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.
John points out Jesus and calls Him the Lamb of God with a promise: this person will take away all your sin. But is this really true? We wonder, because we still sin every day. It is not really “taken away.” And the Old Adam, original sin remains alive and kicking, and sinning.
So how is all sin taken away? The penalty of Sin was taken away completely when Jesus died for all our sins on the cross. The inescapable penalty for sin is death, Jesus died for our sins, suffering Sin’s temporal and eternal punishment in our place, thereby taking away sin.
The power of sin in our present life remains with us to tempt us daily. Power can mean either authority or ability. Sin did not lose the ability to lead the sinful flesh that remains into actual sins. But Sin did lose the authority to rule our behavior and act as a slave master telling us what to do. Jesus “took away” the authority of Sin, but it lies to us, saying it still has the right to rule. The truth is that Jesus is now the Master with the right to rule (by our willing surrender, not by force). This new life, Jesus in us, sits beside the old life, the Self in us, fighting each other with truth and lies. At any given moment the question confronts us: to which one will we surrender? Believe the promise: Jesus took away the sin.
This promise will finally come true when Jesus takes away the presence of Sin when we die and go to be with the Lord in righteousness, holiness, purity, and blessedness. Yes, Jesus will take away the sin of the world at the Final Judgment and cast it into the lake of fire, banished from our presence forever. The promise is true and real, and it is for us.