Teachings from Quest for God's Own Heart Ministry

Has God Called us to Both Forgive and Forget our Past Failures and the Sins of Others?
 

I was asked this question recently and I will answer it to the best of my ability. I am not saying I am 100% right. There are many Pastors and Theologians who will debate the answer to this question until the end of time. Some will say we are not able to forget our past failures and the sins of others. We are only able to forgive ourselves and others. They will claim the memory will continue until the day we die. Others will disagree saying we are not only to forgive, but to forget as well. Is it possible for us to forget? Has God called us to only forgive, or has He also called us to forget as well? I will briefly give you my opinion. Some of you will disagree with me, and that is fine. I hope you can forgive me (LOL).

In my opinion, God has called us to forgive and forget the past transgressions of others and ourselves. This is why:

God has blotted out our sins for His sake, remembering them no more

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” (Isaiah 43:25, NLT).

God will forgive our wickedness, and will remember them no more

“And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Hebrews 8:12, NLT).

God has removed our sin as far as the East is from the West

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (To infinity and beyond! Psalm 103:12)

We are to forgive as God through Christ has forgiven us

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32, NLT).

We are to forgive others because Jesus has forgiven us

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13, NLT).
 
Therefore, in my opinion, God is asking us to forgive in the same way He has forgiven us through Jesus Christ. The Bible makes it clear God has not only forgiven, but has also chosen to forget our sins. We must also choose to forgive and forget what others have done to us, and what we have done to ourselves. Easy? Of course not. A command? In my opinion: yes. How can we treat others differently than God? It is a matter of choice. God chose to forgive and forget, looking instead to who we are in Christ. We must also choose to forgive and forget, seeing others the way God does. If they are a Believer, we are to see them as a New Creation. If they are not, we need to see them in the same way Jesus saw all of us on the cross. Jesus even asked the Father to forgive those who put Him on the cross.
 
I know it is easy for me to count the sins of those who have hurt me, but Jesus chose to not even count the sins of the Religious Leaders and the Romans against them. Wow! That is how we are to act. We are to choose to both forgive and forget, just as God has chosen to forgive and forget our past sins. Anyone can forgive. Forgetting takes grace. Are you ready to let go of the hurts? Allow Grace to guide you. 

Grace is a person. His name is Jesus Christ. We are called to be a reflection of Jesus to the world. Let us start by forgiving and forgetting. Take away the hurts from the past and focus on the beauty of God’s loving grace. That is our calling. We are to be like Jesus in every area of our lives. That includes our past, present, and future hurts. That includes being a reflection of His forgiving heart. We are to forgive and forget.