“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”   ~Psalm 51:2

So what’s our part in all of this? Exactly what do we have to do to undo our past mistakes as well as our deliberate sins? Believe! All we have to do is believe the blood of Christ washed away all of our sins—every stinking one of them. There is no sin that is greater than God’s forgiveness! All we have to do is ask, and then believe He will do what He said He will do.

​“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   ~1 John 1:9

​Jesus does all the work, all we have to do is come to Him. He’s the only one that can take us back to God, all we have to do is choose to turn to Him and believe that He is able.

Really it’s just a choice thing—we must choose to be cleansed, it’s a simple case of free will choice, all we bring into the salvation equation is a choice to believe. We can not wash ourselves clean. We can’t undo our past transgressions/sins. Nope! Only through the substitutional sacrificial death of Jesus Christ can our sins be abolished.

​“Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities."   ~Psalm 51:9

​“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins…”   ~Isaiah 44:22

​“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”   ~Isaiah 43:25

We must pour out our hearts to Jesus, confess everything. That’s it, that’s all we have to do—He does the rest.  We can’t undo our sins because we can’t undo what’s already happened, but Jesus can. Only Jesus can permanently eradicate what has already happened; only He can undo history. As far as the east is from the west is how far God obliterates our sins.

​“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”   ~Psalm 103:12

Look closely at that last verse, and really think about this. Why did God say that He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west, why not as far as the north is from the south?

The only way I could get my head wrapped around the depth of this concept was to act it out physically. Take something round, like a ball, an orange, or anything round. Hold it up, take your finger and point to a spot, and then go north, keep going north, sooner or later you will be going south, right? Okay, now do the same thing, but go east . . . keep going, it never changes, you just keep going east. The east and the west never connect, they never meet! Seems God really knows everything. He knew this, and that’s why He said it that way—that our sins are dispersed as far as the east is from the west—in other words, forever, they are dispersed forever! Our sins are gone, obliterated, stricken from history . . . as if they never existed, because to God, they never did.

This is how totally God’s forgiveness works, He makes what happened as if it never did. His sacrifice on the cross completely cleans the slate, all we have to do is accept this fact. That’s it. It is finished, the trade was made for our lives the moment Jesus died. His death bought our life, our eternal life, through this total, redemptive forgiveness.

There is nothing we can do to earn this forgiveness. It’s a free gift from God. It’s not about what we do or don’t do when it comes to this gift of absolute forgiveness . . . it is always about what He did for us on the cross.

​“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”   ~Mark 11:25

This is a Biblical fact, God forgives us as we forgive others. Apparently we do have a part in this forgiveness thing, and it’s this, we must become forgivers in order to be forgiven. This might be the most difficult thing you have ever done, forgive someone that’s wronged you, but it is powerful beyond anything you could ever imagine.

Filling your heart with anger and resentment or holding a grudge toward another person is like holding a gun to your own head. It’s like drinking a cup of poison to try and kill someone else. It doesn’t work! You will only poison yourself. You are the one that will be filled with anger and bitterness, not them! It’s one of the most self-defeating acts we can ever commit.

However, simply asking God to remove these bitter feelings from you will free your spirit and enable you to truly forgive. After all, we want Him to forgive us, right?

​“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”   ~Matthew 6:14-15

Apparently, we actually do have an input as to the degree of forgiveness we receive… the degree of judgement as well, for as we give to others, God will give to us.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”   ~Matthew 18:35

Simply forgive and be forgiven!  The Bible repeats this over and over and over again! So, what are you waiting for? Believe and be saved.

Q: What must I do to be saved? ~Acts 16:30

​A: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. ~Acts 16:31

These two verses say it all. All we have to do is believe Jesus is who He says He is and . . . forgive others the way we want Him to forgive us. It's up to us to take that first step, and Jesus will do the rest. 

“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”   ~Acts 22:16

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