He Remembers, He Remembers Not (Hebrews 8:1-13)                           2009.10.25                                 Pastor Edward Cheng 

We have walked through the Bible the last couple of weeks discovering the significance of the word, “remember,” and how that word speaks to the character of God.  We read about a God who thinks about us, is concerned about us, rescues us, meets our needs, and is loyal to us.  All this, from a simple expression, “The Lord remembers…”

This morning we focus not on what the Lord does remember, but on what He says He will never remember.  It turns out that He desires not only to be known as a God who remembers us in the midst of calamity and also acts in our behalf, but also as someone who never remembers our sin.

In Hebrews 8, the author speaks of the superior qualities of the New Covenant as compared with the Old.  We remember from a long time ago that the entire epistle to the Hebrews can be summed up in the phrase, “Jesus is better than…” In this chapter the author proves his point that Jesus is better than anything by showing that the covenant cut with Jesus is better than the Old Covenant for several reasons.  One, we find in vv. 2 and 5 that this covenant exists and is executed in a better tabernacle.  The tabernacle used in the Old Covenant was only a shadow of the true tabernacle found in heaven.  In other words, it was nothing compared to the true tabernacle.  Secondly, in v. 9 the author tells that while the Old Covenant was more like a contract with consequences for both parties should either side renege on the conditions, the New Covenant takes on the flavor a promise by God.  In v. 10 we learn that because of God writing His law on to the hearts and minds of believers, there is a permanence and spirituality to the New Covenant missing in the Old.  And finally, in v. 12, we learn that the New Covenant is better than the Old because it contains better promises.  In the New Covenant, God will forgive wickedness and remember sins no more.

We must stop and examine this tremendous promise of the New Covenant – that God will remember sins no more.  It turns out that the language utilized here by the author is the strongest way to negate something in the Greek language.  What results is a statement in which not only does God not remember our sins, it is not even possible that He does!  There is no chance that He will ever remember our sins because it’s not a possibility.  How great of a covenant that we belong to!  Through the blessings of this covenant we find a God who desires to be known as a forgiving God and who wants us to meditate on that forgiveness.  It’s not a temporary forgiveness; it’s not a conditional forgiveness; it’s a complete, “forever” kind of forgiveness.  And we get to enjoy this kind of forgiveness because God has already exhausted His wrath on His Son through the cross.  Through the “remembrance” of God, we are saved, not only from temporary, earthly calamity, but more importantly from eternal, ultimate calamity – and that through Jesus Christ and the cross.

We see also in Psalm 25:6-7 similar language speaking about God’s non-remembering of our sins.  David prays to the Lord that He would not remember the sins of David’s youth.  Rather, David desires that the Lord remember His great mercy and loyal love (chesed).  David says that these qualities are, “from of old.”  In other words, we find that mercy and love are at the heart of our God.  In a sense, these qualities are found in the foundation of His character and go way back.  Just as we learn in Hebrews, God desires to be known by these things – to be known by mercy and love.  It is not His desire to remember sins nor is it His preference to have to punish sin.  God would rather show mercy toward people than anything else.  And again, He’s shown that by His willingness to sacrifice His own Son to accomplish that.

Believing in a God who desires to be known by mercy and who pledges to not remember our sin for those who have placed our trust in Him should allow us to leave life free of worry or fear.  We need not have to be afraid of retribution from God because again, His wrath is done and over as far as we’re concerned.  God is not looking for ways to smite us, as some might think.  Instead, He’s looking for ways to demonstrate His great love toward us.  All because our sins have been paid for and they are remembered no more…