God says He doesn't remember--blots them out, casts them into depths of sea

Psalm 103: [10] He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

[11] For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
[12] As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

That’s total removal. If you said, “As far as the north is from the south” . . . if you go north far enough your compass will tell that you’re now going south because of the way the magnetic field in the earth is. But if you get in an airplane and you start going east, your compass will never tell you that you’re going west, because east and west never meet, says Richard Jordan.

By the way, as far as the Believers who subscribe to the “flat earth theory” and say, “Can you prove the earth is round?”, that verse right there kind of helps me. I can’t figure out how you can have “as far as the east is from the west,” where they never meet, if it’s flat. I don’t get it.

Anyway, my point is, when God talks about forgiveness, He says, “I’m going to separate your sin from you as so far away you never meet them again.”

That’s what that word “remember” means. Something that’s a member of something is a part of it. If it’s sent away, it’s not part of you anymore. He says, “I will never RE-member,” meaning, “I’ll never take your sins and put them back to your account again.”

Isaiah 38:17 is another verse that kind of helps you. King Hezekiah is sick and recovering and He says: [17] Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

Did you ever think when you were young that your mother had eyes in the back of her head? I know my boys swore their mother did. The reason you think that is because if something’s behind you, you can’t see it.

When it says He “cast all my sins behind thy back,” that means He’s going to take my sins and put them out of His sight where they don’t remind Him of anything. They’re behind His back; they’re out of sight, they’re not seen. They’re not things He’s going to bring up again. That’s just another way to describe the completeness of the forgiveness God provides.

Isaiah 43:25 is exactly what Acts 3:19 said: [25] I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Acts 3:19: [19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

He’s literally going to remove the transgressions from the record. When you blot something out, you cover it over and make it like it isn’t there anymore.

The New Testament uses the term “remission.” I’ve heard people say, “Well, remission is not permanent,” and you say, “Well, if I remit a check for somebody and pay a bill, that’s pretty permanent, isn’t it?”

They say, “Well, you can have cancer and it goes into remission.” These are not medical terms and the idea of cancer going into remission and coming back is not the idea in the word remission. Remission is an accounting term, where you have a debt and a payment is made and it completely satisfies the debt and now the debt doesn’t exist anymore.

He says here, “I’m going to take your sins and blot them out of the way.” We sing the song, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Literally, they’re blotted out.

When He says He won’t remember, God’s determination is not to take your sin and attach them back to you. My point is the extent, the completeness, is what the Bible describes as forgiveness.

Colossians 2: [13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

You see that word “all”? How many is ALL? That would be all of the past, all of the present and all of the future. Your forgiveness in Christ is total and complete.

Micah 7: [18] Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
[19] He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

You ever dropped something overboard into the water? One of my early childhood memories is going fishing with my dad and uncle. We’d go sleep on the bank and get up early in the morning and go up and down the river fishing.

One morning, when it was cold and damp, I was sitting in the front seat of the boat waiting and I remember reaching down in the tackle box and taking out a pair of pliers my uncle used to take hooks out of the fishes’ mouths on occasion.

I was raking the top of the water with the pliers, making waves in the water, and they slipped out of my hand. I can still in my mind see them just cascading through the water, down, down, into the darkness.

I plunged in after them but I didn’t get them and they were gone. There wasn’t any retrieving them, because if you drop something into the deep blue yonder it’s GONE for good.

One time when my kids were young we took a vacation to northern Wisconsin where there was a cabin on the lake. My son, Jodie, and I were in a canoe together and when we came up to the pier, he just suddenly jumped up and out. I was sitting in the back of the canoe and the next thing that happened was I was in the drink and the canoe was upside down.

The water wasn’t deep so I was sitting on the bottom, but my glasses were gone off my face. I stay sitting there with the water over my head and I’m feeling around for my glasses. I didn’t want to come up until I got them because you move and you can’t find them.

So, Jodie’s up on the pier thinking, “My daddy’s gone; he won’t come up, he won’t surface!” He thought he had drowned me.

Finally, I stood up and I remember him standing on that pier with absolute relief replacing the horror of loss. Because when something is lost in the deep blue yonder, it’s GONE forever.

God said, “I’ll take your sins and cast them, not in shoulder deep water, but the depths of the sea.” Irretrievable.

I know what people say when you tell them these kinds of things: “Are you telling me, Jordan, that I can just live in sin and do anything I want to do and still be forgiven and still be saved?!”

You ask, “CAN I?” and the answer is “YES, you CAN because you already were.” God didn’t save you on the basis of what you did or what you quit doing; He saves you on the basis of what Jesus Christ did to put AWAY your sin. It’s not what you do.

Forgiveness is not permission to sin; forgiveness is taking sin and sending it away to the Cross and saying the Cross is enough payment; it paid it all! The debt’s FULLY settled.

The Cross teaches you that Christ put away sin, so if you see sin in your life, what does that tell you? “That’s something Christ died to put away! What’s that doing in my life?! That isn’t who I am; that’s something He died to put away!”

Paul ends Titus 2:

[11] For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
[12] Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
[13] Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
[14] Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.