“The next time Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.”1 I chuckled at the meme. It was clever, amusing, but ultimately not helpful. I suggest this, instead: “The next time Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of the rest of it.” You know, the part he leaves out. Last week in our remembrance series, we examined “euphoric recall,” the tendency to recollect past experiences more positively than they really were. Today, let’s stare down its counterpart, another form of misremembering: forgetting our forgiveness.
Through Jeremiah, God foretold a day when He would “forgive [our] iniquity, and . . . remember [our] sin no more.”2 Some interpret this to mean we can somehow do something that God cannot — namely, to recall our sins. Personally, I think “remember our sin no more” means God no longer remembers our sin against us. God has “[reconciled] the world to himself in Christ,” penned Paul, “not counting people’s sins against them.”3 Regardless, there is for us a “rest of the story”: Though our past is tainted with sin, it is also overflowing with forgiveness. It is vital to remember both.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul asserted that some people “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” specifically the sexually immoral, idolaters, and the greedy, among others.4 He then made it personal, “And such were some of you.”5 Then from this sketchy profile emerged their stunning portrait: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ”3 Did you catch it? These believers’ past was marred by all sorts of sin, yes, yet it was also filled with spiritual cleansing, restoration, and reconciliation to God — this through the atoning work of His Son and the indwelling of His lifegiving Spirit. Such was true of the Corinthians; such is true of us. Remember this.
Yes, when the evil one accuses you with a “partial truth,” remember the gospel truth. “You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [Christ] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.”6 Remember the whole story. And be glad.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” 7 Yes, Lord, this is most certainly true. Thank you.
1 In Matthew 25:41, Jesus teaches “an eternal fire” is prepared for “the devil and his angels.”
2 Jeremiah 31:34 ESV
3 2 Corinthains 5:19 NIV
4 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
5 1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
6 Colossians 1:21-23 ESV
7 Psalm 103:2-5 ESV
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Paul Nordman—Author 