The Bible talks about forgiveness: after we are baptized we are forgiven for all our sins, and if we remain in Jesus his blood is "like windshield wipers" for our sins. But then in other passages it speaks about giving an account of what we've done before God and being judged by his word. So I don't understand how God can forgive my sins and not remember them, but at the same time bring them up on judgment day. Really I just want to know; I'm not trying to find fault with God's word. -- Jessica Bell (Houston)
You have put your finger on an area of dynamic tension in the Bible: the (seemingly) opposing facts of grace and justice, forgiveness and accountability.
I do not want to oversimplify the matter you wrote about, but I would like to try to answer your question. God is omniscient. Obviously he knows everything -- no exceptions! (That's what omniscience means -- knowledge of everything.) Yet our relationship with God is in some ways like any friendship: in the case of sin, the offended party could let the offending party remain in a state of estrangement. But God is not willing to behave this way. He "forgets" -- not that he has no recollection, of course; rather he chooses not to let his knowledge of our past infidelity affect the warmth of his relationship with us. I have written on this at some length in my book James, Peter, John, Jude.
At the same time, this does not mean that for Christians there is no "settling of accounts" at the last day, for, as you have noticed, several scriptures indicate that there will be. And yet this settling of accounts is not for the purpose of determining whether we are saved or will go to heaven. It stands to reason that, the more you "put in" down here, the more you will appreciate heaven. Jesus speaks of storing up treasure in heaven. While I would not go so far as the Catholic theologians have, I find inescapable the conclusion that each of us will experience and appreciate heaven in a different way -- somehow connected with how we lived our lives down here.
For a fantastic read about grace, see Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace?, which is my favorite Yancey book.
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