One night I awoke quite suddenly. What time was it, anyway? Three o’clock in the morning! What’s more, I realized that in my mind I was singing an old hymn: “It Is Well with My Soul.” Not the first or second verse but the third verse:

 

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! [1]

 

I thought, “What day of the week is this, anyway?” Friday! But not just any Friday—Good Friday! The day we commemorate the death of our Savior on the cross. What hymn could be more fitting on Good Friday than that third verse of “It Is Well with My Soul”? My heart filled with thanksgiving for this beautiful reminder that Jesus took the punishment for my sins. They were nailed to His cross. I am completely forgiven—I bear them no more, as the hymn goes.

 

God’s Word says He “canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NLT).

 

Has the devil been reminding you lately of your sins? Have you wondered if having God forgive them is really as simple as believing that Jesus died for your sins? Perhaps Satan has been telling you that surely you should bear some responsibility for your wrongdoing. No, no, no! Ephesians 2:8, 9 [ESV] tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Thank God that your sins were nailed to the cross. And if you haven’t yet put your faith in Jesus’ death in your place, do it right now!

 

[1] https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul/