Forgiven and Forgotten

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12

“When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:10-12

There are many verses in the Bible that indicate that once a Christian’s sins are confessed they are forgiven and covered by Christ’s blood and further God remembers them no more. Although this verse in Hebrews is speaking directly about Israel – it is talking about the New Covenant that all Christians now participate in since the Cross. Once we believe in Christ, we are buried with Him by baptism into death and fully identify with Him and no longer with our old self (Romans 6:4). Our sins can never again be brought against us.

Many people have trouble believing that God not only forgives but also forgets their sins. We do not understand our true position and identification with Christ. When a Believer goes to the Lord in confession, God looks upon him as perfect in Christ and upon the sin as having been placed on the Savior in His death and carried away in His burial. Since the sin will never be remembered by God neither should we ever recall it, one of Satan’s great traps to keep us in discouragement.

The fact that God forgives sin does not give us a license to sin. We are a new creature that walks in newness of life (II Corinthians 5:17). Any true Christian’s spirit is grieved by his sins and he desires to consistently walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). However, when we do sin, by failing to draw on the power of the Spirit, Christ forgives our sins after confession and then simply instructs us to “go and sin no more”, all is forgiven and forgotten. Christ’s followers will “not walk in darkness but have the light of life”.