Remembering Our Sins No More

Confusion over forgiveness can be a big stumbling block for many Christians.  I know.  I was a confused one myself in the past.  It colored the way I viewed who God is.  If you’re like I was, I hope that what you read in this article will clear that confusion out of your mind and help you to see God as He truly is.

Last week we saw how Jesus revealed the loving heart of His Father as he forgave a “sinner” woman of all her sins.  This was HUGE!  It stunned the Pharisee who had invited him over for dinner.  It flabbergasted the rest of the dinner guests.  “Who is he,” they muttered, “to forgive someone of their sins, especially this “sinner.”  Only God can do that.”  

In that one act, Jesus turned the religious world on its head.  Much like today, the religious folks back then thought that they had to earn God’s love.  They thought they could do it through obedience and performing certain religious rituals.  In other words, living right was the way to gain God’s favor.  That’s why they were so shocked at Jesus’ act of grace to a woman who was, in their eyes, among the lowest sinners there could be.  That’s why it was so HUGE!

I used to be one of those religious folks.  And as I already mentioned, it influenced the way I thought of God.  I saw Him kind of like a judge who would punish me for the wrong that I had done if I didn’t straighten up.  So what did I do?  What a lot of other religious folks do – confess, repent, ask for forgiveness, and promise to do better.  Like other religious folks, God’s loving grace had not yet completely captured my heart or renewed my mind.

That is until I began to understand that what Jesus did for the “sinner” woman was huge for you and me too.  Because what he did for her was what His Father has been doing for every sinner who has humbled himself and put his faith in His mercy, love, and grace.  As we are told in Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

As we look back on that story, we see that Jesus didn’t just forgive the woman of a few sins.  He also didn’t forgive her of just certain sins.  He forgave her of all her sins.  If you’re in Christ, that’s true for you too.  All your sins have been forgiven, every single one of them, past, present, and future.  How do I know that?  Because that’s what the Bible tells us.

The first place we’re going to look is in Hebrews.  Twice the writer of Hebrews reminded his readers that God promised that He “will remember their sins no more.”  (Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17)  This was a promise God gave for when the New Covenant would take effect.  It took effect upon the death of Jesus (Luke 22:20) and we are living under that covenant right now.  What I am saying is that God, through His grace, has chosen to no longer remember the sins of His children.  That promise is for all who are in Christ.

If that were the only place in the Bible that we were given such assurance, you’d be right to question how far to take it.  It’s always dangerous to build a truth around one or two verses plucked out of the Bible.  But of course, there is more than just those two verses.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”  

Can you image that?  God is not counting His people’s sins against them!  That is utterly amazing.  Imagine the worst wrong that anyone could ever do against another person and then imagine the wronged person loving the other person so deeply and passionately that they never hold it against them.  They just keep pursuing them with love.  That’s what God does.  He doesn’t count our sins against us.  In fact, he remembers our sins no more.

Want further proof?  How about 1 Corinthians 13, the famous love chapter of the Bible.  “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Now you may have heard this before at weddings.  It’s a favorite in such settings and are very beautiful words to aspire to.  But did you realize that it’s a description of God?  Think about it.  What is at the very core of God’s nature.  As John said, “God is love.”  (1 John 4:16)  So if God’s very essence is love, then those wonderful words that Paul penned are really telling us about Him.  

The key part of the passage for these purposes is that love keeps no record of wrongs.  So if that’s true and God is love, then you know what that means – God keeps no record of our wrongs.  So once again we see that we have the promise of total forgiveness of our sins.

There’s one more passage to examine.  Psalm 103:12 tells us, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  Picture this.  Two people stand back to back.  One starts walking east and the other walks west.  Where will they meet? Nowhere, unless of course they walk all the way around the world.  But I’m sure you get the point.  How far is the east from the west?  It’s infinite, just like God’s love.  He’s completely removed our sins.  They are no longer counted against us because He keeps no record of them.  He remembers them no more.

This news should bring great joy to our hearts.  There is no other love like the love of God. His love is perfect and pure.  And as we continue this series of exploring the depths of His love, we’ll see why it’s so important for us to experience His love and live in His love everyday.  Join me next week for more on God’s love.