FORGET?

David was grief stricken as he remembered his sin with Bathsheba. He cried out to God: “Have mercy upon me, O God … blot out my transgressions … wash me … cleanse me … my sin is ever before me!” (Psalm 51:1-3) We know God forgives sin, but does He actually forget our sin, completely blotting it out of His remembrance?

The answer is YES. Scripture says: “I will remember their sins no more” (Jer 31:34). Under the old covenant, sins were in remembered and “rolled forward” because there was no forgiveness through the blood of bulls and goats under Moses’ law. Remembrance was made of all sins before Christ, but forgiveness only came through His shed blood on the cross (Heb 10:1-10; Acts 2:36-38). This answers the question of the prophet Hosea (cir. 750 BC): “Will he remember their (Israel’s) iniquity?” (8:13) He then answers, “He will remember their iniquity!” (9:9)

Yes, God has the power to FORGIVE AND FORGET sins. Our question for today is, “Is it possible for you and me to forget sins that we know have been forgiven? All things are possible with God, but do you and I have the power to truly forget? Paul gives the answer. His guilt was forgiven of having persecuted the church (like helping in the stoning of Stephen, Acts 7; 22:6-16). But though he surrendered his life completely to God (Phil 3:13), he could never forget that he had been “the chiefest of sinners” (I Tim 1:15).