THE BLOTTING OUT OF SINS

1). INTRODUCTION [all quotes are from NKJV]

Since there is no atonement and no vicarious sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness in Islam, the Muslim will try to find an alternative basis for Allah to show mercy. They claim he can just “blot out” sins as if they never existed [1] ignoring the fact that there is a tension between mercy and justice. Showing mercy at the expense of retributive justice is not the hallmark of a perfectly just God. As William Lane Craig argues: “A Judge in a criminal case “has an obligation to do justice—which means, at a minimum, an obligation to uphold the rule of law. Thus if he is moved, even by love or compassion, to act contrary to the rule of law—to the rules of justice—he acts wrongly.”

In order to sustain their position, Muslims are quite content to reach for the Bible where they think it assists them, and will cherrypick isolated verses such as those below which speak of God “blotting out sins” as the likeness to Allah’s approach to forgiveness:

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches.” (Isaiah 43:25-28)

“Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44:21-22)

2). ARE OUR SINS ERASED ONCE WE ARE FORGIVEN?

Are our sins blotted out when we come before God in repentance, and ask Him to forgive us? God’s word answers No! David knew that his sins were not blotted out at the time he repented of them. Even after he had repented of his sins, he still prayed for God to blot them out, because his sins were ever before him. David knew from where his sin truly needed to be blotted out: from his heart, mind, and character—his innermost being! And this is exactly what God did for David; He created a new heart and right spirit within David and erased the sinfulness from David’s character. History did not get erased, as evidenced by the Bible and its ongoing record of David’s sin that we are all still reading about today.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your loving kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME. BEHOLD, I WAS BROUGHT FORTH IN INIQUITY, AND IN SIN MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.” (Psalms 51:1-3, 5, 9-10, 14)

The fact is even after we are forgiven we remain scarred by sins for life. We remain guilty sinners throughout our lives on earth. The difference being that once we have forgiveness based upon the shed blood of Jesus which washes us clean, it allows us to live with that past and not feel condemned by it, and have the peace of knowing that God already treats us as righteous; it gives us a fresh start a lifelong process of sanctification and renewal. We have the promise of an unmerited divine pardon even when we remain guilty and even when our sins are not yet erased.

Elsewhere, God says that our sins are still marked before Him – therefore He has not yet blotted them out, because He has promised that when He does blot them out, He will not bring them to remembrance.

“For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.” (Jeremiah 2:22)

The prophet Isaiah knew that his sins, and the sins of Israel, had not been blotted out, even though they had been repented of and confessed. He knew that all their sins were still multiplied before God.

“We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” (Isaiah 59:11-12)

How did God respond? He saw there was neither justice nor an intercessor, so He took the initiative that brings salvation. In this same chapter of Isaiah we find the promise of the Messiah who alone is our Redeemer:

“Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:15-16, 20)

From the New Testament we can learn much from how Paul reconciled himself to his sinful past.

First he considered himself a serious sinner:

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (I Timothy 1:15)

Secondly, he needed to recognise the point of sorrow leading to repentance and move on from it:

“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”(2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Thirdly, Paul strove to put the past behind him.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

3). THE ERRONEOUS LEGALISTIC VIEW

By the school of legalism, preachers will teach that when we confess our sins, God goes to the “heavenly books” with the blood of Jesus and apply it to our record, thus removing the paper trail of our sins. This process is vital to our salvation, because, they claim, these books will be opened in the final judgment, and if there are any sins that have not been erased, we will not only be excluded from heaven, but God will use His power to punish us for the unconfessed sins remaining in the books.

It’s no surprise that such a teaching incites a fear of, and not a love for God in people’s lives. Instead of fixating on the Remedy, people become fixated on their sins and their fears of punishment: Is there something I haven’t confessed? What if I don’t remember my sins from years ago and they are still on the books?

