Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Expunged Record" for Tuesday, 22 July 2014 - Read Romans 3: God Has Set Things Right21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
25-26 God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
The psalmist wrote, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”(Psalm 51:1 (NRSV))
Our state recently passed a law that will expunge certain criminal records. Applicants who are approved may leave the courthouse with a clean slate. As a probation officer, I once went through my files to see which offenders qualified to have some of their rights restored. I was given a checklist of requirements on which to base my judgment. Once I came to a disqualifying factor, I put the file back in the drawer. The process was cut and dried. I am glad that God doesn’t have a list of disqualifying factors to check before expunging our records. God doesn’t say, “Sorry, your sin is too awful,” or “Look, you did this more than once. Your whole life marks a pattern of corruption.” There is no record that God cannot expunge. There is no life so messed up that God cannot restore it. And once our record is expunged, we can maintain a clean record with confession and forgiveness.
The Author: Thomas Buice (Tennessee, USA)
Thought for the Day: God can erase any sin.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we are eternally grateful for your forgiveness. We were without hope. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Visit devotional.upperroom.org/blog for more content.
Prayer focus: Prisoners and probationers
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