When it comes to man and our duty toward God it goes without saying that we are forgetful creatures. For this reason so much is said in the Bible about remembering: Remember the Sabbath day, remember Lot’s wife, remember, and do all my commandments, remember the days of old, remember His marvelous works, remember now thy Creator, and on and on. We are forgetful creatures by nature of the things of God, but by nature there are certain things we do not forget.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13–14
It is a great thing to learn how to remember, but it is an equally great thing to learn the art of forgetfulness. Many are in danger of losing sight of the fact that it is a duty sometimes to forget as much as it is to remember.
“One reason why so many fail to make advancement in the Christian life is because they have never learned how to forget. They think that one can forget only as the thing gradually fades from the mind, not realizing that they have to put forth positive effort in order to forget, as well as to remember. It will scarcely be questioned by anyone that scenes and acts of wickedness are to be forgotten. When the sin has been confessed and forgiven, then the mind should turn from it. True, the individual should never forget that he has been taken from a horrible pit or that he stands only by faith, having no strength in himself; but if he allows his mind to dwell upon the specific acts of sin, one of two things, and possibly both, will result. Either he will be led to doubt that he has been forgiven, or else he will be impelled by the force of habit and association, to the commission of the same things again. An impure thought cannot find lodgment in the mind without leaving a stain. We have known many persons to cheat themselves out of a great blessing that God had for them, simply by keeping their minds fixed on the sin, and letting that eclipse the love of God. It is a great thing to forget, even while retaining sufficient remembrance to appreciate at its true value the wonderful love of God in pardoning sin.” –Signs of the Times, March 11, 1889
Have you ever or do you even now doubt your sins to be forgiven? Is there a stain in your life that you cannot overcome no matter how much mental exercise you exert? Personally, this statement is a great rebuke to me. There has been many a time and even recently where I, having gone over my past mistakes, am led to doubt that I have been forgiven; and there are times when trying to overcome objectionable habits, I have delved deeper into them by recalling in my mind the defeats of the past. We are robbing God by fixing our minds on our problems, our sins, when our minds should be fixed on our Saviour.
“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.” Isaiah 44:22
“I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:34
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12
“When God calls a man a sinner, he is a sinner; and when He calls a man righteous, he is righteous in reality, as much so as if he had never sinned. There is no virtue in mere intellectual assent. God never declares a person righteous simply because he makes an acknowledgement of the truth. And there is an actual, literal change from the state of sin to righteousness, which justifies God in making the declaration.” –The Present Truth, August 16, 1894
If Christ remembers our sins no more which we have confessed, why then do we remember them? Because it is in our nature to always remember the bad. He makes free to us the robe of His Righteousness and when we have that robe we are righteous, if He does not remember our sins, then He considers us no longer sinners. You believe He made the firmament and caused the sun to shine for the day and the moon for the night, don’t you? Then believe that when you are forgiven and your sin is remembered no more by Him, that it is gone, and so remember it no more.
“Let not him that wavereth think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. When persons begin to draw nigh to God, Satan is always ready to press in his darkness. As they look back over their past life, he causes every defect to be so exaggerated in their minds that they become discouraged, and begin to doubt the power and willingness of Jesus to save. Their faith wavers, and they say, ‘I do not believe that Jesus will forgive my sins.’ Let not such expect to receive anything from the Lord. If they would only exercise true repentance toward God, at the same time possessing a firm faith in Christ, He would cover their sins and pardon their transgressions. But, instead of this, they too often allow themselves to be controlled by impulse and feeling.” –Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-Day Adventists, p. 135
“When you lose your hold on Him, and fail of receiving the fulfillment of the promise, the bank of heaven has not failed; you have broken your covenant with God. He cannot fulfill His promises while you refuse to let Him take away your transgressions, because you suppose that by disobeying Him, you have placed yourself beyond help. The Lord says, ‘Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.’ Then cease to worry over the troubles that you so often bring upon your selves; come like a penitent child to Jesus, confessing your sins. ‘Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’” –Signs of the Times, March 16, 1904
“Satan may whisper, ‘You are too great a sinner for Christ to save.’ While you acknowledge that you are indeed sinful and unworthy, you may meet the tempter with the cry, ‘By virtue of the atonement, I claim Christ as my Saviour. I trust not to my own merits, but to the precious blood of Jesus, which cleanses me. This moment I hang my helpless soul on Christ.’ The Christian life must be a life of constant, living faith. An unyielding trust, a firm reliance upon Christ, will bring peace and assurance to the soul.” –Messages to Young People, p. 112
The subject of our study is the necessity of forgetting. We have all experienced that it is in our very nature to always remember the bad, and this is not limited to the mistakes we have made; far greater remembrance is placed on those who have sinned against us. If we are honest with ourselves, is there now any barrier between brother and sister, parent and child, or husband and wife?
“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:15
“One of the most common sins, and one that is attended with most pernicious results, is the indulgence of an unforgiving spirit. How many will cherish animosity or revenge and then bow before God and ask to be forgiven as they forgive?” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 170
Shall we be surprised to find this among us? It is as common to man’s nature as righteousness is to God’s. And note that it has pernicious results, that it is extremely harmful in a very subtle way. Whose spirit is that?
