The Wednesday Word

 

The Forgetfulness of Grace: Part 2

by D.G. Miles McKee

There are some religious people who say we cannot know whether we are saved or not.  They say we cannot be sure whether we are going to heaven.  However, this kind of belief is not the case with the gospel believer.  Gospel believers know that their sins are forgiven.
Why?
Because in Hebrews 1:3 it says that our sins are purged.
Because in Isaiah 43:25 it says that our sins are blotted out.
Because in Psalm 103:12 it says that our sins are removed.
Because in In Isaiah 38:17 it says they are behind God’s back.
Because In Micah 7:19, they are cast into the depth of the sea.
In Christ, the believer’s sins are gone. They are forgotten (Isaiah 43:25).

Some years ago, in Belfast, a certain notorious character, involved in all sorts of evil deeds, was changed by the grace of God. In the aftermath of his conversion, he took every opportunity to tell the story of how the grace of God had saved him.  On one occasion, just before he rose to speak, someone sent an envelope up to the platform.  Opening it, the man saw a long list of sins and crimes that he had committed. The unspoken implication was, “What right does a person like you have to stand up and speak for Christ?”

When the former criminal saw the note, his first impulse was to leave the meeting.  Instead, he stepped boldly to the pulpit and said, “Friends, I am accused of crimes and sins committed in this very city. I will read the note to you.” One after another, he read the sins from the list and, at the conclusion of each accusation, he stopped and said, “It is true. I did that. I am guilty.” When he had finished the whole list, he paused a moment and then continued, “You ask how I dare stand before you to speak of righteousness and truth with a list of crimes like that against my name? I will tell you how: It’s because God says,“I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake and will not remember your sins “(Isaiah 43:25).  And it’s because of Hebrews 8:12 which says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

So, brothers and sisters, let me ask, if God has forgotten our sins and failures why do we keep remembering them? We get plagued by the memory of our failures.  We are skilled at continual self-punishment.  However, this will destroy us.  It’s time to accept the grace of God.  Isn’t it time to grasp the truths of the gospel?

The scriptures say, “If any man is holy, prayerful, and always faithful, he has an advocate with the Father”; No! wait a minute…it doesn’t say that at all.  It says, “If any man SIN, he has an advocate with the Father” 1 John 2:1. And the gospel truth is that our sins are dead and buried in Christ.  They are remembered no more.

So when we consider our past and come creeping to our corners with a guilty conscience we can rejoice in the ‘Forgetfulness of Grace’ for the Lord has said, “I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember your sins “(Isaiah 43:25).
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12).

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

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