7 Minute Read + Scripture readings and music video
Today’s Bible Reading:
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
“Remember, LORD, your compassion and your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my acts of rebellion; in keeping with your faithful love, remember me because of your goodness, LORD.”
Psalm 25:6-7 (CSB)
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
Go back and reread the two verses that I have chosen for today looking particularly at the words “remember … do not remember … remember.”
“God does not remember” and “God forgets” are two very different statements but Christians periodically get them mixed up.
Forgetting is a weakness. It is a lapse of memory. In fact, older folks generally bring attention to the fact that they often forget where they put things or they forget what they went to the store to get. Forgetfulness is a frustrating weakness.
When we attribute forgetfulness to God, it is not a small thing, friend. First of all, forgetfulness is NEVER attributed to God in Scripture. Never. We are never, ever told in God’s Word that He forgot something. Second, if we say that God forgets, we are claiming that He has a serious flaw. We are saying that His mind isn’t infinitely perfect as the Bible presents. Friend, this isn’t a small thing. It defames the God we serve.
Remembering is not a weakness. It is a choice.
And that’s what we see attributed to God over and over in the Scripture. God doesn’t forget about my sins. No! It’s much better than that! He chooses not to remember them.
Isaiah 43:25 (CSB): “I – I sweep away your transgressions for my own sake and remember your sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:34 (CSB): “No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the LORD’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.”
Hebrews 8:12 (CSB): “For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Hebrews 10:17 (CSB): “and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.”
You see, if God forgot about my sins, I would be in constant dread of when His memory would improve and He would recall what I did.
I’m so glad that God hasn’t simply forgotten my sin! Instead, God has a fully functioning mind and He has intentionally chosen never to remember my sin again.
I hope this makes sense, friend. God doesn’t forget your sins. Instead, He chooses not to remember them.
When I was younger, there was a song that we sang periodically. In fact, it still makes its rounds in southern gospel groups. But, I want you to pay attention to the line that seeks to explain how God relates to our sin. Observe whether the word “forget” or “chooses not to remember” is used.
I know that many of the faces in the following video are familiar to so many Christians. They are wonderful people who love the Lord and want to proclaim His goodness. But, as serious Christian thinkers, we must realize that only the Bible is infallible. Just because people we know and love sing a song doesn’t mean that everything they sing is biblically accurate. (Click “Play” to watch.)
No, my friend. God doesn’t have a “sea of forgetfulness.” He doesn’t have a flawed mind. Instead, His mind is fully capable of remembering our sins. He simply chooses never, ever to remember them.
That is the only way that the Bible presents it. God chooses not to remember. Therefore, that is what we must believe.
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Lord Jesus, I thank You that You have dealt with my sin. I thank You that You enabled me to trust in You and what You did there on the cross on my behalf. And I thank You that You didn’t forget my sins but, instead, have made a conscious choice never, ever to remember them again. I praise You! Amen.
Matt’s Musings 