What's the Big Deal?

"Psalm 103 Verse 12 states: 'As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.' What does that verse mean on a spherical world?! There is neither "A EAST" nor "A WEST" on our planet. Does God know, when we repent remove our sins so far eastwards/westwards from us that they will be again with us? I mean if you go on a spherical world as far east as possible you will end up just where you started..." German Mike

Mike, when I first read this I thought that you have become a Christian. That’s because this is a wonderful faith-building and consoling promise for every believer. Thank you for bringing it up.

Before I was a Christian I did some things of which I am now very ashamed. I was extremely ungrateful. I never thanked him for life, for food, for loved ones, for eyesight or hearing, etc. I didn’t think seriously about the God who gave me life for two minutes, in 22 years of my godless existence. I was a selfish, godless and lust-filled wretch, and didn’t even know it until I looked at His moral Law. I was blind, foolish, and unwittingly on my way to Hell. But through the cross, God forgave me a multitude of sins.

However, He more than just forgave me. He removed my sins (as you have so kindly pointed out) "as far as the East is from the West." What does that mean? How far is the east from the west?

Picture the earth. If you were located at any point on the globe and began to travel in a northerly direction, eventually you would round the north pole and then be traveling south. Likewise, if you were located at any point on the globe and then began to travel in a southerly direction, eventually you would round the south pole and then be traveling north.

However, the distance from the East to the West can't be calculated. It is impossible to measure. You can travel in an easterly direction for a million miles and you will never find a point at which East and West touch. Mathematicians refer to the distance between East and West as "infinity." The two can never meet. "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, till earth and sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat . . ." says poet Rudyard Kipling (italics added).

Perhaps you are thinking, "So what’s the big deal?" Imagine you committed adultery, and afterward you are utterly broken by what you have done. You are guilt-ridden at your betrayal of trust, and so you confess your sin to your faithful wife. She is filled with nothing but love and grace and says that she will not only forgive you, but she promises that she will forget what you did. The problem is, as a human being, you know that she can never “forget,” while she is in a sane mind. But God can . . . because He is God.

He says that He has cast my many transgressions into the sea of His forgetfulness. He has blotted out my sins, and removed them from me "as far as the East is from the West" and that means even the weight of guilt has gone.

As soon as Adam sinned, his guilt caused him to try and hide from God. That’s what the professing atheist does in his mind. He lives in denial of the existence of the One he has sinned against. In truth, his guilt makes him run from God as a criminal runs from the law. Atheism is the ultimate delusion.

Instead, turn around and face God. Repent as you would, if had committed adultery and you want your wife’s forgiveness. Then trust the Savior, and you will find that you no longer want to run from Him. Your guilt will be removed in an instant, and you will come to know the One who has already dealt with your sins. And He will give you a new heart with new desires. Even as I write this, there are tears of gratitude in my eyes. Join us.