As Far As the East is From the West
And He remembers them no more.
Today is a kind of two-for. We had a spirited discussion in class about the fear of the Lord based on the inclusion of a passage from Proverbs 3. The discussion ended without resolving the question about what or why to fear the Lord. This is especially a problem when I repeatedly say in class that fear is not a spirit of God and that we should not base our decisions or actions on fear. If that’s the case, why does scripture tell us to fear the Lord?
I planned to look up the Hebrew word for 'fear,' post it, and expound upon my reasoning. The problem with that tactic is that I’ve already tried it in class, and I was unsuccessful. Either I failed to communicate my ideas clearly, or I failed to include all the parts. The good news is I also already did a full lesson on this back in 2023.
The lesson was a bonus lesson at the end of the year. The bonus lesson is the one that happens between Christmas and the New Year holiday. That Sunday is typically missed by many folks. No worries. For those in class, I will print a copy and bring it in two weeks. For those who read the Substack or don’t want to wait two weeks, you can find the lesson HERE.
That’s part one. Part two pertains to the first third of the lesson. The progression began by discussing instances where we make the right decision and avoid things God doesn’t like, but still think about What If. What if I’d taken the other path? How would that turn out? I know I’m supposed to go this way, but I think I could have made that other way work out okay or even better. What if?
The question was, does it matter when we make the right choice but still think about the other choice with a longing or regret that we didn’t choose that one? I contend that it does matter, and Jesus said the same. This is going to rehash the lesson a little, but I think it’s important to understand where this morning is going in this second half.
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27–28 (NASB95)
That makes it very hard for almost all decisions, at least for me, because I constantly What If my decisions. The lesson moved on from Jesus, yes, those are red-letters, telling us we’ve already sinned in our heart if we continue to contemplate or fantasize about the What If decision path. The next question asked if God has the right to ask us not to even think about those things He says are wrong. My position is that He does because of the price He paid for us, and that He already knows through living a human life, if nothing else, what He is asking of us.
6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Romans 5:6–9 (NASB95)
So, what does that mean in terms of our thoughts and actions? It means Jesus has the final judgment on right and wrong, not human beings. That’s straight from the lesson. The point is that people around us might render their opinions, or even fleshly judgments that carry consequences about our decisions or actions, but they don’t have the final judgment. That belongs to Christ alone, and here is where we get to the second half of today’s piece.
10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.
12We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.
2 Corinthians 5:10–12 (NASB95)
There are no coincidences. My note, written in the margin, was to find the scripture about God forgiving our sins and throwing them as far as the east is from the west. That’s all I recalled about that scripture in class when I wrote the note. Mentally, my point was then and is now that our loving God forgives us our sins. I wanted to include hope in this morning’s writings, and the idea that God doesn’t think about the sins He forgives anymore is very hopeful to me. However, when I looked up that passage and began reading to decide how many verses to include, it became very obvious why this passage was included. Oh, and I’d like to point out that my note came a full third of the lesson BEFORE the discussion about fear of the Lord. Here’s the passage.
8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:8–13 (NASB95)
To be clear, the east is an infinite distance from the west because you can continue to walk in that direction forever and never begin walking west. However, having our sins thrown an infinite distance from us isn’t the end. That’s just the beginning. Not only does God cast our sins an infinite distance from us, but He also doesn’t remember them at all.
8For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
10“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 into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.
11“And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.
12“For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”
13When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
Hebrews 8:8–13 (NASB95)
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Note that the Hebrews passage references the New Covenant. The New Covenant was predicted in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is why I included that passage below. Let me post that before we go on.
31“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
33“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NASB95)
The New Covenant was not a new thing. They knew it was coming, just like the Messiah. Returning to the 2 Corinthians passage and considering God's omniscience, why is this comforting? It comforts me because scripture tells us that for those who hold God in high regard and place His ways and words in a position of authority to guide their lives, we have hope of forgiveness. That forgiveness comes by throwing our infractions of His ways as far as the east is from the west, and He remembers them no more. God forgets the things we’ve done wrong against Him, so it is as if they never happened.
How do we accomplish that and enter into that relationship with God to get our sins thrown that far and Him to forget them? We acknowledge that He is God in charge of all things by opening our hearts and letting Jesus lead us where God wants us to go. That’s a long way of saying, have faith in Jesus. That simple sentence, that simple statement, that simple act of acceptance leads to a much more complicated path, but through small steps and spiritual growth. It is not a flood of massive revelation, but a lifetime of learning and change. That hope can begin today with two simple words: I believe. God bless and Godspeed.