Bible Discussion Thread

what does it mean that Jesus took away our sin? what is the difference between our sins being covered and our sins being taken away? I hope this makes sense

Both phrases mean the same thing. They both mean that our sins are forgiven through the sacrifice of our saviour Jesus Christ. We must always bare in mind that Jesus spoke Aramaic and Hebrew and the Gospel was written in Greek, having also in mind that ancient people spoke a bit different than we speak today, they spoke in a more or less poetic manner like philosophers. So some phrases that confuse people when reading the Bible in English translations may be perfectly clear when they are read, say by Greek or Jewish people.

I hope you get other thoughts on this, Follower of Christ, but in a simple way, I consider those phrases in the following manner:

John 1:29: "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKETH AWAY the sin of the world." This 'taking away of sin', or us 'being freed from sin' ( Romans 6:7), or 'put away sin' ( Hebrews 9:26) appears to be what happens when the Sacrifice of Jesus was completed & the penitent sinner places his trust in Christ & that finished Work. In other words, sin is 'taken away' as God's final dealing with it, to give us spiritual rebirth & confidence & joy in that Act.

Romans 4:6,7: "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins ARE COVERED." Here, the thought is that the forgiven person's sins are HID from God Eyes. Even though our sins are 'removed as far as the east is from the west' ( Psalm 103:12) so that God remembers them no more (or, no longer holds those sins to our account), Paul in Romans, sees God as hiding our sins from His View, as our sin being a despicable thing in His Eyes. Some could understand this as, 'sins being covered under the Blood'; & this is true as well but taking the passage from David's utterance ( Psalm 32:1,2), the true sense should be that of our sins have been hid from God.

So, in one sense these phrases are similar, as sins are taken away completely, & yet we see both the aspects of a total removal & a total forgiveness as our old sins are treated as filth but covered from God's Sight & taken away only because of Christ's shed Blood. What can wash away our sins? Nothing, absolutely nothing but the Blood of Jesus.