When God's Grace Eclipses Our Sin
I wish that I could have been there when the Apostle Peter stood on Solomon’s portico and shared this wonderful statement recorded in Acts 3:19, “...turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out!” The imagery of God offering for us to have our sins “blotted out” is powerful.
Long before Excel spreadsheets, ancient merchants commonly kept their accounts of what was owed on tablets of wax. They indented marks which recorded debts, and when the debts were paid, they took the blunt end of their writing utensil and flattened down the wax. By doing this the record of debt was removed. That was the form of "blotting out" referred to here by Peter – it was the original delete button. The offer Peter was giving in his sermon was that we can be completely forgiven by God, so that there is no longer any record of our debts.
I love that the Greek verb translated here as “blot out” is the same word that we get the English word “eclipse” from. As we prepare for the upcoming total solar eclipse next Monday, we are encouraging our neighbors to not stay at home alone in the dark, but to join us at Hope as we view the amazing phenomenon. The experts at NASA scientifically explain that the upcoming eclipse will be the result of the Moon passing between the Sun and Earth, casting its shadow on Earth. The amazing thing to me is that although the Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon, it is also about 400 times farther away, making the Sun and the Moon appear nearly the same size in our sky. This predictable event is not just a coincidence; our God designed it that way. I love that His design is so precise that we know exactly when we can anticipate this wonderful phenomenon. We can predict its occurrence down to the second.
As the Sun is blocked by the Moon from our perspective in Northeast Ohio, I want to encourage you to remember that this is what God offers to do for us – to blot out the immensity of our sin. The end result is that we get to have the record of our sins eclipsed by God’s amazing grace! As the Apostle Paul put it, “...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:14)
When David cried out to God in Psalm 51:10, he asked, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” This is what Isaiah the prophet predicted, when he quoted God as saying, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25). Perhaps my favorite reminder of all related to this meaningful verb “to eclipse” is found in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4 where it describes the hand of God wiping away, removing all of our tears. Now that is wonderful news!
You can find out more about our special eclipse day event on April 8 by clicking here. We still have a number of spots for volunteers – please click here to sign up. Check out this Christianity Today article that mentions our upcoming event!
Expectantly,
Shawn
P.S. I mentioned on Easter Sunday that we will keep the baptismal up and give you a chance to get baptized this Sunday. If you are interested in getting baptized, please click here for more information.
P.P.S. Please join us in praying for John and Cindy Phillips and their family as they mourn the passing of John’s mother Marie earlier this week.
