Forgotten Sin

Jeremiah 31:34 ~ "And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

Sin lingers long in the memory of man. 

For some, their mind is occupied with a constant reminder of their own wickedness of the past, and they cannot escape the ever-present drumbeat of guilt that lies heavy upon their heart. They have sought the Lord and trust His promise to cleanse them of all transgression--but they cannot find relief from their own memory.

There are others who, because of sin, are hounded by the Holy Spirit with such conviction that they can do nothing else but remember their sins. Repentance is their need, and the desire of God is that they will come to repentance--casting off their sins and forsaking them. 

And then there are those who, having had sins inflicted against them, are the never-ending reminder to the one who has wronged them that the wrong inflicted is a stain upon their soul that will never be forgotten. Wrath, not mercy, becomes their expression to the one who sinned against them.

And, thus, it is true: sin lingers long in the memory of man. But what about the mind of God? 

​As the Lord Almighty reveals through the prophet Jeremiah the promised New Covenant (see Jeremiah 31:31), He brings forth a monumental promise: He will forgive and forget the sins of His people. 

It is interesting that many will be able to, with humility and great thankfulness, receive the forgiveness of God. They understand that Lord Jesus is the bearer of the New Covenant, He purchased it with His own blood. Paul reminds us of this in 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'" Again, in the book of Hebrews we find that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant" (Hebrews 9:15). The forgiveness of God is offered because the Lord Jesus paid the price for our transgressions on the cross. He took our guilt upon Himself and bore it away so that our sins could be pardoned and our lives released from eternal judgment. 

The Almighty God, Creator and Sovereign, is also the Omniscient One--the All-Knowing God. So can God forget... anything? The text tells us that He will remember our sins no more. Can God really forget our sins when it seems as if they have a life-time purchase in our own thoughts and memories? If we cannot forget... then how can God?

The simple answer is this: because the Lord God said He does. There is nothing that God has ever spoken which is not also true. Yet, let these texts of Scripture help you understand. From Psalm 103:12, "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." Again, we read in Micah 7:19, "​He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Why then can we not forget? Why do the transgressions of our past seem to hold purchase on our memories? Two reasons--to lead you to repent or to lead you to remember the mercy of God.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring the conviction of sin which leads to real repentance. John 16:8 says, "And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." If you are convicted of sin then give thanks to the Lord for His mercy upon you and repent. Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."

But, when you know that God has led you to repentance and confession of sin, finding His great cleansing of your heart (see 1 John 1:9), then let these memories bring you before the Lord with thankfulness in your heart as you remember His mercy and love. Consider what we find in Isaiah 63:7, "I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

When those times come, my friends, and the memories of past sins long forgiven hound your thinking, let them be used of God to humble you with deep gratitude and remind you of His great grace that cleansed you of your transgression and delivered you from your sins. 

Let all who are in Christ remember that God has forgotten our sin.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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