Letter to the Hebrews Volume 78

 Jesus Christ is now Seated @ the Right Hand of Majesty Part 8

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  KJV

Going back to what the writer of Hebrews declared for us in Hebrews 8:6, as it is written, "But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises" we find that in this next verse (Hebrews 8:12) the writer makes the most wonderful declaration of what this new covenant does for every one of us sinners who come to 'know' (ginōskō & eidō) God the Father or now to us our Heavenly Father, as it is written here, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12) (KJV). The English word 'merciful' is translated by the Greek word hileōs which means (in relation to mankind or humanity) propitious or favorable; adverbially (by Hebraism) God be gracious! The English word 'unrighteousness' is translated by the Greek word adikia which means (legal) injustice (properly the quality, by implication the act); moral wrongfulness (of charater, life or act): - iniquity, unjust, unrighteousness, wrong. So, we see that it is God the Father who by virtue of the solitary, sacrificial, and sinless life of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead for sinners and then He (Christ) presenting His Blood on the mercy seat in heaven for sinners, then our Heavenly Father can now be gracious to those of us who have come to Him only through our Lord Jesus Christ, even though we do not deserve His grace and mercy because we grieve Him far too much. Let us never forget the parable our Lord Jesus Christ declared of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, as it is documented for us by Luke, "And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14) (KJV). The English word 'justified' used here in Luke 18:14 by our Lord Jesus Christ is translated by the Greek word dikaioō meaning to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify, be righteous. In other words, this word used here by our Lord Jesus Christ in this Parable is exactly what this new covenant or better covenant with better promises gives to any and all repentant sinners and that is to be regarded as righteous, just, and innocent before the Throne of God the Father in Heaven. Remember these words in this same Gospel of Luke when our Lord Jesus said this, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32) (KJV). When the writer of Hebrews in the last part of Hebrews 8:12 declares these words, 'and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more', he means that every sin confessed and repented of (by His adopted children through the Blood of Jesus) will He erase from His presence and His memory never to bring them up against us, for they will be hidden or covered for us under the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, as it is written for us by the Apostle John  with these words, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth 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." (1 John 1:7-10) (KJV).

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of Hebrews 8:12, "It is fundamental, because it grapples with the true evil of humanity, which is not sorrow, but is sin. All men have 'come short of the glory of God,' and that fact, the fact of universal sinfulness, is the gravest fact of man's condition; for it affects his whole nature, and it disturbs and perverts all his relations to God. And so, if men would rightly diagnose the disease of humanity, they must recognise something far deeper than skin-deep symptoms, and discover that it is sin which is the source of all human misery and sorrow. To deal with humanity and to forget or ignore the true source of all the misery in the world - namely, the fact that we 'have all sinned and come short of the glory of God' - is absurd. 'Miserable comforters are ye all,' if pottering over the patient, you apply ointment to pimples when he is dying of cancer. I know, of course, that a great deal may be done, and that a great deal is to-day being done, to diminish the sum of human wretchedness; and I am not the man to say one word that shall seem to under-estimate or pour cold water upon any of these various schemes of improvement - philanthropic, social, economic, or political; but I do humbly venture to say that any of them, and all of them put together, if they do not grapple with this fact of man's sin, are dealing with the surface and leaving the centre untouched. Sin does not come only from ignorance, and therefore it cannot be swept away by knowledge. It does not come only from environment, and therefore it cannot be taken out of human history by improvement of circumstances. It does not come from poverty, and therefore economical changes will not annihilate it. The root of it lies far deeper than any of these things. The power which is to make humanity blessed must dig down to the root and grasp that, and tear it up, and eject it from the heart of man before society can be thoroughly healed. Now, what does Christianity do with this central part of human experience? My text tells us partly, and only partly, 'I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.' Of course, the divine oblivion is a strong metaphor for the treatment of man's sins as non-existent. It is the same figure, in a somewhat different application, as is found in the great promise, 'I will cast their sins behind My back into the depths of the sea.' It is the same metaphor as is suggested in a somewhat different application, by the other saying, 'Blessed is the man whose sin is covered.' And the fact that underlies the metaphors of forgetfulness or burying in the ocean depths, or covering over so as to-be invisible, is just this, that God's love flows out to the sinful man, unhindered by the fact of his transgression. If Christian people, and doubters about Christian truth, would understand the depth and loftiness of the Christian idea of forgiveness, there would be less difficulty felt about it. For pardon is not the same thing as the removal of the consequences of wrongdoing. It is so in regard of the mere outward judicial: procedure of nations, but it is not so in the family. A father often pardons, and says that he does so before he punishes, and it is the same with God. The true notion and essence of forgiveness, as the Bible conceives it, is not the putting aside of consequences, but the flow of the Father's heart to the erring child. Sin is a great black dam, built up across the stream, but the flood of love from God's heart rises over it, and pours across it, and buries it beneath the victorious, full waters of the 'river of God.' Here is a world wrapped in mist, and high above the mist the unbroken sunshine of the divine love pours down upon the upper layer, and thins and thins and thins it until it disappears, and the full sunshine floods the rejoicing world, and the ragged fragments of the mist melt into the blue. 'I have blotted out as a cloud thy sins and as a thick cloud thy transgressions,' The outward consequences of forgiven sin may have to be reaped. If a man has lived a sensuous life, no repentance, no forgiveness, will prevent the drunkard's hand from trembling, or cure the corrugations of his liver. If a man has sinned, no divine forgiveness will ever take the memory of his transgressions, nor their effects, out of his character. But the divine forgiveness may so modify the effects as that, instead of past sin being a source of torment or a tyrant which compels to future similar transgressions, pardoned sin will become a source of lowly self-distrust, and may even tend to increase in goodness and righteousness. When bees cannot remove some corruption out of the hive they cover it over with wax, and then it is harmless, and they can build upon it honey-bearing cells. Thus it is possible that, by pardon, the consequences which must be reaped may be turned into occasions for good. But the act of the divine forgiveness does annihilate the deepest and the most serious consequences of my sin; for hell is separation from God, the sense of discord and alienation between Him and me; and all these are swept away. So here is the foundation blessing, which meets man's deepest need. And be sure of this, that any system which cannot grapple with that need will never avail for the necessities of a sinful world. Unless our new evangelists can come to us with as clear an utterance as this of my text, they will work their enchantments in vain; and the world will be the old, sad, miserable world, after all that they can do."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…