The Mystery behind 'Forgive and Forget'

The Mystery behind "Forgive and Forget"

“Forgive and forget”, commonly heard in society, is a phrase that has Biblical roots that is oftentimes wrongly used or interpreted. Despite the common misconception, to “forgive and forget” in its Biblical essence carries a hidden, deeper meaning; which when one comprehends it, one comprehends the amusement of God’s love to a greater extent.

The following article will firstly explain the two keywords (“forgive” and “forget”) according to its Biblical meaning; explain how it’s being misinterpreted and misunderstood; followed by an explanation of how it reveals God’s love and teaches how we are to love others the way God loved us.

Forgiveness and the ability to forgive sins is a sole attribute of God. Only God can forgive sins. (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21; John 1:9; Acts 3:19). We are also exhorted to forgive one another as Christ forgive us (Matthew 6:14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13), but one of the best verses which summarize the forgiveness of sins is Ephesians 1:7, which epitomizes God’s redemption through His Blood – the forgiveness of our trespasses – in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Forgiveness is paralleled to God’s grace. Without grace, there is no forgiveness.

As for the word “forget”, it is rather complicated because our current postmodern worldviews have developed its own definition. Alongside Isaiah 43:25 and Hebrews 8:12, which does somewhat contain the idea of God choosing to forget our sins, one may misinterpret it as if God has truly forgotten our sins – in the way one deletes a picture on one’s iPhone, symbolizing how they (our sins) have been wiped out in a sense that it never existed.

The truth is, God does not and cannot forget our sins because He is omnipresent – beyond time. God knows all of our sins before the formation of the world, which signifies that He also knows where will we end up in our eternal state. Secondly, He has said that He chooses to forget our sins, but that does not signify that He is by any means forgetful. When it is written that He will remember our sins no more, it epitomized that His lovingkindness (or steadfast love), grace, and mercy will not be hindered by our rebellious deeds. This is evidenced as time and time again God reminds Israel of their rebellion and sin – signify that He didn't really "forget about it". Furthermore, considering Isaiah and Jeremiah, God reiterates His chosen people’s faithlessness and sin but states that even though they rebel against Him and practices harlotry, He will never leave or forsake them in a sense that He will cut ties with them whatsoever. In other words, our sins will not hinder God's love towards us to the extent as if He has forgotten them – in the way they were non-existent at all! Yet, Him mentioning their faithlessness contrasted to His faithfulness signified that He did not “forget” their sins whatsoever.

Third, if God did forget our sins, the First Advent would not have taken place because our sins would not be on His mind. Christ would not need to come for us if we sin and He forgets it. Lastly, He does not forget our sins because there is a Final Judgment where we will appear before His Great White Throne of Judgment, accounting for all our deeds - both good and bad (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Peter 4:5). 

Oftentimes when we bring up the notion of forgetfulness, it correlates with memory, but when God – who has perfect memory – speaks of it, He is referring to how His lovingkindness and steadfast love will not be hindered by our iniquities. Hence, the essence of God forgetting our sins is one of the core examples of God’s immeasurable Love. God says He has blotted out our sins (forgive) and will remember it no more (forget) because of the New Covenant - The first advent of Jesus Christ which shows the way to reach a good God (Mark 10:18). God loves us as we have never committed any sins, for they have been wiped out through the Blood of Jesus Christ. God has “forgotten” our sin in a sense that it has NO effect on how He sees us, blesses us and uses us. (this is not an excuse for us to sin; for sin does have an effect on us) Nonetheless, He does not forget our sins and transgressions when it is referred to His memory – as if the act is deleted permanently.

One of the hardest challenges in life is to love others, bearing in mind the immense love of our “forgiving and forgetting” God.  We are not to forget other people’s sins and transgressions, both against God and man, but we are to “forget” them in the sense that it does not affect or hinder our love for them. This is the ultimate essence of how we are to love others as God first loved us. We cannot love others, and “forgive and forget” what they have done if we have not tasted or experienced the love of God that is beyond our comprehension. If we have yet to feel what it is like to be sanctified by the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and still be held dearly to Him; we are unable to do so in return for others.

All in all, the mystery behind “forgive and forget” is the love of the lamb who was slain; the One who has set Himself as the example of how to forgive and forget others as He has done so in the first place.