God Forgets

I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 43:25

If you are like me, you remember things you have done that you are not proud of. You may have lost your temper, stolen something as a teenager, cheated on a test, lied to get out of trouble, or committed countless sins. We might not have forgotten, but if you belong to Christ, God the Father has forgotten them.

Paul wrote to the Romans, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)." In short, if you are "in Christ Jesus," God will never, ever condemn you for any sin whatsoever. But that's not all. He chooses not even to remember the sin that we confess to him. Christians need to understand that you are transformed once you become born again. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and you have been freed from the bondage of sin (Romans 6). A Christian will never stand in judgment for their sins past, present, or future (1 John 1:7). 

However, we must still confess our sins to God. In  1 John 1:9, John writes, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This passage is written to believers, and John states that those who confess their sins are forgiven and cleansed. Though believers are forgiven at the point of salvation, there is also an ongoing sense in which believers need to confess sin and experience forgiveness and cleansing. When we seek forgiveness when we sin, we can be assured that God no longer remembers our sins.

- "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 8:12

- "Then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Hebrews 10:17

- "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." Psalm 133:12

- He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19

Praise God that He forgets our sins and remembers them no more.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark