God does not count our sins against us. That isn’t logical to us. It is the the very opposite of the way our natural minds work. We want to keep a record of wrongs and count sins against others. It’s just the way the flesh operates.
With every wrong suffered, the flesh records that wrong in a mental spreadsheet. When appropriate, the flesh accesses that record to use against others to somehow even the score. Here’s how it works.
When we get hurt by the actions of others, we take note. It’s like a video record we store in our minds, a high definition, 3-D video, mind you. Every aspect of the event is stored in vivid detail. We know the who, what, when and how, and we give a lot of thought to the why. All this effort to keep a tally opens the door for resentment to creep in and set up shop in our minds.
The writer of Hebrews issued a strong warning about resentment and bitterness: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15). Resentment is not content to merely stew. It wants to cause trouble. All kinds of evil thoughts begin racing through the mind, hatching a plan for revenge.
Does this sound familiar?
Once a plan for revenge is hatched, we wait for the perfect time and place for the payback. Then we tally the score. The record says that we are ahead, and the flesh is satisfied.
But love doesn’t do this. God does not do this. He reconciled you to himself in Christ, and he does not count your sins against you. God is not resentful when you sin, nor does he think evil. And that sin is not recorded in God’s books. His spreadsheet is empty.
As this truth sinks deep within our hearts and minds, it starts to shape how we treat one another.
Do you want to see the love of God in action in your marriage, your family, your relationship with your children, your friends, your fellow-workers and your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Throw the record of wrongs away. Rest in the truth that you have been reconciled to God in Christ, and that he is not counting your sins against you. And then rejoice in the truth that God is not counting the sins of others against them.
The heart of reconciliation and the foundation for strong, healthy relationships is this: Love keeps no record of wrongs.
Very good post Bob. I would like to add to the topic.
Very good post Bob. I would like to add to the topic.
Right up front – Apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5) and we can do all things in Christ (Philippians 4:13). These statements are true or they are not. It is not my old life or your old life that is at the center of the words that follow – It is His life. We are no longer our own and have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are in union with Jesus (Romans 6:5) which means to me we are part of His very fabric! According to Galatians 2:20 the life we live is His life He lives in us and the life we live is His in this flesh and bone body. The preceding words are written because most will think the following is not possible – though it may be hard in application, in Him it is possible. Remember, the our work of the Father or His will is to believe in Jesus (John 6:29). It is God (all of Him) who is at work in you to both will and to work of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
I am reminded by the words above of who makes what I am writing possible. Please prayerfully consider the following.
We know God does not remember our sins any more (Hebrews 10:17). Because this is a quote from the OT let us look at how God forgave in the OT.
How Does God Forgive?
One of the beautiful observation from the Old Testament is being able to see God’s character and attributes. Since God never changes (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:17, James 1:17) let us see how God forgives from the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 31:34 (NASB95)
34“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Jeremiah 50:20 (NASB95)
20‘In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’
Isaiah 43:25 (NASB95)
25“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.
I can think of no one thing more destructive in my relationship with my wife and others then what I will term ‘incomplete forgiveness.’ Most true believers do forgive others from their heart and this is not in question at all. However, there is something else we need to consider. The point we need to consider is this. Is a seemingly simple ‘I forgive you’ or something similar all there is to it?
After many years of pondering what I have read in the word of God and seeking Him for the answer, I believe Father, by the Spirit, has givenan answer. The answer is connected, as all spiritual blessings are, to His wonderful and marvelous Grace, Mercy, Gospel message, and the New Covenant and Resurrection Life He has given to the believer.
Bob has spoken on 1 Corinthians 13 and I cannot add to that. However, look at Ephesians 4:32. Again I am not saying this is easy in application and practice but through faith (Jesus) it is possible.
Ephesians 4:32 (NASB95)
32Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
1 Corinthians 13 is seen in the very first part of this verse showing God’s love is behind His way of forgovong.
Colossians 3:13 (NASB95)
13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
I pray for all who follow Bob’s blog.
God Bless,
Brad