Turning the page…
Turning the page…
Glory · The Gospel
When God says He will remember our sins no more, He is not forgetting the way we forget: He is promising never to call them to mind again, never to treat us according to them, and never to bring them up in judgment. The new covenant rests on that promise, and the cross is its price.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/god-remembers-our-sins-no-more · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Jeremiah 31:31-34
As you read: God promises a covenant different from the one broken: sins forgiven and remembered no more.
31Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh.
33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:
34and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
Hebrews 10:11-25
As you read: See how Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's promise and then argues it means no more offering for sin is needed.
11Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,
12but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.
14For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16“This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;’” then he says,
17“I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.”
18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21and having a great priest over God’s house,
22let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
23let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
24Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
25not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.
Psalms 103:1-18
As you read: David piles up pictures of forgiveness: healed diseases, removed transgressions, a father's pity.
1Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
2Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits;
3who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;
4who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies;
5who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6Yahweh executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.
7He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel.
8Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
9He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.
11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.
12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.
14For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.
15As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.
17But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children;
18to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.
The all-knowing God cannot forget facts. When He says 'their sin will I remember no more,' He means He will never again hold our sins against us or let them stand between us. To 'remember' sin in Scripture is to act on it in judgment; to not remember is to covenant never to act on it again.
“and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.”Jeremiah 31:34
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”Isaiah 43:25
Notice who makes this pledge: 'I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.' The promise does not depend on how well we have repented or how clean our record has run since. It depends on God's character, which is why Micah can picture Him treading our iniquities underfoot and casting them into the depths of the sea.
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”Isaiah 43:25
“He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”Micah 7:19
Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's promise twice and draws the conclusion: 'where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.' If God remembers sins no more, the ledger is closed; by one offering 'he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.' Forgiveness without recall is what the cross purchased.
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.””Hebrews 8:12
““I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.” Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”Hebrews 10:17-18
“For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”Hebrews 10:14
The psalmists reach for images of distance that cannot be crossed back: transgressions removed 'as far as the east is from the west,' sins cast behind God's back. East and west never meet on a traveler's map; that is the point. The debt is not filed away where we might dig it up again; it is gone from the account entirely, so that God charges with sin no more.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”Psalms 103:12
“Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”Isaiah 38:17
“Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.””Romans 4:8
'God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses.' Because God does not reckon our trespasses, He deals with us as children rather than defendants: 'Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.' Discipline may still come, but prosecution never will.
“namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.”2 Corinthians 5:19
“Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.”Psalms 103:13