The Revolutionary Truth Of The Gospel

I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

THE CLEAR MESSAGE of the Bible is that there is nothing we can do to make our hearts clean before a holy God. We can work constantly, pray fervently, give extravagantly, and love sacrificially, but our hearts will still be stained by sin.

I heard a story once about an Englishman who bought a Rolls-Royce. It had been advertised as the car that would never, ever, ever break down. So the man bought the Rolls-Royce at a hefty price and was driving it one day when, to his surprise, it broke down. He was far away from town, so he called Rolls-Royce and said, “Hey, you know this car that will never break down? Well, it’s broken down.” Immediately, a Rolls-Royce mechanic was sent via helicopter to the location where the car was broken down. The car was fixed, and the man went on his way. Naturally, the man expected to get a bill from Rolls-Royce. It was clearly expensive for them to provide such service (not often does a mechanic fly to where your car is broken down!), and he wanted to get the whole ordeal behind him. So when the bill had not yet come a few weeks later, the man called Rolls-Royce and said, “I’d like to go ahead and pay the bill for my auto repairs so that we can get this behind us.” Rolls-Royce responded, “Sir, we are deeply sorry, but we have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong with your car.”

Consider the wonder. For all who come to Christ and receive a new heart from him, the God of the universe looks at you and says, “I have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong in your life.” The invitation is clear: Come to Christ and he will cleanse your heart. This is the revolutionary truth of the gospel: We do not have to work to wash away our sins. As we turn from our sin to trust in Christ, we receive a new, clean heart, and God in his grace remembers our sins no more.

Thank God that he does not treat you as your sins deserve, and rejoice in the good news of the gospel.