We can often say we forgive others when they have wronged us, but what marks whether or not that forgiveness is genuine?
“Nothing is more deadening to spiritual life; for the fact that such things are not forgotten proves that they are not forgiven, and if they are not forgiven that is evidence that the soul is not rejoicing in the love of God. When God forgives us, he puts upon us his own righteousness in place of the sin, and then treats us as though we had never sinned; and if we obey the injunction to forgive one another even as God hath for Christ’s sake forgiven us, we shall treat the one who has offended as though he had always done us kindness instead of injury. Without this, the peace of God cannot rule in the heart.” –Signs of the Times, March 11, 1889
It is a hard thing for us to forgive, especially when we have done nothing to provoke wrong, especially when we have even loved the wrongdoer. It is easy for me to simply say, well, “look to Jesus,” but how does that practically deal with my hurt, my trust, my respect and even my anger? What exactly are we to look at? This is something that personally I have struggled to understand. The last few months I have been reading The Desire of Ages on my way to and from work, and a few weeks ago I was privileged to look at Jesus through the eyes of Peter.
“‘Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?’ ‘Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.’ At this Peter flew into a rage. The disciples of Jesus were noted for the purity of their language, and in order fully to deceive his questioners, and justify his assumed character, Peter now denied his Master with cursing and swearing. Again the cock crew. Peter heard it then, and he remembered the words of Jesus, ‘Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.’ Mark 14:30.
“While the degrading oaths were fresh upon Peter’s lips, and the shrill crowing of the cock was still ringing in his ears, the Saviour turned from the frowning judges, and looked full upon His poor disciple. At the same time Peter’s eyes were drawn to his Master. In that gentle countenance he read deep pity and sorrow, but there was no anger there.
“The sight of that pale, suffering face, those quivering lips, that look of compassion and forgiveness, pierced his heart like an arrow. Conscience was aroused. Memory was active. Peter called to mind his promise of a few short hours before that he would go with his Lord to prison and to death. . . A tide of memories rushed over him. The Saviour’s tender mercy, His kindness and long-suffering, His gentleness and patience toward His erring disciples,—all was remembered. . . He reflected with horror upon his own ingratitude, his falsehood, his perjury. Once more he looked at his Master, and saw a sacrilegious hand raised to smite Him in the face. Unable longer to endure the scene, he rushed, heartbroken, from the hall.
“He pressed on in solitude and darkness, he knew not and cared not whither. At last he found himself in Gethsemane. The scene of a few hours before came vividly to his mind. The suffering face of his Lord, stained with bloody sweat and convulsed with anguish, rose before him. He remembered with bitter remorse that Jesus had wept and agonized in prayer alone, while those who should have united with Him in that trying hour were sleeping. . . He witnessed again the scene in the judgment hall. It was torture to his bleeding heart to know that he had added the heaviest burden to the Saviour’s humiliation and grief. On the very spot where Jesus had poured out His soul in agony to His Father, Peter fell upon his face, and wished that he might die.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 712–713
Can you imagine yourself in Peter’s place? . . . because, essentially we are; and then can you not forgive? As you hold on to the hurt of other’s wrongdoings toward you, you are essentially denying Christ because He sacrificed Himself just as much for the one that has wronged you.
“Do not for a moment pain the heart of the pitying Saviour by your unbelief. He watches with the most intense interest your progress in the heavenly way; He sees your earnest efforts; He notes your declensions and your recoveries, your hopes and your fears, your conflicts and your victories.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 316
In order to forgive and to forget it comes down to a personal relationship with Christ. Earlier this week we discovered that, for a church to function, it comes down to one’s relation to Christ, independent of anyone else. For any relationship, and especially dealing with hurt, we must apply the same.
“We should carefully consider what is our relation to God and to one another. We are continually sinning against God, but His mercy still follows us; in love He bears with our perversities, our neglect, our ingratitude, our disobedience. He never becomes impatient with us. We insult His mercy, grieve His Holy Spirit, and do Him dishonor before men and angels, and yet His compassions fail not. The thought of God’s long-suffering to us should make us forbearing to one another. How patiently should we bear with the faults and errors of our brethren when we remember how great are our own failings in the sight of God?” –That I May Know Him, p. 181
“However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to cherish our grievances and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries, but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God, so must we pardon those who have done evil to us.” –The Youth’s Instructor, June 1, 1893
“Instead of looking critically upon our brethren we should turn our eyes within, and be ready to discover the objectionable traits of our own character. As we have a proper realization of our own mistakes and failures, the mistakes of others will sink into insignificance.” –That I May Know Him, p. 181
Yes, I can forgive when I see myself in the sight of God, but forget? How can I relate to someone as though they had never sinned against me?
