I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12)
The devil does everything within his power to keep you from living the life God is calling you to live. Satan can’t mess with your promised eternal life, but he certainly can mess with your present everyday life, if you allow him. And one of the sharpest darts in his arsenal is to weigh you down with the sins of your past. If he can keep you looking over your shoulder at what is behind you, it will hinder you from moving in the direction God is calling you to go.
I want to emphasize that God saying, “I will remember their sins no more” is not the same as God forgetting. God is omniscient. He knows everything all the time, and He simply cannot forget anything. If He actually did forget, he would not be omniscient, because there would be something He didn’t know (because He had forgotten it). However, God, in His mercy, chooses not to call to mind the sins we have committed in our past.
Think about it this way: Rather than treating us as our sins deserve, He chooses to forgive us and to remember our sins no more because of what His Son has done for us. God refuses to hold our sins over our heads by reminding us of our past mistakes. God has intentionally put all our sins behind His back (Isaiah 38:17) . . . removed our transgressions from us as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) . . . and hurled all our iniquities into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), never to be dredged up again. “Out of sight, out of mind,” the old saying goes, and coming from God, that is a promise that is simply out of this world! We do not serve a forgetful God; we serve a forgiving and faithful God, who says He will never bring up our past sins again.
Now, don’t confuse conviction with condemnation. Conviction takes place when the Holy Spirit reminds us that we have rebelled against God, we are filled with a godly sorrow, and we repent of our sins. Condemnation, on the other hand, is of the devil, who keeps bringing up our sins to shame us and water down our witness for Jesus.
Christian, never forget that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). The next time the devil whispers in your ear, “Look at what you did,” you can respond, “Away from me, Satan! Yes, I did do that, but I am forgiven, completely and eternally, because of Jesus Christ.”
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 