Faith

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January 26, 2012 – What Do You Remember?

12 So I intend always to remind you about these things, although indeed you know them and are firm in the truth that [you] now hold. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance. 14 Since I know that the laying aside of this body of mine will come speedily, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 Moreover, I will diligently endeavor [to see to it] that [even] after my departure (decease) you may be able at all times to call these things to mind. – 2 Peter 1:12-15 AMP

Reading today’s passage left me thinking about Peter a little. Why was he being so redundant?
I have joked around many times when I was trying to get a point across and said am I redundant? Am I redundant? But Peter was not joking around here. He was trying to get a point across to believers. In four verses he uses the phrase call to mind, the word remind, and the word remembrance. What on earth was so important? What in the world did he want us to know so badly? He wanted us to know that if we lacked the eight Christian virtues of faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and Christian love that we were spiritually shortsighted. If we didn’t have these virtues at work in our lives that we were oblivious to the fact that Jesus forgave our sins. Sadly, there are Christians all over the world that never come to this realization. They are like that because they are too busy remembering their past life instead of the one Peter says we should have now.

We live in a world of constant reminders. At work, we are reminded of last month’s sales figures as well as the new sales goals for the current month. At home there are constant reminders of the world we live in by the constant influx of bills in the mail. At church we are bombarded by the reminders of the next upcoming outreach that is guaranteed to get anyone living within five miles saved. When these reminders pass, a new month brings new reminders. But very often, Christians are guilty of remembering things that should not be remembered.

Problems arise for Christians when they continue to remember and dwell on their past sins. The guilt and shame associated with the sins you have committed as well as the hurt and pain they have caused others leave you motionless. This contradicts Paul’s teaching.

17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP

When we receive Christ we are a new creation. He does forgive us. He does throw your sins away. I know perfectly well that it is human nature to have feelings of guilt and shame for the things you have done. I have dealt with that problem more than once in my life. But it was also my choice to do it. I made the choice to wallow in my guilt. I was one of those woe-is-me Christians who continually lived in a state of defeat.

I have seen Christians for years refer to themselves as a poor old sinner. Sure, we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. But let’s replace that phrase. How about a sinner who found God’s mercy and grace? The poor old sinner phrase leaves people just that: poor old sinners not putting away the past.

Now I am by no means saying that we should all be able forget our pasts. Wouldn’t it be great if we as well as those we have hurt could forget our pasts? What I am saying is that we must choose to move beyond our past. I remember The Lion King, an animated feature released by Disney several years ago where an orangutan told a lion that the past could be a painful thing. But he had to choose to either run from it or learn from it. Christians often spend more time running and hiding from their past sins than they do learning from them. In the end all it leads to is more defeat. Sure, making the right choice requires remembrance of our past, but there has to be a point where our remembrance is used as a learning tool for what to avoid rather than something that becomes an excuse for us to condemn ourselves or feel guilty or ashamed.

What’s the solution? We should all look to strengthen our faith. We don’t it by looking for the next big Christian craze or attending countless conferences on end. We don’t strengthen our faith by getting more involved at church. Those are merely outward expressions of an inward need. You strengthen your faith by spending time alone with God. You strengthen your faith by reading His Word. You strengthen your faith by exercising and developing all eight Christian virtues. When you do those things, you will be so eager to please God that you will never stumble or fall away from Him.

Are you stumbling in your faith? Are you continually playing all of your past sins over and over in your mind? Do you find yourself walking in forgiveness or mired in guilt? Don’t be spiritually blind. You’ll probably never forget the sins of your past or the pain you have caused your love ones in the process, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay there. What you choose to be now is far more important than what you were then. And that’s what Peter wants you to remember.

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