Scripture For Today - "You cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19
We remember our sins, because that helps us not to make the same mistakes twice. It also allows us to be empathetic towards others, who may be struggling, as we once did. The promise that the Lord will remember our sins no more, is possible through the power of the Atonement, the power from which true pure cleansing can take place. Which is why repentance must be done in the manner from which the Lord has designed, because He is the one who set the standard for Atonement.
The phrase "sea of forgetfulness" is not actually in Scripture. When people mention the “sea of forgetfulness,” they are usually referring to several passages that talk about God’s forgiveness, and how when we are justified in Christ, God forgets our sins so completely that they might as well be buried at the bottom of an ocean.
The main passage that contains the idea of a sea of forgetfulness is Micah 7:19: “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Another verse, Isaiah 1:18, says that "God will make our scarlet sins as white as wool." Psalm 103:12 expresses the thought in yet another way: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
A sea of forgetfulness represents a place where our sins are sent very far away from us, so that they can no longer affect us. It does not mean that we, as believers, no longer sin. Further, forgiveness does not automatically give us a license to sin. If we love God, we will not want to sin against Him. It means that our sins no longer have any bearing on our salvation. God's Word says that Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection is the only means by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). When we trust in Christ as our Savior, our salvation is secure (Romans 8:1, 31–39).
Spiritual growth requires that we recognize the total forgiveness that exists in Jesus Christ and that we rest in that forgiveness.
Many people do not believe they require salvation. They believe that they are good enough to reach heaven on their own merit, and they do not accept the truth about their own fallen state. God says these people are deceived, and they do not have a relationship with God (1 John 1:8, 10). Every person needs God’s forgiveness and salvation—a relationship based on His grace. If we admit that we are sinners and trust in Christ, He forgives and cleanses us (1 John 1:9). Our sins are no longer part of the equation and will be remembered no more (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12).
