Forgive and Forget
Question
The Scripture states, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more" (Is. 43:25). How can God forget sins when He is omniscient (knows all)?
Answer
God knows ALL and cannot forget anything (Ps. 147:4-5; Is. 46:10; Matt. 11:21-23; Acts 15:18, etc.). However, God can use language to express that just as someone may forget something, He will NEVER bring up something again. In other words, it is as if God did not know it, as He chooses never to bring it up again. It is there — BUT blotted out! Example: Think of "White-Out." When we use to type letter and we made an error we use to cover up the mistake with white out and then re-type over the whited-out area. The original imprint of the original error is still on the paper, but it has been overwritten - as if it had NEVER BEEN. In essence, God white-outs His families sin and types Jesus' righteousness over their error. God does this so He DOES NOT need to judge us for those sins over and over again — our just due.
Why? Because they have been forgiven in His Son Jesus. Our sins have been laid upon Him. When you read the Heroes of Faith chapter in Scripture (Heb. 11), you will see a list of many people of faith; Abraham, Moses, David, etc. However, even though each of them was a sinner (Rom. 3:23) none of their sins are listed. Why? Because God has forgiven them and judged their sins in Christ. In essence, He does not remember their sins any more.
How the church misses many opportunities to minister to others — because we so often REMEMBER sins — by word and deed! When will the church begin using "white-out"?
Answer by: Joseph R. Nally, Theological Editor, on behalf of the staff at IIIM. The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the "official position" of Third Millennium Ministries.