As Far as The East is From the West

Psalm 103:8-12 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. KJV”

Beloved, Scripture tells us in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In fact, all of us have sinned as Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Because we have sinned, it has separated us from God. We cannot get to Him, there is a gulf between us and only by accepting Christ’s sacrifice can that gulf be closed, and heaven reached. Hence, to enter heaven, we need to be forgiven of our sin and that can only come through Jesus Christ. 

So, what happens to our sins once we accept Christ as Lord? Beloved, forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Psalm 103:8-10 says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his wanger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” Why does He not deal with us according to our sins? Because when we ask, He forgives us!
Psalm 103:11-12 says, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so
far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” How far is the east from the west? The phrase as far as the east is from the west is meant to communicate in infinite space. East and west never meet; no matter how far you travel east, you will never reach a point at which your next step must be westward. The thought is that, when God forgives, He really forgives. Our sins have been removed from us as far as is possible to imagine. It is a statement of complete and utter forgiveness. Once our sins have been removed, we will never be held accountable for them. They will never come back to haunt us.

Beloved, I want to encourage you to do three things today. (1) If you have not already done so, ask God to forgive you of your sins. Confess your sin and He is faithful to forgive you! (2) Live in that forgiveness. Count yourself free from those sins which have plagued you and live in freedom. You are truly forgiven! (3) Forgive others. Don’t hold unforgiveness from others. Allow them and yourself to live a life without bitterness. Forgive. How much? As far as the east is from the west!