No Fishing

Micah 7:18-19

18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

When God forgives our sins, he not only cleans the slate, he breaks it. There is no slate! God loves you -- your position before him is holy and blameless, yet we continually slip back into our default setting of trying to earn God's favor by our works. He says he will not remember our sins (Isaiah 43:25). We don't need to try to make God like us. Notice how those Micah verses end: God hurls our sins into the depths of the sea. They're sitting on the ocean floor. A long way down. Corrie Ten Boom has said that a "No Fishing" sign needs to be posted. Though God forgives our sin and casts them into the bottom of the ocean, we are going out there in our little boats and are bringing them back up ourselves. We don't really believe in God's absolute forgiveness.

Romans 4:8 - Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count against him.
Blessed is (your name), whose sin the Lord will not count again him/her.

Romans 8:1 - Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (emphasis mine)

God has charged our sin to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). As a result, we take on Christ's righteousness. God's justice has been satisfied and we are free!

God no longer counts our sins against us. By preaching the gospel to ourselves daily, we acknowledge our sin and live every day by God's mercy. We take our sin to the cross and leave it there with Jesus. We come back with the righteousness of Christ.

Does this mean God is indifferent to our sins? No; he will work in us to correct sin, but he does so out of love, not because he is angry at us. We must learn to look outside ourselves and trust in Christ's forgiveness. We cannot accurately rest in our identity until we are secure in our standing before the Lord.

When you take your sins to the cross, do you pick up an armload of them to carry back home with you? Leave them there! God has hurled them into the depths of the sea. Leave your sins at the bottom of the ocean. No fishing allowed.