HEBREWS 10:15-18 – “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

MICAH 7:18-19 – “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”  

PSALM 130:1-4 – “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

THEME OF THE DAY: SIN FORGIVEN IS SIN NOT TO BE REMEMBERED.    There are three truths in today’s scriptures that amplify the nugget’s theme. They are the willingness of God to forgive our sins (Psalm 130:1-4), His distancing ourselves from our sins (Micah 7:18-19) and His willingness never to bring them up to us again (Hebrews 10:15-18). Each one of these truths sends our hearts soaring in praise and thanksgiving for such a God of love and mercy.

But there is more to the wonders of God’s willingness to forgive our sin, His willingness to put our sin far from Him, and His willingness not to remember our sin anymore. What is the more?  It is applying what He has done for us toward others. This application is found in the fourth chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians . . .

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

God’s dealing with us in our sins is how we are to deal with others who have sinned against us.  We are eager to forgive. We choose not to remember them, and that includes leaving them buried.  We forgive as we are forgiven.  And not like the following story shared between friends . . . A man who was telling his friend about an argument he’d had with his wife, “Oh, how I hate it, every time we have an argument; she gets historical.” The friend replied, “You mean hysterical.” “No,” he insisted. “I mean historical. Every time we argue she drags up everything from the past and holds it against me!”

True forgiveness is never allowed to resurface forgiven sin in reconciled relationships.  They are buried and must stay buried.  Is this hard? Yes, but not too hard for the strengthening power of God’s grace.  And when tempted to hold sin against someone else, stop and remember how God has dealt and does deal with our sins.  We will find ourselves moved to treat others like we are treated by the Lord. This is what love, grace, and mercy does in the Christian life and in the inevitable times when we are sinned against.

PRAYER: Father, help me to forgive others as You have forgiven me.

REFLECTION: True forgiveness refuses to bring forgiven sin to remembrance to ourselves and those we forgave.