My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and Thou sewest up mine iniquity. Job 14:17
A young man with whom I worked one time was a new Christian, and he was a delight to talk with as he enjoyed the reality of his Salvation. ‘I used to be a sinner,’ he told me one day. ‘Now I’m a saint who sometimes sins.’ That sounds like a good way to look at it. As Christians, we are painfully aware that we are still capable of sinning and stumbling and straying. But we need to keep in mind that all of our sins are covered by the Blood, and are no longer on our account. Our text describes them as being sealed up in a bag. Now, that should be something to rejoice about today!
The one-room school that I attended as a child had a stack of beanbags that we used in our daily exercise period. Each bag had about a cup of beans in it. But I have no idea whether the bags contained navy, yellow-eye, Jacob’s Cattle, or whatever types of beans. We never saw the beans because they were sewn inside those stout little bags. They were like our sins, as far as God is concerned. Like us, He is aware of our transgressions, but He does not look upon them. He doesn’t need to, because they are forever covered. Satan is aware of our sins, too, and every day he stands before God to accuse us. In response, the Lord Jesus points to Calvary and the devil loses the argument.
Hebrews 8:12 tells us: For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In a judicial way, God actually forgets our sins. I have always loved the wonderful words of Napoleon Vandall’s hymn My Sins are Gone: They’re underneath the blood at the cross of Calvary, as far removed as darkness is from dawn. In the sea of God’s forgetfulness, that’s good enough for me. Praise God! My sins are gone! You and I must agree with Mr. Vandall’s declaration and proclaim, ‘What a wonderful Salvation we have!’
Is all your sin sewed up in a bag? It surely is if you are a child of God. Isn’t it about time we shouted Hallelujah! for what God has done for us? -Jim MacIntosh