People are fascinated with covering up imperfection.  Since 1997, cosmetic surgery has increased 293 percent (http://www.viahealth.org/disease/plasticsurgery/stats.htm).     There were nearly 8.3 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2003, according to the most comprehensive survey to date of U.S. physicians and surgeons by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Surgical procedures represented 22 percent of the total, and non-surgical procedures were 78 percent of the total (http://www.cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com/statistics.html#2003-HIGHLIGHTS).  People get plastic surgery to increase body parts in size, to decrease body parts in size, to hide scars, to remove fat, to lift, to tuck, and many other reasons.  This generates the idea that people are very concerned with how they look on the outside.  People are so concerned about the way they look that they will spend thousands of dollars to change their outward appearances.

     What does God look upon in judgment of mankind?  Does he care how perfect our eyelids are or how full our lips appear?  Samuel wrote by inspiration the following: “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).  While men and women today like to cover up their perceived faults, one cannot cover up their sins.

    “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).  Without the shedding of blood remission of sins cannot occur.  When we discuss Biblical terms it is sometimes important to do a word study.  In the case of the word translated “remission” (Greek word “aphesis”) it is not a difficult thing to do.  One of the simple ways to begin a word study is to find a word and then use Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible to get a number for the Greek word being translated into the English word you are studying.  In our case, let us use the word “remission” as it is found in Matthew 26:28.  In this verse we learn the blood of Christ was shed for the remission of our sins.  The Strong’s number for the word translated “remission” in that verse is 859.  The word “aphesis” translated in that verse as “remission” means: “forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty” (Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, page 88, Reprint by Hendrickson, 2002, original copyright 1896).

     It is also profitable in a word study to sometimes find other verses of the Bible with that same Greek word in them and see what those passages show the word to mean.  In the case of the Greek word “aphesis” it is found in 17 verses in the New Testament of the King James Version of the Bible and is translated as remission (9 times), forgiveness (6 times), deliverance (1 time), and liberty (1 time).  It appears translated as remission in these verses: Matthew 26:28, Mark 1:4, Luke 1:77, Luke 3:3, Luke 24:47, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:43, Hebrews 9:22, and Hebrews 10:18.  With very little studying one finds that in each case remission is never concluded in the Holy Writ to mean covering up of our sins or anything akin to that.  So unlike cosmetic surgery, there is no way to cover up sins.  The word by context and Greek definition means as Thayer defined it “forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty.”

     What we do know is that Jesus shed his blood for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28).  We know that we receive salvation through the remission of our sins (Luke 1:77).  We know that we are baptized to have our sins remitted (Acts 2:38).  We know that without the shedding of the blood of Christ there would be no remission of sins (10:18).  The blood of bulls and goats was sufficient to “cover up” sins (Hebrews 10:1-12), but we needed the blood of Christ to remove them (Revelation 1:5; cf. Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14, and Hebrews 10:4).  Notice what John wrote about Christ: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (I John 3:5).  It took more than a knife to remove our sins, it took the blood of the Son of God.  Unlike plastic surgery, you cannot hide your imperfections from the sight of God.

     The Scriptures state: “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (I Chronicles 28:9). “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Psalms 44:21).  “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).  How can anyone deny these clear Biblical facts?  God cannot hide something from Himself and forget where it is.  He can however, completely remove something and then it will not be before Him.  For this we need to be grateful, for sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and those sins not forgiven will keep someone from Heaven (II Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 6:23).

     If sins were able to just be covered up that would imply that once converted you are the old man underneath a new garment.  However, the Bible concludes otherwise on this point as well: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).  God does not lie to us (Titus 1:2).  God promised, even in the Old Testament, to forgive us of our sins (those obedient to the Gospel) and remember them no more under the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).  This fact was not forgotten in the pages of the New Testament (Hebrews 8:8-12 and Hebrews 10:15-17), nor has the promise gone unfulfilled in Christ (I John 1:9).  In the words of the Hebrew penman: “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). The best plastic surgeons in the world cannot get you into Heaven through their proclaimed “art work”.  One might be able to fool men, but you cannot fool God.
 

     Someday we will stand before the Savior to give an account for what we have done in this life (Romans 14:11-12).  He has already provided us the way to have our sins removed and that day will not be our second opportunity (I Timothy 4:1).  He will not be judging us based upon how receded our hairline might be or how uneven our eyebrows are.  The Lord will be judging us based upon His standard, which is His word (John 12:48).  We will not have time for a dress rehearsal and he will not call ahead to fit the Judgment Day into our schedules.  The Lord will come at an unannounced and unexpected time (Matthew 24:42).  This life is about preparing to meet the Lord.  Will you be ready?

     I will conclude this article with the words of the Savior in a parable within a context dealing with the Judgment Day.  “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:1-13).