Spiritual Amnesia

Spiritual Amnesia

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, NIV

A CHRISTIAN AUTHOR NAMED JERRY BRIDGES often asks a question when he speaks at conferences. He inquires of his Christian audience, “Who is the gospel for?”

How would you answer that question? Who is the gospel for?

The unanimous answer Bridges receives is, “The gospel is for non-Christians. For people who haven’t accepted Jesus yet.”

And, of course, they’re right.

The greatest need of someone who has not yet accepted Jesus is to hear, understand, and respond to the gospel.

But is the gospel only for non-Christians? No. That’s Jerry Bridges’s point. He teaches people, “Preach the gospel to yourself every day.” He claims it may be the most important thing a Christian can do each day. I think he may be right. You see, we get spiritual amnesia. We forget. We forget that we don’t deserve to be God’s children. We forget that we’re sinners. We forget God’s amazing grace. We forget that he loves us despite us.

And we mustn’t forget. Because when we forget we can:

• stop appreciating God;
• cease to be grateful for his grace;
• become complacent spiritually;
• look down on other people for not being as special as we are;
• lose our passion for sharing his love with others.

We mustn’t forget. So we need to remind ourselves.

Reminded

This idea that we forget and need reminders is a theme in the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament, we see people using physical reminders—things like stones of remembrance and altars—to make sure they don’t forget what God has done for them. The author of Psalm 77 writes, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD.”^a

Repeatedly in the New Testament we find this idea of people forgetting and needing to hear it again:

• “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.”^b
• “It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.”^c
• “I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.”^d
• “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you.”^e

We forget. We get spiritual amnesia. We need to be reminded: I am a sinner. I am worse than I want to admit, but I am loved more than I dare to imagine.

Do You Know Who You Are?

I think my favorite example of someone who thought of an effective and clever way to be reminded is the apostle John. This is the John who wrote the Gospel of John. I want you to check out a few things he wrote:

Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”^f

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.^g

She came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”^h

The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”ⁱ

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”^j

Do you know who John is referring to each time he wrote, “the disciple whom Jesus loved?” Himself.

If you asked John, “Who are you?” He wouldn’t say, “I am a disciple,” or, “I am an author of one of the four Gospels,” or, “The brother of James, son of Zebedee,”^k or, “I am John,” or even, “I am a follower of Jesus.” His answer would have been, “I am the one Jesus loves.”

Why do you think he started calling himself that? Was it because Jesus loved him so much more than he loved everyone else? I bet not. Was he bragging? I doubt it. I think it was just a reminder of who he really was. It had become his primary identity in life. And he didn’t want to forget. Calling himself “the one Jesus loved” was a constant reminder. He was fighting off spiritual amnesia. He was preaching the gospel to himself.

I like John’s idea so much, I borrowed it from him for my kids’ lives. I decided I wanted my kids’ primary identity in life to be, “I am the one Jesus loves.” I thought it might be the best gift I could give them. So the first words I spoke to each of them after their births, and the last thing I often say to them now before they go to sleep, is, “Do you know who you are? You are the one Jesus loves.”

I want to give you a gift. It’s the best gift I can give you.

So, do you know who you are?

Well, you are a sinner who has spent your life rebelling against and retreating from God. You chose to be an enemy of God. But because of his grace, he sent his Son to take the punishment you deserve. And his Son was glad to do it because . . .

You are the one Jesus loves.

Now What?

• Read 1 Timothy 1:15-17.
• Does it seem to you that Paul is preaching the gospel to himself? What might it look like for you to preach the gospel to yourself? How might it be beneficial?
• Spend some prayer time thanking God for loving you despite who you’ve been, where you’ve gone, and what you’ve done. Thank him that your sin doesn’t define you and that his love for you does.