My Sins Are Gone

You ask me why I’m happy so I’ll just tell you why, because my sins are gone;
And when I meet the scoffers who ask me where they are, I say, “My sins are gone.”

Chorus
They’re underneath the blood on the cross of Calvary, As far removed as darkness is from dawn;
In the sea of God’s forgetfulness, that’s good enough for me, Praise God, my sins are gone!

‘Twas at the old-time altar where God came in my heart and now my sins are gone;
The Lord took full possession, the devil did depart, I’m glad my sins are gone!

When Satan comes to tempt me and tries to make me doubt, I say, “My sins are gone,
You got me into trouble but Jesus got me out.” I’m glad my sins are gone!

I’m living now for Jesus, I’m happy night and day, Because my sins are gone;
My soul is filled with music, with all my heart I say, “I know my sins are gone!”

This is the last of the hymns with specific references to the Cross (at least for a little while), and I hope they have been reminders of what  Christ did for us there.  This particular hymn is another red-back hymnal selection, however, I don’t recall singing this song growing up.  I first heard it at church a few weeks ago as part of a trio, and I really enjoyed the tune and the words to this old song.  It has a reference to what took place on the Cross of Calvary, and is a fitting close to what I have tried to focus on the last several weeks.  I like the following phrases in this hymn:

• Sea of God’s forgetfulness – A friend of mine once told me that the phrase “Sea of forgetfulness” was not in the Bible, and I thought he was a heretic.  I have heard that phrase in several hymns and songs.  If it’s in a hymn, it has to be true, right?  Well, I think he was right because I haven’t been able to find that phrase yet, but whether or not that particular phrase is in the Word, I do agree with the concept.  In Micah 7:18-19, Micah says “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”   All of our sins have been hurled into the figurative, if not literal, “sea of forgetfulness,” and I am sure thankful for that. 

• Lord took full possession –  Do you like to share?  My parents would play cruel jokes on my older brother and me at Christmas when we were little.  They would buy us a big gift and ask us to “share” it.  Mom, you remember the Millennium Falcon present, don’t you?  Todd and I sure do.  Whether you are a child or an adult, even when we try, it is not easy to share.  The same is true with our heart and our devotion.  If the Lord doesn’t have full possession of our heart and our will, we will be in a constant battle.  It is impossible to “share” our devotion.  However, when we submit ourselves to His will and His leading, and He takes “full possession,” we can have a heart at peace.  Not that we won’t have difficulties in our lives, but when we have put our trust in Him and let Him lead, we can be confident that He will take good care of us.

• You got me into trouble – Although this is not a big deal from a theological perspective, I find it interesting that the author tells Satan “You got me into trouble” in the third verse of this song. This is not an unusual trait – the blaming of others for our own actions.  It started in Genesis with Adam and Eve.  Adam blamed Eve for his disobedience.  Eve blamed the Serpent.  The reality is that we, in our own freewill, make choices to disobey.  Granted, we were born with a sinful nature and therefore our desires will tend to be towards selfishness and defiance, but we aren’t powerless to resist temptation.  Our society tends to “pass the buck” and put the blame on someone else.  Recognizing that we get ourselves into trouble is probably the first step in dealing with temptations.  The Bible says “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

If you are a sports fan, you probably know that baseball season has just begun.  For a baseball fan, this is a great time of the year because “Hope springs eternal.”  For most die-hard baseball fans, they have certain announcers or broadcasters that are their favorites.  Their voice on the radio or TV is part of what makes watching a ballgame great.  I have a couple of favorite announcers/broadcasters that I have always liked – the late Harry Caray of the Chicago Cubs and Dan Patrick of ESPN.  Both of these men are famous for their homerun calls, and their calls have a parallel to the “Hymn of the week” – “My sins are gone.”  Harry Caray used to say “It might be… It could be…  It is…  A home run” when a ball looked like it was going to be a home run.  That is how I think we view our sins sometimes.  We think that God might forgive us or could forgive us, but we aren’t 100% confident that He does forgive us.  Dan Patrick, on the other hand, would say “Gone!!” immediately when a ball was hit hard.  There was a confidence in his voice that he knew the ball was out of the park.  We should be that confident when we think about our sins.  The Bible says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  The promise of this particular Scripture is based upon the faithfulness and justice of God, and the work that was done on the Cross 2,000 years ago, not on our works or feelings.  We can be supremely confident in His character traits and on the sufficiency of the Cross, and we, too, can say of our sins – “Gone!!”