Does God forget our sins, and if so how?
- Thread starter iouae
- Start date
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
SonOfCaleb
Active member
Because God "Chooses" to forget or to "no longer remember [the] sin". Not in the sense of not being able to recall to account past sinful acts of which God is the SOLE arbiter on what is Sinful as well as metting out the appropriate consequence, but rather once the Sin has been 'atoned' for and forgiveness given he doesnt call that Sin to account anymore. (Gods approach is thus analagous to the human law of "Double Jeopardy" whereby the accused cannot be tried for the same crime twice) In that he doesn't judge you on that Sin again for those genuinely repent once the Sin is forgiven.
There's numerous examples of this found in the Bible where faithful men had sinned in fact commiting gross sin but were forgiven and their sins were in effect were no longer "remembered" or called to account, EG David who wrote many dirges in the Psalms admitting his sinful course with Uriahs wife. Despite all David had done he was still considered a faithful servent of God.
That being said David like many others including the Apostle Paul had to live with the consequences of their previous sinful choices. Thus God does not insulate anyone completely from the consequence of sin despite providing forgiveness for past trangressions.
Jeremiah 31:34
iouae
Well-known member
Thank you for that Truster. I got it. It's from...
Heb 8:12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:17
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Do you agree with SonOfCaleb that God does not "forget" so much as not call it to remembrance?
iouae
Well-known member
If, according to this parable, God can reinstate sin and debt, does this show that God does not forget sins?
Mat 18:31
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses
Mat 18:31
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses
To even suggest that the Eternal is unable to recall is blatant stupidity.
Your sin is neither forgiven or forgotten. Your words and wilful irreverence proves this to be the case.
SonOfCaleb
Active member
God doesnt "reinstate sin and debt". Once past sins have been forgiven by him he doesn't judge you based on that Sin again. Gods word in the Bible is very clear on this.
I think you might be incorrectly trying to conflate Gods ability to recall events EG his limitless memory with his ability to choose not to remember past sins that he has forgiven. The two are not materially related.
iouae
Well-known member
Didn't the Lord of the parable reinstate the forgiven man's sins/debt? Otherwise, the man forgiven would have owed the master nothing.
Only After you have been tested.
Matt 18:23-35
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'
29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'
34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Luke 6:36-37
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Matt 18:23-35
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'
29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'
34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Luke 6:36-37
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
SonOfCaleb
Active member
Read the parable again and note the context. The slave who had his financial debt forgiven him by the Master choose not to forgive another slave who owed him 100 denarii.
The emphasis of the parable is to forgive which the slave who was owed 100 denarii choose NOT to do even though he had been forgiven for paying back a far greater sum of 10,000 talents to his own master.
Remember the parable is only illustrative of the importance to forgive. Try and understand the essence of what Jesus was saying rather than applying a literal conflation of the parable with Gods ability to provide forgiveness of sins, otherwise you'll miss the point of the parable.
Sins are remitted by the death of Jesus, not forgotten.
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes."
(1 Corinthians 11:26)
"Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes."
(1 Corinthians 11:26)
"Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
iouae
Well-known member
God has perfect ability to choose what to think. And when He "forgets" our sins, He chooses not to think about these, or to recall them. It is not that He forgets anything.
Satan has access to God and points out our sins to Him. But one day, when Satan is gone, our sins will be in a part of God's memory which He never goes to.
God's perfect ability to control what He dwells upon, also prevents Him from being double minded. God has all the relevant information, and based on this He makes the best decision. He never has to revisit decisions based on old information, as we do, wondering if we made a right decision.
What is important to me is that there is no "spookiness" in God's ability to forget. He does it the same way we do.
Satan has access to God and points out our sins to Him. But one day, when Satan is gone, our sins will be in a part of God's memory which He never goes to.
God's perfect ability to control what He dwells upon, also prevents Him from being double minded. God has all the relevant information, and based on this He makes the best decision. He never has to revisit decisions based on old information, as we do, wondering if we made a right decision.
What is important to me is that there is no "spookiness" in God's ability to forget. He does it the same way we do.
iouae
Well-known member
Parables make one point.
The master is clearly Christ.
The two servants are clearly Christ's servants.
The servant has his sins forgiven - proving he is a Christian.
The servant does not forgive a fellow servant/Christian.
The first servant has his sins reinstated.
Moral of the parable - if we don't forgive, we will not be forgiven. In this case what is interesting is that even our past forgiven state is rescinded. We cannot ignore this. It would not matter if the person's future sins were not forgiven since the wages of sin is death.
But the parable works better if there is an immediate consequence for unforgiveness.
But the point is that God does not want folks with Him for all eternity who cannot let slights go. Eternity is a long time to collect offences.
More on this topic, God "forgets" in the same way as we say "forget it" meaning, let it go.