God not only forgives the sins you remember. He also forgives the sins you have forgotten. Biblical Counselor Jay Adams says this is actually an act of God’s mercy — to help you forget past sins, and experience cleansing through Christ, so you will not wallow in continual guilt and shame.
“Even with careful thought we cannot recall all the sins we have committed. Why? We must not fail to see the activity of God here. He promises to forgive us our sins through the blood of Christ. This promise is an intentional forgetting’ on His part (Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 31:34).
“If God does not remember, would He then want His people to remember? There are some sins we do remember which should humble us, as Calvin pointed out. But-the vast majority we forget, as God does. This should be seen as a divine blessing, in which the awake state is cleared of all such consciousness.”
-“A Biblical Alternative to Inner Healing,” Journal of Biblical Counseling, 6:4, p, 33.
“You don’t need to be known outside your town. You don’t need to write a book. You don’t need to be on a conference platform. If you are faithfully preaching the word, the Father knows who you are. And the Father is pleased.”
-Juan Sanchez, 2022 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Sermon on Wednesday, June 15.
You can watch the whole thing here. Pastors, it will encourage your soul and is well worth 40 minutes.
Juneteenth is our newest federal holiday and it is a welcome one. How appropriate to have a day that honors fatherhood coincide with a day that honors equal protection under the law. These are both values that trace back to Scripture and are building blocks of a just and free society.
A few months ago, our family went to a Civil War reenactment in Redlands and the volunteers said they are having a harder time recruiting new actors. Some venues have canceled their civil war re-enactments altogether because it has become too politicized. People don’t want to talk about the civil war and emancipation. But we need history books, memorials, and special holidays to remind us of what it took to obtain the freedom Americans enjoy today. All history is tainted by sin, but we can rejoice where we see evidence of God’s common grace.
Dean Nelson writes, “Juneteenth is also referred to as ‘Jubilee Day’ or ‘Freedom Day,’ and both have their root in the Biblical tradition of forgiving debts, freeing slaves (in the context of Hebrew culture, slaves had typically indentured themselves to pay off debts), and releasing prisoners every 50 years. This demonstration of forgiveness is viewed by Christians as a precursor to the ultimate forgiveness and payment of the debt of sin by Jesus on the cross. Christians in America should find it easy and natural to embrace Juneteenth as an extension of this idea.”
Dr. Paul Chitwood shares an IMB report on Tuesday morning with 8,000 messengers.
I attended all the sessions of the SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim this week as well as the Pastors Conference. Here are a few takeaways.
1. People want transparency. Many of the motions from the floor this year dealt with a desire for more transparency from our SBC entities. Some matters require confidentiality and discretion, no doubt about it. But as leaders, we must realize the answer, “Just trust us. We don’t owe you explanation” is inadequate. In Jn. 15:15, Jesus says, “the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” The kind of openness and transparency that Christ has given to us is what people want from their churches and their organizations.
2. Tone matters. A conservative subset of our convention put forward several candidates who pretty much all lost. Personally I would not consider their defeat as evidence of a cave-in to liberalism. Tone is not everything, but the New Testament has more than a little to say about the importance of grace, love, patience, humility, gentleness, and kindness. Some of what I heard this week sounded more like clanging cymbals than sweet music, and the dissonance soured many people to the movement.
3. Sanctification is messy. This is true of our individual walks with God. How much more an entire church. Now multiply that by 48,000 churches and you get a sense of the challenges of cooperating together as a convention. We are a work in progress!
4. The term “Pastor” needs clarity. 20 years ago when the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 was drafted and affirmed, these truths may have been self-evident. But the conversation on the floor of the convention proved this term means different things to different people. No decisions were made yet, but clarity and biblical fidelity will be needed in the days ahead.
5. Fellowship is sweet. I ran across so many brothers and sisters this week who are faithfully serving the Lord and seeing God work in small and great ways. How we need friendships, and how good it is to dwell with brothers and sisters in unity! I am always blessed when I see what God is doing and how he is working at a frontlines level.
6. Time is short. We were reminded during the IMB report that on average 157,690 people die every day without Christ to enter eternal judgment. On Tuesday, it brought tears to my eyes as we commissioned 52 new missionaries to carry the gospel overseas. Other matters are vitally important, and need our attention. But we dare not take our eyes off the Great Commission task, working together when possible to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to our neighbors and to the nations.
Did you get to watch or attend the annual meeting? What were your highlights or concerns?
Pinch Of Clay 