"When God forgives, He forgets. If you go back the next day and say, 'Remember that sin I committed, Lord?' He'll say, 'No.'"
I've heard this statement countless times and I used to repeat it myself. But, like many popular Christian slogans, it's another misunderstanding created by using pieces-parts of Scripture.
When Scripture says God no longer remembers our sins (Hebrews 8:12), it means He no longer counts them against us and always treats them as forgiven.
However, if God forgot our sins literally, He'd cease to be all-knowing. And He'd be unable to recognize repetitive sin patterns in our lives.(1)
Just as a good parent recognizes that a child who lies once a month has a different problem than one who lies several times a day, God also recognizes our sin patterns.
He "forgets" our sins in regard to eternal punishment, but still remembers every detail of our lives—past, present and future (Hebrews 4:12-13). And that's why He's the most Wonderful Counselor.
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(1) God's omniscience is a permanent quality of His character:
1 Chronicles 28:9: "The LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought."
Jeremiah 16:17: "My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes."
Psalm 139:3: "You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways."
1 John 3:20: "God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
Hebrews 4:13: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Matthew 18:21-35 is a parable explaining God's forgiveness, and it shows the difference between forgiving our debt and forgetting our debt.
We need to understand that Scripture sometimes uses figurative language. See Recognizing Figurative Language in Scripture.
Some people believe God cannot look upon us because we are sinners, but this is another misunderstanding. God cannot accept sinful beings into His kingdom unless they are "in Christ." But He is continually aware of our sins (Hebrews 4:12-13) and intimately involved in our lives. He loves us! If God could not look upon sinners, Jesus could never have come to earth and the risen Jesus could not make this statement in Revelation 3:19: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent."
These devotions highlight God as our Counselor who is perfect because He has full knowledge of our past, present, and future, and He has perfect answers for our problems.
What's in a Name: Quiet Time
5 Benefits of a Coffee Date with Jesus
Jesus Understands Your Pain
Bible Love Notes
Our laws are designed to treat defendants as innocent until proven guilty.
But Bible critics approach the Bible as flawed until proven accurate.
For example: For hundreds of years unbelievers pointed out that there was no evidence for the existence of the Hittites mentioned in Deuteronomy 20:17. Then in 1906, the Hittite capitol was discovered with a library of clay tablets.
Perhaps God has allowed some of these questions to remain because “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1).
We don’t need “blind faith” to trust the Bible because there's more evidence proving the Bible true than questions about its validity. But we should have faith in God's Word even without every question being answered.
God isn’t afraid of our questions, so let’s not be afraid of His occasional silence! Let’s judge His Word innocent until proven guilty—because it never will be!
Resource: Presumed Innocent
Check out the short Bible study based on this devotion on Bite Size Bible Study.
Bible Love Notes
Modern Christianity often views God more as a permissive grandparent than as a loving Father.
There are several factors that contribute to this error: Our culture's emphasis on self-esteem has infiltrated the church, and we've become more self-focused and less God-focused. In addition, we've been confused by false teachings that equate love with approval.
God loves us, but He doesn't approve of everything we do. He wants us to try our best, to grow in our faith, and to fulfill His purposes for our lives (Ephesians 2:10).
God forgives our sins, but He doesn't overlook them.
Hebrews 12:5-6: “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
When we genuinely love someone, we're disappointed when they choose to do the wrong thing, and God genuinely loves us.
So let's show our love for God by taking our faith seriously (Philippians 2:12-13). Let’s find out what pleases Him (Ephesians 5:1-20)!
See also:
God Punishes
Discipline, Punishment, Condemnation
Billy Graham on this Subject
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Bible Love Notes
People are always learning new skills, making plans for their careers and retirement, and making lifestyle changes to improve their health and well-being.
However, surveys show that Christians are not as conscientious about our spiritual growth.
Instead of learning, planning, and making lifestyle changes for spiritual growth, we do little or nothing.
Scripture says our faith is a “race” and we should compete with “strict training,” prepared and determined to win “a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
It’s a race that involves throwing off the hindrances of sin and focusing on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Serious Christians willingly give up worldly treasures to achieve “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” They press on toward the finish line, refusing to let anything in their past hold them back (Philippians 3:7-14).
I encourage you to think of practical ways you can be more prepared and determined in your race of faith. Consider how you can gain new Bible study skills, focus more on Jesus, and make lifestyle changes to improve the health of your prayer life.
Let's put a curve in those survey results.
Bible Love Notes
My 10-year-old granddaughter loves to read.
When I discovered that she'd read one book 12 times, I did some research and was troubled by the message the book conveyed.
So I ordered two books about the missionaries George Mueller and Gladys Aylward. It took her one day to read each book, and she decided she wanted to be a missionary.
As you might imagine, I ordered other books about faithful Christians. And I started reading them so I could discuss them with her.
Like my little munchkin, I've been strongly influenced by Christian biographies and autobiographies. Before I was a believer, I read Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place, and it prepared my heart to receive Jesus. And since that time, I've read scores of biographies that have continued to shape my faith.
I consider it a form of mentoring—one that's available even if I'm traveling or have recently moved and don't have Christian friends to encourage me.
These biographies serve as what Hebrews 12:1-2 calls "a great cloud of witnesses."
I'd love to have you leave a comment below and tell me about a Christian biography that especially influenced you.
Did you know that Bible Love Notes has a collection of 1-minute devotions about Christians Who Inspire Us? Why not check it out for a glimpse into the lives of Christians whose biographies you might want to read.
Bible Love Notes
