“Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.” (Romans 4:7-8)
One of the wonderful things of the Gospel is knowing and having the joy of forgiveness. In today’s passage, Paul is quoting Psalm 32, one of the many Psalms written by David. David himself experienced God’s forgiveness when the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah. Although David immediately repented and had to face the consequences, Nathan declared to him that “the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die” (2 Samuel 12:13).
Just like his ancestor Abraham, David was not declared righteous because of his good works but rather by a result of his faith. This same comforting truth regarding our sins applies to Christians today. It is through genuine faith, not just intellectual knowledge in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross that our sins are forgiven. Through the shedding of his blood our sins are completely covered.
Paul and David allude that there are blessings for those who are forgiven of their sin. What are some of these blessings? To those who “believe on him who justifies the ungodly,” we are declared righteous (Romans 4:5), we are reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:18), we become children of God (John 1:12), we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), we are given a new heart that desires to follow God (Ezekiel 11:19-20), and God himself dwells within us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). The list doesn’t end there!
The beauty of the Gospel is that we don’t have to prove ourselves to God and earn our way to salvation. In reality, as Paul mentioned earlier in his letter “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Scriptures make it clear that we can’t save ourselves. Let us rejoice in the truth that God himself provided the way. It is through Christ’s wounds we are healed from sin (Isaiah 53:5). Today, let us praise and thank God for his grace and that we are no longer slaves to sin!