Does God Forget? Short answer, no. God does not forget your sins. He cannot. This might be an alarming statement to some, especially those of us who have many years of sin under our belts with a long list of past transgressions, too numerous to mention, or, for the most part, even remember. But, it’s not all bad news for us.
Understanding God’s Omniscience
To understand this statement that God never forgets, we must first understand a very important attribute of God: omniscience.
Omniscience refers to God as all-knowing, complete in all things past, present, and future. His knowledge is perfect, and is unchanging. There is nothing new for God to learn, and there is not anything He has learned that He can forget. Several verses speak of this attribute of God: 1 John 3:20 records God as knowing everything; His understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5); inscrutable (Isaiah 40:28); knows from beginning to end (Isaiah 46:9-10); He knows all of our hearts (Acts 1:24); He knew us before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5).
Here is the Good News
So how is this good news for us? Since God cannot forget, how can this be good considering all the evil we have done (and will do)?
True, God cannot forget, but He also chooses not to remember. This is a deliberate action on the part of our Creator and one that should bring us immeasurable comfort. Several Scripture verses point to this fact.
In Hebrews 8:12, the writer states, “Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Isaiah records, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25). The Psalmist writes, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
When we are saved by the blood of Christ, our sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven. The one-time sacrifice of Jesus on the cross completely removes our sin and allows us to stand before a holy and just God—one who cannot tolerate any sin—covered in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we have our acceptance (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1).
This comfort of knowing we are accepted by God should reflect in our treatment of others. As Christ faithfully forgives us of our transgressions (1 John 1:9), so we should also forgive one another. While we may also not forget the harm someone caused us, we too can actively choose not to remember it any more.
If you are reading this and have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, do it today. Pray for Him to come into your heart and be Lord of your life; seek forgiveness of your sins and repent of your old ways in a decision to follow him the rest of your life.
In doing so, you will also know an omniscient God who will remember your sins no more.
