What does it mean that God will blot out our transgressions?

Answer

Several passages of Scripture mention God’s promise to “erase our transgressions.” In Isaiah 43:25, the Lord declares to His people, “I, even I, am he who erases your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Twice in Psalm 51, David asks the Lord to “erase” his sin (verses 1 and 9).

The Hebrew term translated as “erase” in Psalm 51 means “to abolish, destroy, erase, or completely wipe away,” according to Strong’s Concordance. In verse 1, the plea to God to erase sin is grounded in God’s mercy and “unfailing love.” This plea is followed by a request for God to “wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (verse 2). In verse 9, the erasing of sin by God is connected to David’s plea to “hide your face from my sins” and “create in me a pure heart” (verses 9–10).

The imagery is that our sin is documented in a heavenly book. God is the bookkeeper, and our sins are recorded in a ledger in our debit column. Revelation 20:12 paints a similar picture of the solemn great white throne judgment, where “the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” The psalmist, acutely aware of his sin “For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me.” (Psalm 51:3), implores God to wipe out the record of his sin and nullify his debt. As a sinner, his sole hope is that God, in His mercy, will erase his iniquity.

As Isaiah 43:25 discloses, God is the only one with the power to wipe away our spiritual impurity. To the praise of His glory, He is a God who pardons His children: “I have erased your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you” “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed.” (Psalm 51:3)

thee. », (Isaiah 44:22, ESV). For God to refuse to blot out transgression is a severe judgment see Nehemiah 4:5 and Jeremiah 18:23.

Although our sins are many, God has mercy. To those who have faith in Jesus Christ, His Son, God applies the blood of Christ to our sin and cancels the debt we owe Him. Colossians 2:13–14 explains how that happens: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (ESV, emphasis added).

Other translations of Colossians 2:14 bring out the same truth in various ways:

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances . . .” (KJV).

“God wiped out the charges” (CEV).

“He erased the certificate of debt” (CSB).

“Having blotted out the handwriting . . .” (BLB).

“He canceled the record of the charges” (NLT).

The fact is that, in Christ, our sin has been effaced; no trace of it remains.

In ancient times, people hand-wrote deeds, receipts, and bills with reed or quill pens and black ink made of soot, gum, and water. When they made a printing mistake on a document (other than the Scriptures), they might choose to blot it out with ink, rewrite the letter or word correctly, and move on. The mistake had to be covered.

That’s a picture of the “blotting out” of our transgressions. Our sin must be made right if we are to be fit for God’s presence. The only substance that can cover our sin is the blood of God’s own Son. Under the Old Testament Law, God allowed the substitution of bulls, sheep, and goats (Numbers 29:11;Leviticus 6:25;2 Chronicles 29:24). When their blood was spilled, it symbolized whatGod intended what He sent His Messiah to do when He sent His Messiah to be the final propitiation for sin (Romans 3:25-26; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10). With Jesus’ shed blood, God blots out the transgression of every person who comes to Him in faith (John 3:16-18; Matthew 26:28). “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).

Those who have had their transgressions blotted out by the blood of Jesus are forgiven and will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Without Christ, however, sins remain a dark stain on the soul, and the fate of the unforgiven is eternity in hell (2 Peter 2:4-10; Luke 12:4-5). No amount of sincerity, religious fervor, or good deeds on the “credit” side of our ledgers can blot out our transgressions. Only the blood of the spotless Lamb of God can blot out our transgressions, erase our debits, and make us clean before God (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:13-14).