Never Forget

"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on  which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:1-3, NIV)     In the last few days, in the wake of the 10th Anniversary of 9-11, we have frequently heard and seen one short but potent phrase - "Never forget." Well, the Bible is also full of calls to remember. In the Old Testament, Israel was commanded always to remember her deliverance from slavery in Egypt. She was given a Feast to help her remember, the Feast of Passover (Exodus 12). The entire intricate layout of the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system was intended as visual aids to enable them to remember. The nation was also called to remember her crossing of the Jordan River into Canaan by placing twelve stones in the river, one for each tribe, after she had miraculously crossed in safety. These stones were to be a memorial so that she would never forget (Joshua 3-4). In 1 Samuel, after the Lord gave a great victory to an outnumbered Israel over their Philistine enemies, Samuel set up a stone and named it "Ebenezer," meaning "Thus far the Lord has helped us." It was to serve as a reminder.
     But things did not change in the New Testament. Jesus gave us new symbols to remind us of our greater deliverance from sin through His death on the cross. The night before He died, He shared bread and wine with His disciples, saying, in essence, "This is my body, this is My blood, don't you dare forget it."
     In the passage we began with, Paul wrote to remind the Corinthians of the gospel. Remember now, he was writing to Christians, not to pagans. He knew how quickly we can forget. He was amazed at how easily the Galatian churches allowed themselves to be duped by the Judaizers. He cautioned the Colossians about being taken in by "hollow and deceptive philosophies." some of which involved the worship of angels and strict adherance to special days. On more than one occasion, he wrote that he did not want the church to be ignorant about specific matters related to the faith, such as spiritual gifts, or the second coming of our Lord. To Timothy, Paul gave instructions to remind the people he served of the trustworthy sayings that deserve full acceptance, among them, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Pretty basic stuff - but they had to be reminded regularly so that they would not forget.
     The writer to the Hebrews picks up this theme when he quotes from Psalm 95, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." We all tend to be fickle at times in matters of faith. No one decides to reject the gospel's teachings in a moment. Rather, we drift - and we do so because we forget. Hence, the constant call to remember.
     Peter also echoes this thought. "I will always remind you of these things, EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THEM and are firmly established in the truth you now have" (2 Peter 1:12, emphasis mine). The danger comes when some in the church, come to believe that since they know the truth, they no longer need to be reminded of it. Yes, Hebrews 6 tells us to move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ, but that does not negate the need to be reminded. In the first Lord of the Rings film, as the Hobbits start out on their journey, Sam, the faithful companion tells Frodo, as they step over a piece of ground, "I have never been this far away from the shire before. I cannot see my home." He says this with sadness and with some trepidation. They know they cannot go back until their mission is finished. But what sustains them through the perilous journey through all three films is their remembrance of the shire. We move toward new horizons, but we cannot ever forget home, where we began.
     We must also let John weigh in on this. In 1 John 2:12-14, the Apostle says he is writing to three distinct groups - he calls them "dear children," "fathers," and "young men." In other words, he writes again about the basic truths of what it means to be "born of God" to Christians at every stage of growth and maturity. No one is exempt.
     To think that we no longer need to be reminded of the basic truths of our faith, to think that we no longer need catechesis - ah, that is a dangerous place to be. To think that we no longer have need of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers - that is when we find ourselves again to be "infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitul scheming" (Ephesians 4:11-14).
     The gospel is where the power of God is. So we keep coming back to that. We fail to do that at our peril. If we ever lived in a day of theological and doctrinal shallowness, it's today. Christians so often want to be entertained, not fed. They say they cannot handle theology intellectually, they cannot remember all of the important things the Bible teaches. Yet, they can easily tell you the latest minute details from the world of politics, sports, entertainment, and the stock market.
     It is easy for preachers and teachers to be discouraged. But we, too, must never forget. We must not forget the gospel, and we must not forget our primary calling - to "preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season: (i.e., when it is popular and when it is not) correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Timothy 4:2). They may not want to hear it - but for their souls' sake, they must. It is the only way we and they will never forget.
     "And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him. ... In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knwledge." (Colossians 1:18-19; 23, NIV) So let's remember like this is true.