As Far As The East Is From The West

Ps 103:12-13 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”

The Lord’s forgiveness of sin is a transaction more potent than just a legal pardon. It is not similar to the way people forgive each other, for it is one thing to forgive and another to forget. When one is sinned against it can be hard to forget. That is not the case with our Lord.

We learn a great truth from the Bible when we approach God on His terms (that is fearing Him, Ps 103:13). He forgives. But He actually does more than that. He removes! Psalm 103, a Psalm written to declare the mercies of God includes removal. The imagery provided is geographical, that is, as far as the east is from the west so our sins are taken away from us. Upon our planet this would be the farthest anything could be taken away before it started coming closer again. It is easier to think it terms of North Pole and South Pole; these two cannot be any farther away from each other. The North Pole cannot be any more north. Nor can the South Pole be any more south. Thus, the Lord has removed the transgressions of His people as far as the east is from the west. That is to say, He has taken them out of the way and as far off as possible, so far that He has forgotten our transgressions.

Now in our little worlds this can be difficult to comprehend. But if we think in terms of the work that Christ made in His sacrifice we are helped. Colossians 2:14 is a neat verse that teaches us about the effectiveness of Christ’s death:

“Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Our Father has canceled the sin debt for each believer in Christ. If you are trusting in the cross, your sin debt, your transgressions, were removed from you. What a joy to contemplate this truth! He did something that no person could do.

This truth may be difficult for some to put into play. Some may question that if God has removed our offenses so far away why do we still feel guilt over them? Or if God has removed them why is it that we may be tempted and commit them again?

This sin removal is one that applies to God’s records and not so much to our memories. We do have a tendency to remember and perhaps feel guilt. But I do not think we need to or ought to. If our past offenses are removed and forgiven then we can forgive ourselves, lose the guilt and move on. But that may be easier said than done.

Furthermore, even though God has forgiven and removed our offenses it doesn’t mean that the memories will not come back in the form of temptation leading to recurring sins. Sin is ugly and it takes godly discipline to work through it. But since God has gone to such great lengths to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west, we should also go to great lengths to make it a practical reality in our lives. Can we agree with God that our sin has indeed been cast into the depths of the sea? (Micah 7:19). If so perhaps the discipline of daily prayer and confession can reflect this. Perhaps, allowing your mind to be renewed by the scriptures many times each week will begin to let the reality of sin removal set in.