God Doesn’t Remember How Bad You Were

I just recently had this conversation with a Roman Catholic friend of mine.

Beloved of Christ said:

Hebrews 8:12
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
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Perhaps you have heard people say of others: “Oh, if only you had seen my husband in the early years of our marriage. He had such an explosive temper that I used to seek shelter in my mother’s house!”

“No one would have ever guessed that she had such a promiscuous past.”

“As a young boy, he would always lie through his teeth and not even bat an eyelid!”

Man looks at you and remembers what you were like in the past. But when God looks at you through the new covenant, He declares, “I will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

He states it plainly in His Word as if to assure us: “When you come to Me, don’t think that I am thinking about your sins. Don’t think that every time I look at you, I am reminded of your sins. Not only am I not keeping a record, but I am also not mindful of your failures and shortcomings. I am telling you that I will remember your sins no more, never again!”

God can say that all our sins He remembers no more because there was a time when He remembered them and punished every one of them — in the body of His Son at the cross. He punished every single one of them until Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) That is why today, God can justly say, “Your sins I will remember no more.” ( No More in the Original Greek is ou mē which basically translated to read- never, certainly not, not at all, by no means & Bible Scholars with Greek Scholars have agreed that it is an Impossibility for GOD to ever remember your sins ever again)

We all know that we sin from time to time. But the good news is that all our sins have already been dealt with at the cross. They have been washed away by Jesus’ blood. Now, when we come into God’s presence, He sees us without our sins. So beloved, forget your past failures. Believe that God remembers your sins no more and be the righteous man that you already are in Christ!

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Brother, far be it from me to downplay the grace of God and yes, God does see us with forgetful eyes. But care must be taken here to realize that we have a responisbility to remain in the grace of God and it is well within our means to "rebuild that which He destroyed." We can still make ourselves transgressors bygetting comfortable in our sins, or in going back under self effort to free ourselves from them. Paul himself said "I keep my body under, lest after preaching to others, I myself might become a castaway."

What you are sharing can be interpreted by some to be Once Saved Always Saved, when we are told clearly that we are to make our calling and election sure by conituing in His grace, for it is he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. We are told to press into the kingdom, to run our race with diligence and patience. Just becasue we have bowed the knee to God and accepted His sacrifice, it does not guarantee us Heaven. The cost to us is that we lose our own live to obtain His, to sell all our pearls to get the pearl of great price.

Blessings,

Bruce

gideons300 said:

Just becasue we have bowed the knee to God and accepted His sacrifice, it does not guarantee us Heaven. The cost to us is that we lose our own live to obtain His, to sell all our pearls to get the pearl of great price.

Blessings,

Bruce

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This has never made sense to me, people say that salvation is a free Gift from God which cannot be earned by us yet someone else will turn around and say that this free gift of Salvation comes with a cost.

If it comes with a cost then how is it a free Gift?

I think its free in the sense that God gives it willing to us, but in the end its up to us rather we accept it or not. In accepting it, we our giving up that which is against what God would want for us; because it shows we love Him more than ourselves.

Just a thought.

RobertZ said:

This has never made sense to me, people say that salvation is a free Gift from God which cannot be earned by us yet someone else will turn around and say that this free gift of Salvation comes with a cost.

If it comes with a cost then how is it a free Gift?

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Say we're drowning in a sea of iniquity , trying to hold onto things which are dragging us down , and though we deserve to drown , because we've transgressed and committed capital offences , yet out of mercy and grace / compassion and love , God throws us a lifeline , which all we have to do , is let go of those sinful weights which are pulling us under and grab on and hold tight to the life line ( which is Christ ) , and God will pull us aboard to safety ... but say we refuse to let go of some of our sinful weights , and so we try to hold to both the lifeline with one hand , and our sinful weights with the other ... But God is telling us to let go of the sinful weight , for our grip may well slip if we only hold on to the lifeline in a half-hearted manner , and are at the same time being pulled away by the weight of our unreleased sins - and besides that , God doesn't allow sinful weights to be brought aboard His Sleek Sailing Vessel !

So , as long as we continue to try and hold onto both , we are in a quandary , and therein cannot be fully brought aboard to absolute safety , until we let go of all our sinful weights , to hold on to the lifeline with both hands + all our God-given strength .

And in letting go - to fully hold on tight , we are demonstrating our willingness , and agreeableness to value the gift of the lifeline above and beyond the sinful things in our life .

But if we continue to hold to the sinful , we are saying we don't value the lifeline that much more ....

This is how a free gift can in a sense cost us - but what it costs , is only what wasn't rightfully ours to begin with !

See Hebrews Chapter 12

Indeed God is enormously patient and forbears much , at some point though we must let go , one way or the other , for there is no way to carry the sinful into God's Holy Presence , Christ Himself , as The Keeper of The Gate , will persuade us to drop the iniquitous , or faced being barred from entering into The Everlasting Bliss .

Christ atoned for the sins of the whole world on the cross . And Scripture states that God wills that all be saved ; yet we are forewarned that the path to destruction is broad with many thereon , and the path to life is narrow with few thereupon .

Clearly if our own willingness , or lack thereof , wasn't involved in a crucial manner - there would be no warning of any being lost .

But The Scriptures refer to those who perpetually refuse God's Will & Instruction as headed towards being consumed in wrath .


For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. <-----> 2nd Corinthians 5:21+6:1

God's grace is capable - and meant to effectually transform us into those who having let go of the wrong , are fully committed to holding onto the right .

If grace is looked at as something which puts blinders on God's eyes , so that He cannot perceive ongoing sinfulness , such a perspective is in danger of -

...Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness...<---> From Jude 1:4

Lasciviousness is something which promotes or excites excessive indulgence of liberties beyond what is moral or just .

As in -

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD sees us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. <-----> Ezekiel 8:12

Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD sees not. <-----> Ezekiel 9:9

It is God's Mercy which blots out our past sin , through the Atoning Power of Christ's Blood .

His Grace is poised to enable us to think / live differently - as those who are raised up from being spiritually dead in sin , through the Resurrecting Power of Christ's Resurrection .

Ultimately , remaining dead in our sin , is the result of refusing God's grace .

For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. <-----> Titus 2:11-14

This is a portion of how God's Word / Spirit is speaking to this lifeline-holder-onto .

May The Lord's Peace Guide us - even beyond what we can currently understand . To The Glory of our Heavenly Father . Amen .

wm