Our sins are taken away, not in the sense that we become sinless in the way that Jesus was, but in the sense that they no longer stand as a barrier blocking our access to God. We go on being sinners and therefore we go on sinning. Even if we can learn not to commit particular sins deliberately, every action of ours has something sinful about it because of our inherent sinfulness. We can recognise it and struggle against it, but we cannot get rid of it as long as the ‘old Adam’ continues to shape and control our human nature.