This teaching also causes people to form belief systems that function to hide or protect them from God, rather than reconcile us to Him. Instead of saying God is the solution to our sin problem, this understanding says He is the problem we must address. It’s similar to the idea that being covered by the robe of Christ’s righteousness means that the perfect life of Jesus obscures our histories from the Father’s awareness and, thus, in the judgment, the Father doesn’t see our histories of sin; instead, He sees only the perfect life of His Son. This is necessary, it is claimed, because if the Father saw even one sin not hidden by Jesus, then God would strike out and destroy us.

Exodus 32:33 is another Bible text used to support this claim.

The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

Once again, this is taken to mean that “we either get our sins blotted out of the books of heaven or we get ourselves blotted out of the books of heaven.”

Viewing the Bible through the imposed-law lens and taking illustrations and metaphors “as they read,” the legalist must conclude that the “blotting out of sin” is the literal blotting out of historical deeds from the books in heaven, in order to hide our misconduct from God.

Such an unbalanced view is not the reality of God’s word.

4). THE REALITY OF FORGIVENESS

If we can say that the heavenly records are not a long list of historical deeds that need to be erased, then what is recorded there and what is being erased? Revelation reveals the answer:

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

Now we have a clue to what is the truth—the reality—behind the metaphor of “blotting out”? Where does sin happen? In record books or in the hearts and minds of people? From where does God want to erase our sin? From recorded history or from the minds, hearts, and characters of His people?

The following is what happens when we confess our sins in the daily Christian experience: Jesus forgives us, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He places upon us His robe of righteousness, and He writes Pardon against our names in the Books of Record in Heaven. But He does not, at that same time, blot out our sins. The record remains, to be dealt with in the Final Atonement.

William Lane Craig gives us his balanced summary:

“The object of divine forgiveness is just as often said to be of sins as sinners. Not only are people forgiven for their sins, but their sins are forgiven. God is said to “take away” (aphaireō) our sins (Romans 11.27). This fact makes it evident that divine forgiveness is not (merely) a change of attitude on God’s part toward sinners. Divine forgiveness has as its effect, not (merely) God’s laying aside His wrath, but rather the removal of the liability to punishment that attends sin. As a result of divine forgiveness, a person who formerly deserved punishment now no longer does so. Because of the forgiveness that is to be found in Christ, one is no longer held accountable for one’s sins. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8.1). On the contrary, they are now reckoned by God to be righteous in His sight (Romans 4.5-8). The biblical concept of forgiveness thus entails God’s pardoning people for their sins, freeing them of liability to punishment and constituting them righteous before God.”

In 1 John we find more about the ongoing dependence and need to know forgiveness. This is not a one off event. It’s a walk with God. And it’s only by His grace.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:7-10)

Isaiah saw God’s righteousness adorning him like a garment. Notice WHO is doing the clothing, it is from God not of ourselves:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord , My soul shall be joyful in my God; For HE HAS CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HAS COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING FORTH BEFORE ALL NATIONS.” (Isaiah 61:10-11)

The writer of Hebrews makes clear when God will remember sins no more:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord : I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 8:10-12)

“For they shall all know me” is a clear reference to the Millennial rule after Christ’s return.

Peter also made it very clear in the Book of Acts as to when the sins of God’s people are going to be blotted out:

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

5). THE TWO JUDGEMENTS (FOR THE INDIVIDUAL)

Many Bible interpreters assume there is only one judgment at the end of the age, a judgment that separates believers from unbelievers. This causes major problems in harmonizing some Scriptures. For example, in John 5:24 Jesus says that anyone who believes in Him “shall not come into judgment,” but in 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul says of believers, “. . . we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” If these speak of the same judgment, they would be in contradiction. How should we view these coming judgments? Distinguishing between the two judgments

All people individually face a judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible speaks of two great coming judgments, and both judgments involve people’s works. (These are not to be confused with the separate judgment of the Jewish and Gentile Nations during the Tribulation, described by Jesus in Matthew 25:31- 46). See this link for an outline of the different judgments:

www.google.com/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/all-the-judgments.html

