Sins in the Sea

The forgiveness of our sins isn’t always easy to understand.

But Micah paints a clear picture of it in 7:19, saying of God, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Picture these things for a moment. As if He has feet, God tramples our sins, like a man treads grapes in a wine-press, or like an ox treads out grain. God tramples our wrongdoing—and what can ever stand up to the trampling of Almighty God?

Our sins are completely crushed, flattened beyond recognition.

What’s more, the LORD will “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” To the Israelites, if something was thrown into the sea, that thing was lost and gone forever. The sea was the fearful place of the unknown.

Today the sea isn’t so mysterious as it was for the ancient peoples. Yet this verse still resonates, for there remains so much unknown about the darkest ocean depths.

Because Jesus Christ on the cross was rejected by the Father, God has hurled all our sins to the remotest place. He forgives our sins, they’re truly gone. For the person who repents and believes, God holds no grudges, He re-opens no old wounds, but He forgives, fully and completely.

This is the blessed absolution that we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. The work of Jesus was to take away our sins, entirely. This gospel liberates us from all guilt.

And this grace also gives us every reason to forgive and accept one another: to forgive, as we have been forgiven!

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Scripture Reading: Micah 7:18-20

Prayer: Merciful God, thank you for the riches of your forgiving grace. Despite all my sin and shame, you take it away entirely through the work of your Son. Amen.