posted by Phil Johnson
The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive. The following excerpt is from "Free Pardon," a sermon first published in 1873, based on Isaiah 43:25: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and
will not remember thy sins."
he Lord knows all our sins. There is not a sin that has ever escaped his eye. Those committed in the secret chamber, in the darkness of the night, those which never struggled into action—sins of the heart and imagination, those which have never been whispered into any human ear, God has known. What doth he not see?And this is a blessed thing for us, because it causes the pardon to cover fully the whole extent of the sin. A priest once said that if we did not recollect all our sins, and confess them, they would never be forgiven. Well, then, certainly they never will be forgiven, for no man can ever recollect one thousandth part of his transgressions; but blessed be God, the pardon does not rest with our knowledge of the sin, but with God's knowledge of the sin; and, therefore, that pardon is complete which comes from the all-seeing God.
"I, even I, am he,"—the Omniscient who am everywhere present, who saw thee in the darkness, and heard thy heart in all its evil speeches against the Most High—I, the all-knowing one, "I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions."
Oh, this unrivalled pardon, how full of consolation it is! Every attribute of God adds to its splendor; every beam of the divine glory heightens its grandeur.
8 comments:
What fear and silliness I could have avoided had I realized this years ago while being taught the very thing the Spurgeon is speaking against here.
Silly to think that God can only forgive what we remember, but there ya go. I am silly.
Thanks to his grace, while I'm still silly, I'm not as silly as I was.
How comforting, too, that God knew the scope and depth and totality of my sins before saving me and still chose to do so (Romans 5:8). Will my sin of unconfession of unrecognized sins then be enough to sway God away from His promise to never allow me to be snatched from His hand (John 10:29)? Certainly not! Praise God!
Sweet comfort for one as foolish as I.
Phil,
You have to respond to what a fellow Oklahoman posted against Spurgeon on his blog!
http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/09/tragic-mistake-made-by-my-hero-in.html
How incredibly healing it is to know that the omniscient God who sees everything also forgives everything if we just accept the Grace He provides. We're the ones who stubbornly refuse to live lives that reflect that forgiveness and instead bear burden upon burden.
Thom
http://thom-signsofastruggle.blogspot.com/
I love how much Spurgeon loved the Gospel.
Comforting words from Mr. Spurgeon.
I often feel ashamed around people who think well of me or love me, knowing that if they knew me they would be terribly disappointed. It is a wonderful thought to know that the Lord knows everything about us, yet He loves us still. We can never really disappoint Him--He already knows how wretched we are.
How literally or figuratively do people interpret the "I will not remember your sins" part of this verse?
Isaiah 43:25 - “I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (ESV)
The way I understand it, as Spurgeon alluded, is that God knows all, so He can never actually "forget" or even "remember" anything, as He knows everything.
So as for "forgetting" our sins, the way I interpret it, God knows full well what we did in full detail, but through grace does not hold them against us, as though we did not commit them.
To me, this is just like Genesis 8:1, where God "remembered" Noah, his family, and all the animals on the ark.
I see both of these as figures of speech, to communicate "closeness" of thought, not ability to recall.
I think both of these passages thus teach God's grace in the Old Testament.
I have heard, ahem, many "different" views coming from numerous pulpits, over the years.
Am I on the right track?
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