A Dumb Thing Smart Christians Believe

Forgiving is not an option. It is central to the Christian message. It’s reiterated throughout the New Testament.
Forgiving is easy until you need to do it. All of us have been hurt by somebody or we have hurt somebody. Once that happens it is hard to forgive them or it’s hard for them to forgive us. The reason it is so hard because for such a long time, and it still around some today, we have equated forgiving with forgetting. This is one of those dumb things that many smart Christians believe. Many smart Christians believe that once you forgive somebody everything is forgotten. Forgiveness doesn’t erase God’s memory nor does it erase the memory of the person who has been hurt.
If you just read this scriptures and build a belief system on these scriptures alone you would come to the conclusion that God doesn’t remember anything:

Isaiah 43:25
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
Hebrews 8:12 says
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
Hebrews 10:17
Then he says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”

These verses sure does sound like God forgets.

If you look up forget in any English dictionary its primary meaning is the inability to recall something. Forgetting is the opposite of remembering. The scriptures do say that God forgives our sins and remembers them no more in other places as well, many smart Christians believe he literally erases them from memory as they never happened. We think God gets spiritual Alzheimer’s after we ask for forgiveness,
But you need the rest of the story.

You also need to read:

Hosea 9:9
The things my people do are as depraved
as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
God will not forget.
He will surely punish them for their sins.
Amos 8:7
Now the LORD has sworn this oath
by his own name, the Pride of Israel:
“I will never forget
the wicked things you have done!

We’ve got a problem. Some scriptures say, “he remembers them no more” and the others say, “I will never forget.”

Do does God forget or doesn’t He forget? The answer: Yes, he does

Just because you are forgiven doesn’t mean God forgets. If God literally has no memory of those events you asked forgiveness for, it would mean that you and I would know things that God doesn’t. The Bible would contain stories He can’t remember. Do you hear absurd that sounds?

So what does the Bible mean when it speaks of God remembering our sins no more? It means God no longer responds to us in light of those sins. Our sins no longer derail our relationship with him. They no longer garner his wrath. They are gone completely from our account. But them being gone doesn’t mean he can’t remember all the things we’ve done. An omniscient God doesn’t forget anything.

When we are talking about forgiveness, there are two realms. There is the spiritual and eternal realm where forgiveness wipes the slate clean. In the spiritual realm, “he has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:12      And when God says, “he remembers them no more” – he doesn’t forget them – he just no longer holds those things against you. But there is another realm.

On the earthly/temporary realm forgiveness is a different story. God forgiveness seldom, if ever removes all the consequences or restores all that we’ve broken. On earth, we are simply given a second chance by God. On earth, trust has been broken. On earth, relationships are broken. On earth, people get damaged physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. God’s forgiveness hardly wipes the slate clean in the earthly realm. People don’t forget. People like revenge.

Despite God’s forgiveness, there are still consequences. In other words, God’s forgiveness doesn’t eliminate the consequences. The scriptures teach us despite being forgiven you still deal with the consequences.

Look at the story of King David and Bathsheba.

David fessed up, acknowledged his sin, he repented, and cried out to God. You can read about it in Psalm 51. To his relief, God assured him that he was forgiven and that his life would be spared. David sins were cast from the east to the west. God remembered his sin no more, meaning, God was giving him a second chance. God was no longer going to hold these sins against him. All of this was happening in the spiritual realm.

God didn’t remove the consequences. What happened in the earthly realm?

• David was told that the sword would never depart from his hand: he’d always be at war – no peace.
• He was told that his own son would one day dishonor him in public.
• The temple he had always dreamed of building for God would be left to another.
• He was told the son conceived on his night of passion would die a few days after birth.

In other words, some times  there are severe consequences in the earthly realm. No one ever forgets in the earthly realm. Everyone reminds you of your past in the earthly realm. You might be forgiven by God but in the earthly realm you have to deal with the consequences.

Look at Jared. This is the guy who sold a lot of sub sandwiches for Subway.   He was their spokesman for years. This past week he sinned in a big way. Jared like child porn and got caught.

The consequences:

• Prison
• Divorce
• No more working for Subway as a spokesperson.
• He has to list himself as a sexual predator.
• He knows what will happen to foundation he has started.

He can ask God for forgiveness and God will cast his sin as far as the east is from the west and God will give him another chance.  But I don’t think you want him watching your kids.

God gave King David a second chance. He took King David’s (who was a murderous adulterer) best poetry and reflections (much of what he wrote was after his affair with Bathsheeba) and published it in His Holy Book. And Jesus even quoted him!

This is what God’s forgiveness does – it gives you a second chance. God is not going to hold anything against you after you ask forgiveness.  David experienced God’s forgiveness. In the eyes of God he was a new creature and He made him righteous and just. But forgiveness and being a new creature did not stop the consequences. When we experience the forgiveness of God (while we still have to experience the earthly consequences of the sin) God will restore you and give you an opportunity to forgive others. 

What does Biblical forgiveness look like on the earthly realm?

First of all, stop keeping score! Biblical forgiveness doesn’t keep score.

Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

You don’t keep a tally sheet of how much they have forgiven you and how much you have forgiven others. We forgive others because we have been forgiven by God.

It doesn’t mean we forget …. We just don’t keep score! Love keeps no records of wrong but you don’t let them do to you whatever they did to you again.

In Charleston, SC a couple of months ago (June 2015),  a white deranged racist boy killed 8 black people. There were no riots or protest. How did the family respond? Watch this  clip (done by ESPN) of the young man whose mother was killed in that shooting.

Forgiveness is greater than not forgiving.

Do you think those kids will ever forget? I don’t think so. They have chosen not to keep score.

Secondly, Go buy a mirror! In Biblical forgiveness you look at yourself first.

In Matthew 18, you read about a servant who owed his king over a million dollars. The servant couldn’t repay it. When asked for an accounting he asked for more time. The king gave him something better. He graciously forgave the entire debt and sent him on his way. You would think that this man would be one happy man. But what does he do? he confronts another servant who owed him about $10 and demanded repayment.
When the king heard about it, he was furious. The king throws him into prison and Jesus ends the parable with these confronting words, “this is how the heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The father didn’t get amnesia, he remembered.

Biblical forgiveness always begins with a look in the mirror. It doesn’t start with the wrong that has been done to me; it starts with the wrongs I have done to others. We asked the question, “what have I done and how have I been forgiven?’ And then go offer that same kind of forgiveness to others. If God has given you a second chance – then we are to offer to others a second chance. This doesn’t mean you have to let others walk all over you. It is the complete opposite. You walk even taller than before because you know you have forgiven them. You know you have been set free and you want them to experience the same thing.

It doesn’t mean you have to trust them again. Trust takes a while to rebuild. Just because you have forgiven them doesn’t mean you have to forget but you do remember how much God has forgiven you.

You don’t have the ability to cast sins as far as the east is from the west.

You don’t’ the ability to remember their sins no more.

You do have the ability to forgive knowing how much you have been forgiven.

Every time you forgive you become more like Jesus.