First Baptist Church Opelika

Does forgiveness mean forgetting?

mtabor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:35:22 +0000

The Bible does teach us that God both forgives and forgets our sins. Hebrews 8:12/ Jeremiah 31:34. However, just because God can forgive and forget does not mean we will have that ability!

The Greek word which is translated to forgive is aphieme. It means to “let go, to send away.” The essence of forgiveness is when we let something go. We may not be able to forgive, but we can choose to let something go, to act as if it did not happen. If we keep bringing up a past sin, we have not really forgiven someone.

I had someone say that the NIV is missing 6 verses. Is that true?

mtabor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:34:59 +0000

It is not only the NIV but the ESV and all new translations except the NKJV which is based on the KJV. The reason is that the KJV was done in 1611, before archeology was a science and before thousands of ancient NT manuscripts were found. The KJV was based on a few, sometimes faulty morerecent copies of the Greek manuscripts that were available in northern Europe in the 1500s. The key question is not whether verses were left out of the KJV, but were they in the original documents the way the apostles wrote them. Those handful of verses were not in the original manuscripts written by the apostles. They were like footnotes added by monks in monasteries over the years that became a part of the handwritten copies.

The NIV and ESV translaters were people who believe in the total inspiration of the Bible. They handle the task of translation the Bible with reverence. So much reverence that they want to make sure they give us what was the accurate translation of the oldest manuscripts.

Will loved ones recognize each other in Heaven since our primary focus will be on worshipping Jesus? Is my interpretation correct that marriage relationships will no longer exist in Heaven? (Matthew 22:29-30). However, will we be aware of the relationships that previously existed (husband/wife, parent/child, etc.)?

mtabor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:34:12 +0000

We will know each other in heaven and remember our past relationships, even though we will no longer be married to our spouses. We will not know less in heaven! We will know more. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now I know in part. Then I shall know fully.” Although I will no longer be married to Karen, I will actually love her more because for the first time I will be able to love her perfectly. The catch is that we will love everyone in heaven perfectly. I am sure that Karen and I will spend special time together at the feet of Jesus thanking him for the many blessings we experienced together in our lifetime.