I once lost the only key to my minivan, and it just about drove me crazy. It’s not that I’m in love with my wife’s car and feel the need to drive it all the time. I was just worried about the five hundred dollars it would cost me to get it replaced. These fobs aren’t cheap.

So just like every civilized man, I went on a crazy hunting spree. And no, I wasn’t nice about it. 

I, in fact, blamed everyone in the house for losing the keys. I was sure it was a ploy by my supposed loving family to drive me crazy.

I looked everywhere for those darn keys. I checked every pocket, every drawer, every nook and cranny in the house. Still no key. That’s when I got desperate, and I went to the trash can outside and started digging as any normal man would.

And that’s where I found them. Right after ripping open about three or four trash bags full of old food and things I can’t write about. The key was covered in gross things that should never be dug up. The good news is the key still works to this day. Although it does have a funky smell.

You know, there are certain things that you just need to dig up out of your trash. Like a costly key or a diamond ring… things of value.

But do you know what never needs to be dug back up? Your sin!

Here’s my point.

When you take the step, through faith, to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there are certain things God does with your sin that you cannot reverse.

Let me say that again in case you didn’t grasp what I said.

When you come to Jesus, God does certain things with your sin that CANNOT be reversed.

Here is what God does with your sin and what you desperately need to know.

Consequently, this would also include things like guilt and shame.

1. He crucified your sin to death.

Colossians 2:13-14 says,” When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”

You cannot take out the nails that God hammered in. Your sin died on the cross, and at the exact moment, you came alive in Jesus.

2. He forgives your sin when you repent.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

The moment you confess your sin to Jesus is the exact moment God forgives.

3. He removes your sin forever.

Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

Okay, think about this for a second. East and West never meet. They continue in opposite directions for eternity. 

That’s like God and your sin. He removes it from his record book and sends it in the opposite direction, never to meet your life again.

As if that wasn’t enough, He “Will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (Micah 7:19) That should just about do it.

But he doesn’t stop there.

4. He forgets your sin.

Hebrews 10:17 says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

Okay, this is kind of a biggie. First of all, God is all-knowing. He doesn’t forget, and he surpasses time and space.

In fact, it’s actually impossible for God to forget anything. It’s not within his character. Which makes this point all the more special.

Through Jesus, God CHOOSES not to remember your sin.

So, the next time Satan tries to remind you what a sinful loser you are, the next time he tries to fill you again with guilt and shame, I want you to remember these truths.

Remember that “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Think it over:

• Why do you keep dwelling on the sin God has already forgiven?
• What do you need to repent of right now?

Verse of the Day:

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)