Topic: Taking away sins
Reading: Romans 4:5-12
Introduction and Overview
The main reason why Jesus came to the earth to live and to die was so that we could be reconciled back to the Father. And the key to doing this was to take away our sins.
Sin is the thing that stands between man and God. It was because Adam and Eve first sinned that we became separated from sin and all of humanity is in lifelong bondage to sin.
But God had a plan!
It was always His plan for man to be reconciled and returned back to the state in which God made us. It was always His plan to restore us to perfection, and to do that He had to get rid of our sins. This He did through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and there is so much that we will learn about that as we move through Romans.
But it is also important to understand that God did not simply forgive our sins. No, He has taken them away and removed them for all eternity. He has also established the process whereby we can be separated and removed from the law so that we are no longer under the power of sin.
This removal from sin is introduced in these verses, so let us begin the study.
Key points from reading:
- We are reckoned righteous by God apart from the law and works of the law
- Our sins are both forgiven and taken away
- This offer and promise was given to all of mankind if they have faith
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 4:5
- In order to receive the free gift of righteousness by faith, we must first believe and then trust that God will do what He says.
- Faith and trust go hand in hand. It’s one thing to believe that God is doing or has done what He promised, but it is another to trust that He did it for you. Many Christians know and believe that they have been set free from sin, and that this occurred through the sacrifice of Jesus. But then those same Christians often say, “I am a sinner!” or, “I’m a sinner saved by grace!” Whichever way you look at it, they are calling themselves “sinners.” So, while they believe Jesus died for them to take away their sins, they do not trust in His word that this has actually happened and that if they have no sin, they cannot be sinners.
- Trust is essential to take and accept the gift that God has given us by grace through faith. When God says, “I will remember their sins no more,” (Read Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:12-18), then we need to trust His word and no longer declare ourselves to be sinners when He says you’re not. This is what it means to trust in God fully.
- The devil uses our past against us, especially doubts that God meant what He said about removing our sins. It is the devil who condemns us as sinners when in truth Jesus has taken our sins away. That is why we must trust the word of God and send the devil packing when he tries to deceive us and make us believe we are still in our sins when in truth we have died to sin in Jesus Christ (Read Romans 6:1-7).
- Scripture: Romans 4:6-7
- This is an interesting scripture as the words translated as “forgiven” and “covered” have a much deeper meaning in the original Greek.
- The word translated as “forgiven” actually means to send away, to release, and to abandon. When we add to this the word “covered” means to conceal or to hide from sight as well as cover, then we need to look at this from a different point of view.
- It is saying that you sins have been sent away and you have been released. Also, those sins are now covered and unable to ever be seen again. This is consistent with the scripture in Micah 7:19, which is a good description of the process described here in Romans 4:6-7. It says, He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)
- In this scripture we see that God firstly treads our sins and iniquities under foot and “sends them” far, far away from us. Then our sins are “concealed” or hidden in the depths of the sea where they can never be seen or resurface to drag us down.
- Scripture: Romans 4:8
- Those who have their sins removed through the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection are indeed greatly blessed.
- The Lord has pronounced a blessing upon us because He will not and does not count our sin against us, as the verses quoted previously explain.
- So, if God does not condemn us as sinners, and if He has said your sins are cast into the depths of the sea, and if He will not remember your sins or misdeeds anymore, then why do many Christians still call themselves sinners? You are not a sinner. God said so. Are you greater than God? He is the one who will pronounce judgement upon all mankind, but for those who believe in the death and resurrection of Christ, God has already judged them and removed their sins.
- Scripture: Romans 4:9-12
- Finally, we see that the way in which God carried out this process was to ensure it was available to ALL mankind, not just the Jews or children of Israel.
- God appeared to Abraham and declared him righteous by faith BEFORE Abraham received the sign of circumcision. Circumcision was originally the sign given to the Israelites to separate them from the rest of the peoples of the world. But in declaring Abraham righteous by faith before he was circumcised indicated that the promise of this righteousness by faith was given to all peoples. That’s what this scripture tells us and we are further shown the power of this gift of righteousness by faith in Romans 2:25-29.
- So, by this we see in the last two verses that Abraham became the father of us all through the grace of God by faith. When we believe God as Abraham believed God, than we are declared righteous whether we are under circumcision or not. And later we find out that in Christ, circumcision is of no importance because we are righteous by faith and receive the promises of God through faith (See Galatians 5:6)
Key Takeaways:
- We are not sinners because God has taken away our sins and cast them into the depths of the sea where they are covered up and forgotten by God.
- We are now righteous by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and we must trust in the word of God that tells us these things
- The offer of righteousness has been made to all mankind if they will believe and trust in the word of God.
Prayer Points
- Ask the Lord to give you a full understanding of this righteousness by faith and to take away any condemning thoughts you may harbour because they are deceptions from the devil.
- Thank God for providing this gift so that we can be fully reconciled to Him through the death and resurrection of Christ.