The first judgment is a final judgment of condemnation for only unbelievers. John 5:24 relates to those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life. They will not have to face the final judgment of Revelation 20:11-15, a judgment of unbelievers after Christ’s return to earth as King. Works are mentioned there as evidence that their condemnation and suffering is deserved.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.” (Revelation 20:12-13)

The Bible also speaks clearly about a judgment facing only believers, called the Judgment Seat of Christ (Greek, bema). In this judgment, believers will not be judged for their faith in Christ as Savior, but for their faithfulness in following Christ as Lord. There, believers will have to give an account for how they used their lives. One’s works determines whether one is rewarded or denied rewards.

These two judgments can be compared in the chart below. See also footnote [2] for the difference it makes.

6). CONCLUSIONS

Sinfulness—not sins—is what is being blotted out of the hearts, minds, and characters of God’s people. And in its place, God writes in His perfection. And because the records in heaven are the perfect record of each of our characters, the sinfulness that used to be in our characters, and thus in the records of heaven, is removed both from our characters and, subsequently, the record of our character in heaven. In other words, the only way to have sin removed from your record in heaven is to trust God, to open your heart to His Remedy, and to have sinfulness removed from your character here on earth.

Those who refuse to allow God into their hearts to remove sinfulness and write in His righteousness will, instead of having their sins blotted out of their hearts, and therefore their records, have themselves blotted out of existence; thus, they will be removed from the heavenly records. This is precisely what is meant by the Exodus 32 passage quoted “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

Finally, for those who think the actual memory of our sins will be erased from our minds and those of others, during this life, consider Jesus’ response to those who criticized the woman who anointed His feet with expensive oil: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).

This is what Jesus is saying in Luke 7:47: If we don’t remember from what Jesus has delivered us, we will appreciate Him and love Him little. This is why Revelation tells us that the 144,000 sing a song only they will be able to sing—no others in all the universe will be able to sing this song (Revelation 14:3). Why? Is it because no one else has the musical skill? Is it because God forbids others to sing it? No! It is because it is a song of their experience, and only those who have the experience can sing of the experience. And the only way they can sing of their experience is if they remember their experience.

So, don’t fall for the legal lie—which is the model of the Muslim idea that sins are merely bad deeds that require erasure from record books. Such heresy only instills within us the belief that sin is mostly a behavioral problem, rather than a heart problem; it also says God is the One we must fear, because He will punish us for any unconfessed sin, instead of fearing sin itself and what it will do to us if we don’t take the Remedy that is found only in Christ and the healing power of the Cross.

Muslims and other unbelievers, embrace the truth that God wants to erase all sin, all defects, and all deviations from His design from you and restore you to His ideal! And He will do it if you trust Him! It’s all about what He has done to clothe us in His righteousness and about renewing our hearts and minds. Amen.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Not only does Allah show gratuitous mercy without retributive justice, according to Surah 25 he can even transform (in other words falsify) the record of sins into good deeds! Imagine an earthly judge acting in such a way?

In Surah 25 we find this:

“And those who invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment. The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace; Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will CHANGE THEIR SINS INTO GOOD DEEDS, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds, then verily, he repents towards Allah with true repentance.” (Surah 25:68-71)

Astonishingly, this passage doesn’t only say that Allah forgives but that he also actually changes a person’s sins into good deeds, i.e. Allah will reckon every transgression committed by an individual as a good deed. This means that Allah will actually reward a person for all the crimes s/he has committed!

The hadiths substantiate this fact:

2594. Anas narrated that the Prophet said: “Allah will say: ‘Remove from the Fire whoever remembered Me one day, or feared Me while in a state of sinning.’” (Hasan)

[Abu ‘Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib Sahih.

