The Book of Remembrance

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed His name.”

 —Malachi 3:16

God doesn’t forget. Anything. Ever. He doesn’t forget our sins. Not even one. Not the ones done when we were children, the ones that we believed were minor, or the ones that no one else knew about. He saw them. And He didn’t forget them. Which is why the cross is so serious. All of our sins, every single sin that we have ever done, was rolled into one giant mass and then hurled upon Christ on the cross. And it wasn’t just the sins we have done, but the sins that we will do. The stain of sin was terrible, so horrible, and so odious in the nostrils of God that all who are stained with it must go to hell. Those stained by sin cannot stand in the presence of the thrice-holy God. But, God’s love is so great and Christ’s sacrifice so glorious that by it the stains of our sin are removed. While the stain of sin is great, the sacrifice of Christ was infinitely greater. He paid the price for our sins, and by faith in what Jesus did on the cross our sins are forgiven and we are saved.

In the time that Malachi prophesied, the Israelites had become lax in their zeal for the LORD and began going through the motions. Malachi calls them to a renewed spiritual vitality and zeal for the LORD, promising that all evildoers will be judged, but those who have lived righteously will not be forgotten. Those who “feared the Lord” would have their names written in a Book of Remembrance so that God would not forget. Not that God would forget. He wouldn’t. God writing in a book is a device called “anthropomorphism,” which means that God uses human metaphors, words and phrases in order to illustrate His truth so that we might understand it. God doesn’t forget anything, because if He did, then He wouldn’t be omniscient and thus wouldn’t be God.

God doesn’t forget sin, but neither does He forget even the smallest and seemingly insignificant details of life that are good. For example, He feeds the ravens (Luke 12:24), designs flowers (Luke 12:27), knows the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), and even remembers the gift of a cup of cold water given to a child (Matthew 10:42). And just as He doesn’t forget the smallest sin (there are really no small sins, just big excuses), nor does He forget the smallest righteous deed. So then, if we were to put the sins and the righteous deeds on a scale, which one would win? Is sin greater in the sight of God, or are our righteous deeds?

Sin is greater. By far. One sin was enough to bring about death and destruction in the Garden of Eden, causing more atrocities and evil than one cares to think about. So sin, because of its destructive nature, weighs more heavily in the sight of God. Or does it? Does not God remember our righteous deeds? And what if we do more righteous deeds than sins? Do not the righteous deeds win out? No, sin weighs out over the righteous deeds every time. Why? Because our righteous deeds do not have one single root of inherent goodness, unlike sin, which is strongly rooted in our fallen nature. If a righteous deed is done by itself, it only has root or merit because of the one who does it. That is to say, it really isn’t righteous, because we, at our root, are sinners by nature and by choice. Sin is rooted in the individual who bears the marred image of God, and our righteous acts are tainted by sin. Therefore, all sins and so-called “righteous deeds” that we do are ultimately connected back to the very first sin in the Garden.

So, if sin is rooted in the Fall, and our righteous deeds are only rooted in us, how can sin be overcome? Sin can be overcome by finding the antithesis of the first and most significant sin—the truly first and most significant righteous deed—the cross of Jesus Christ.

Our righteous deeds, apart from Christ, do not save; even when compiled together they are still dirty and not-so-righteous in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6). Sin destroys, but righteous deeds can’t save. Then what are we to do? We go to the cross. Our righteous deeds (otherwise known as “works”) cannot save us, but Christ’s work upon the cross can. By placing our faith in Him and what He has done, we are saved (Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8-9). His singular action upon the cross was so great, so amazing, and so significant that through faith in Him and what He did, we are saved. So, any righteous deed done after that, when done through faith in Christ, actually demonstrates our active trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice (James 2:14). So, because of Christ, our sins (each and every one of them) are not forgotten, but paid for!

Loved one, for those who have trusted in Christ, He remembers all that you have done for Him and He will not forget! When you don’t receive any acclamation, or attention, know that God sees and knows. So don’t give up! Keep your focus on Him, and He will reward you because of what Christ, His Son, has done. Amen.