A Word from God's Word

"You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19b

Some of the most precious texts within Scripture are those that speak of the depth of God's forgiveness of sin for the believer. Ps 103:11,12 says, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He re- moved our transgressions from us." And the text above from Micah 7 says, "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." God, in His forgiveness of our sin, graciously removes it completely from us.

But how can God do this? For God is also absolutely just, and therefore He must judge sin. So how then does He "cast all our sins into the depths of the sea"? He can do so and yet continue to be perfectly holy and just. God has poured out His judgment on the sins of the believer, but not on the believer himself. Rather, on Christ. God poured out His judgment against the sins of the believer on Christ on the cross. And thus, the gospel call goes out to all: Come to Christ by faith and receive God's glorious and gracious forgiveness whereby all your sin and guilt are cast into the depths of the sea.

Pastor Craig Montgomery

Pastor Craig publishes  "A Word from God's Word" weekly in the "Kootenay News Advertiser".