Did God Forget our Sins? (Hebrews 8:12)

Hebrews 8:12 ESV For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

In the New Covenant, God promises, “I will remember their sins no more.” Does this mean that God has literally forgotten all our sins, such that he no longer has any memory of our sins? Is God no longer aware of whenever we commit sins today? Of course not.

In the Bible, the word “remember” does not always mean to retain in memory. Rather, it could mean to take action on the basis of the thing being remembered. For example, in 1 Samuel 1:19, it is written that God “remembered” Hannah. This does not mean that God regained memory of Hannah at that time. Rather, it means that God would answer Hannah’s prayer for a son. The next verse narrates that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son.

Likewise, to “remember sin” means to punish sin (cf. Hos. 8:13; 9:9; Jer. 14:10). Therefore, when God promised, “I will remember their sins no more,” he was not promising that he would lose memory of our sins. Rather, he was promising that he will never punish us for our sins!

On the cross, Jesus Christ died for all of us who believe in him. He suffered in our place the death penalty that we deserved for our sins. Because the penalty for our sins has already been paid by Jesus, God forgives us righteously, and will never “remember” our sins against us.

God did not suffer amnesia in the New Covenant. Rather, he remains all-knowing and fully aware whenever we commit sins. He knows fully well—more than ourselves—just how sinful we really are. Yet, despite of all that, he still loves us and forgives us of our sins in Jesus Christ.