Fully Forgiven Forever Forgotten
Have you ever had the experience of trying to find something that you just set down? You had it in your hand just a moment ago but then you got distracted and totally lost track of it. This is especially frustrating when it is something important like a phone number or a memo. How is it that we can forget so completely and so quickly even when it was something that seemed all important at the time.
Well that is how God treats our sin when we confess it to him and ask him to forgive us. Our heavenly father totally eliminates that sin from his record, from his memory and from our life when we honestly and openly repent of the sin and confess it asking for forgiveness. He no longer remembers where He wrote it down.
The bible says in Psalm 103:8-12
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Have you as a Christian ever taken back a sin that God has forgiven you for? Have you ever wrapped yourself in guilt for something that you have already been pardoned for?
Our God has provided for us the perfect sacrifice in His son Jesus Christ. Yet we Christians often confess our sins but then we go fishing for them again as if to doubt Gods forgiveness. We will sometimes languish in the memory of past sins and beat ourselves up over things that God has completely and eternally forgiven us for.
I know this is a fact since I have done this very same thing. Our Heavenly Father must respond with a phrase like, what are you talking about, what sin, I don’t remember that particular sin?
If we believe that Jesus completely saves then we must also believe that God completely forgives.
Hebrews 7:25 NIV
Therefore he is able to save completely [ Or forever] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Maybe it is the fact that Gods love toward us is so great we just have a hard time accepting that we can be forgiven of so great or so many sins. The truth is that we can be completely forgiven if we trust our sins over to Jesus.
If we continue to hang on to the guilt of those sins it is like we are crucifying Jesus over and over again. It is as if we do not trust His sacrifice on the cross.
Romans 6:6-7
6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
I sing a song called No Fishing. Did you know that God has posted a sign in your memory that says No Fishing? It is true our God does not want us casting our cares into a sea of sin that no longer exists. It is as if we are trying to fish on dry land, you can not catch anything it is impossible. So why do we go there?
The bible makes reference to a kind of sea that God puts our sins in. We call this the Sea of Forgetfulness since that is what happens when God puts sin there, it is forgotten.
Micah 7:19 KJV He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Did you notice how many sins God puts in that sea. The verse says that all our sins will be cast or hurled into the sea. What sins have you been trying to fish out lately?
Have you been fishing out your own sins? Still unable to forgive yourself even though God has completely forgiven you?
Maybe you are like me and it is not your sins you keep fishing for. Maybe like me you keep holding onto a sin you think was committed against you by your partner. Is your spouse a Christian did God forgive them for their sins? If so then you can not hold any sin against them. You are guilty in that case of being a self-righteous Judge.
For if God who is Holy and who has provided the perfect sacrifice in His son Jesus can forgive you and your spouse then what right do you have to fish out the past sins like some smelly fish and hold it in front of their nose?
You have no right to do so.
Isaiah 43:25: I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
Only God has title to your soul and He has paid the greatest price possible to purchase it.
The old saying let sleeping dogs lie is meant as a warning. To suddenly and unrepentantly bring forward something that you or your spouse have dealt with God about is no concern of yours. It is under the blood it is in the depth of the sea. Let God forgive, let God heal, you must let God hold it so that it can be eternally forgotten.
When you do this kind of thing you are only hurting yourself and unnecessarily so. It is a self inflicted wound that you can stop by trusting God.
We need to pray in the words of the Psalmist.
Psalm 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Matthew 18:21-22-
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?
22Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times
I know now is a great time to go fishing but do not go fishing in the sea of forgetfulness. Those fish are no good to eat and there is no fight left in them.
Learn to forgive yourself as God has forgiven you and do not hold past sins over the head of your spouse or another Christian. God has thrown them into the sea of forgetfulness. You should do likewise.