“But how shall we forget? Many would forget, but they do not know how. They take hold of the thing and resolutely attempt to force it out of their mind, but that only fixes it the more firmly. Well, the secret of forgetting is very simple. Forget one thing by thinking of something else. It is impossible for the mind to contemplate two things at the same time. Now if you wish to forget something bad, think of something good. Forget the things that are behind by looking toward the things that are before.” –Signs of the Times, March 11, 1889
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
“If you would dwell on such subjects as Christ’s willingness to forgive sins, to receive the sinner, to save that which is lost, subjects that inspire hope and courage, you would be a blessing.” –Selected Messages, book 1, 177
We can’t look to the sinner to resolve the hurt; there may be a temporary resolve not to look to them, but often it’s the case that we are later more disappointed when we do. Despite efforts, despite resolutions, we are essentially sinners and prone to sin; but the debt they owe you in your own mind will shrink into insignificance when you look at your own debt to Christ. Those wages we will remember that He paid for you and for me, while we were yet sinners.
Human nature tends to remember the bad, whether it is in ourselves or others; it also has a tendency to remember good when it is ourselves committing those good things. We have a built-in “pat on the back” mechanism called pride. There is a danger in remembering our good deeds that is scarcely less fatal than when we remember the acts of sin.
“Sometimes through the grace of God we are enabled to accomplish a really good work, which gives us great joy. But then, instead of thanking God that he has done something with us; we insensibly take to ourselves some of the glory, and congratulate ourselves over our success. Instead of going on in the same strength to gain other victories, we sit down and look at what has been done, or else, going on, we keep looking back, and so stumble and fail.” –Signs of the Times, March 11, 1889
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14
The apostle Paul knew full well what he was talking about when he stated this. There is a great risk in becoming self-sufficient the greater our sphere of influence or our position.
“The minister for God should in an eminent degree possess humility. Those who have the deepest experience in the things of God are the farthest removed from pride and self-exaltation. Because they have an exalted conception of the glory of God, they feel that the lowest place in His service is too honorable for them.
“The self-sufficient, satisfied with themselves, can well be spared from the work of God. Our Lord calls for laborers who, feeling their own need of the atoning blood of Christ, enter upon their work, not with boasting or self-sufficiency, but with full assurance of faith, realizing that they will always need the help of Christ in order to know how to deal with minds.” –Gospel Workers, p. 142–143
Should we fear success then? Perhaps take time to step back before going forward in the work? No, this does not need to be done.
“Let us not forget that as activity increases, and we become successful in doing the work that must be accomplished, there is danger of our trusting in human plans and methods. There will be a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. We shall be in danger of losing our sense of dependence upon God, who alone can make our work succeed; but although this is the tendency, let no one think that the human instrument is to do less. No, he is not to do less, but to do more by accepting the heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit.” –The Review and Herald, July 4, 1893
How do we forget our good works when we are actively pursuing them? Again, what is your relation to Jesus?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4–5
“Whoever abides in Christ brings forth much fruit; while separate from Him we can do nothing. Doing nothing is made equivalent to not bearing fruit. So then bearing fruit in the vine is identical with doing something. There is nothing more passive than the bearing of fruit; and yet there is nothing in which more intense activity is shown than in a fruitful vine or tree. The tree can do nothing to make itself bear fruit, yet the bearing of fruit is a period of activity.” –The Present Truth, July 13, 1893
Do you want to forget your good works as you move onward? Then keep your eyes indeed onward. Those fruits are Him working in you, and while you are ever moving, your movements are passive actions, like body parts moving in reference to the mind.
At the commencement of this study we were exhorted by the Apostle that whilst we run the Christian race, there is a necessity to forget the things behind us—our faults, the faults of others, and even to a degree, our victories.
“Nobody can expect to make any headway in a race if he keeps looking back over his shoulder. If he does so, he cannot fail to stumble over some object lying in his path, or else his course will be very crooked. He who is running the Christian race should heed these words of the wise man:—Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:25–27).” –Signs of the Times, March 11, 1889
Do you need to ask an athlete where he is to run in a sprint? When running a race an athlete knows where he is running—to the finish line. His eyes look neither behind him to the track he has already covered, nor to his competitors on either side; but his eyes are fixed straight ahead on the goal. Do you want to forget your past mistakes? Then look ahead to Christ in the atonement. Do you want to forgive and forget the sins of others against you? Then look before you to Jesus, pleading for you before the mercy seat. Do you want to forget your past works and press on in dependence? Then look at Jesus in the vine.
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12: 1–2
Lay down the weights of remembrance and look to Jesus, who is both the beginning and finish line. I know it seems too simple, but “look to Jesus and indeed, live.”
“We must put on the heavenly graces, and, with the eye directed upward to the crown of immortality, keep the Pattern ever before us. He was a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The humble, self-denying life of our divine Lord we are to keep constantly in view. And then as we seek to imitate Him, keeping our eye upon the mark of the prize, we can run this race with certainty, knowing that if we do the very best we can, we shall certainly secure the prize.” –Counsels on Health, p. 47
It is my prayer that we both see the necessity of forgetting and forget not its necessity. Amen.
Steve Caruana