUR ANCHOR AND FIND YOUR REST AND PEACE IN HIM. Sins Gone Forever Friday, March 13, 2020 by Dr. Paul Chappell “These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.” John 1:28–31 Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would provide an offering for the sins of the entire nation of Israel. Two goats would be selected for the sacrifice. The first would be killed, and the blood would be taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). The second would be driven into the desert, symbolically taking away the sins from the nation—where we get the concept of a scapegoat. But the sins were not gone. They were covered by the blood on the mercy seat, but they were only symbolically taken away. Only the Lamb of God could not only atone for sin but remove it from our account before the Father. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There are things each of us have in the past that we wish were not there. But while some consequences for sin may remain, the guilt of sin is gone forever—not just temporarily covered up, but permanently replaced with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Today's Growth Principle: Jesus has paid it all on our behalf, and our sins are gone from our record forever.