Comments:

Remembering Allah and fearing Him is the sign of one’s faith. The Hadith confirms that even those persons who have no good in their Register of Deeds expect the weakest form of faith (iman) will ultimately get deliverance from Fire through Allah’s benevolence and mercy. (English Translation of Jami‘ At-Tirmidhi, Compiled by Imam Hafiz ‘Eisa Mohammad Ibn ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi, From Hadith no. 1897 to 2605, translated by Abu Khalil (USA), Ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, final review by Islamic Research Section Darussalam [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: November 2007], Volume 4, Chapter 9. What Has Been Related About ‘The Fire Has Two Breaths,’ And What Has Been Mentioned About Those Who Will Exit The Fire From The People of Tawhid, p. 572; underline emphasis ours)

And:

2596. Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “I know that the last of the people of the Fire depart from the Fire and the last of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. A man will be brought forth and He will say: ‘Ask about his small sins and hide his large sins.’ So it will be said to him: ‘Did you do this and that on such and such a day, did you do this and that on such-and-such a day?’” He said: “Then it will be said to him: ‘FOR EACH OF YOUR SINS YOU SHALL HAVE A REWARD.’” He said: “So he will say: ‘O Lord! I have done things that I do not see here.’” He (Abu Dharr) said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh until his molars were visible.” (Sahih)

Abu ‘Eisa said: This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

Allah’s benevolence and mercy are boundless. NO RULES OR LAWS CAN BIND HIM, since He is for Whom it is said in the Qur’an: He cannot be questioned as to what He does. (21:23) HE WILL, THEREFORE, CHANGE THE SINS INTO VIRTUOUS DEEDS FOR WHOMEVER HE WILLS. (Ibid., Chapter 10. Something Else Regarding The Story Of The Last Of The People Of The Fire To Leave it, pp. 573-574; capitals for emphasis)

These narrations speak of Allah actually giving people who have done no good whatsoever a reward for every sin they have committed!

Talk about a travesty of justice! Not only does Allah not punish the wicked he actually rewards them for their wickedness! As the commentator stated, Allah is not bound by anything and is therefore a capricious being who can pervert justice. Clearly, Muhammad’s god is not simply an amoral being, one who is morally neutral, he is actually immoral and unholy who promotes wickedness and is the cause of outright injustice.

It is one thing to forgive an evil deed, it is altogether something else to “turn sins into good deeds”, i.e. reward them as if they had been good deeds. It makes Allah unjust, morally reprehensible, for rewarding people for evil deeds.

[2] The difference it makes

If the two coming judgments are confused into one general judgment, then good works become necessary for salvation, because works play a role in both judgments. Of course, this would contradict clear statements of Scripture such as Romans 3:19-4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9, and Titus 3:5. It would be impossible to say that we are saved by grace as a free gift from God. Works are mentioned in both judgments, but never as the basis or condition for salvation.

This would also radically change the motivation for godly conduct. External good works would be sought as evidence of salvation, or conversely, the fear of insufficient works would leave many in doubt of their salvation and in fear of eternal condemnation. The focus on outward conduct can be deceptive and detract from true inner godliness. Living in doubt and fear about one’s salvation is never a good basis for growing in grace.

Confusion of the two judgments would also undermine the accountability of Christians as a motivation for godly conduct. Believers who do not fear condemnation find the freedom to live their lives in light of their final evaluation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Having their eternal salvation secure should motivate believers to serve God and live godly lives, because of love and gratitude toward God. The fear factor is removed, as far as eternal salvation is concerned.

The two great coming judgments are different for believers and unbelievers respectively. Those who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior will not come under judgment for their salvation, but will escape condemnation. However, they will have to give an account for how they lived as Christians. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior face only a judgment of condemnation ending in the Lake of Fire. Appropriately, the Bible ends with both a reminder of rewards for believers, “And behold, I [Jesus] am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”(Revelation 22:12), as well as an invitation to unbelievers:

“And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17).

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