Spiritual Amnesia - II Peter 1:9

"For he who lacks these is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins." II Peter 1:9

In this verse Peter tells us why we as Christians are not growing spiritually and why we fall into sin temporarily (see my book Why Christains Sin for why some continue to sin willfully). My phrase for this condition is "spiritual amnesia". We become spiritually "blind" or "short-sighted" because we forget how God through Christ has wonderfully purified us from our former sins.

This is why we must regularly think back to the days B.C. (before Christ) not to dwell there, but to remember our prior situation and what God has done for us since. As we recall how we were living and what God has delivered us from, we will be more motivated to do what is right.

But it is not enough to just remember how bad off we were, and how God graciously saved us. We need to consistently remind ourselves of who we are now in Christ. As Peter says, "...brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you..." (I Peter 1:10). The problem is that a lot of Christians don't even know who they are in Christ, let alone take the time to ponder their identity, and until we are convinced about who we are in Christ, we cannot mature spiritually and live as we ought to live. But having said that, we still have to take the time regularly to remind ourselves; "I am a new creation" (II Cor. 5:17), "I am a saint" (I Cor. 1:2), and "I am a coheir with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). Which brings me to something else we need to remember.

We are assured of eternal life if we are trusting in Christ as our Savior (see I John 5:12 for instance). But the commendation of Christ and other heavenly or millennial rewards are contingent on our faithfulness and fruitfulness (I Cor. 9:24). In order to avoid sin and do what is right, we need to remind ourselves that we will lose our rewards, and most importantly, the "well done faithful servant" from our Lord if we don't live as He instructed us.

One more case of "spiritual amnesia" that often infects us is forgetting that God will discipline us if we continue in sin. Hebrews 12:6 says, "whom the Lord loves He disciplines." The word "scourges" right after this lets us know that this is not just a slap on the wrist either. A lot of Christians assume that just because God is gracious He will continue to be indefinitely. That is a huge mistake. We dare not presume on His grace!

Bottom-line, we stop growing and fall into sin when we develop "spiritual amnesia" about our purification from sin, our identity in Christ, the danger of losing our rewards and the reality of God's temporal discipline.

As Peter says, "I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder...[so] that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind." (II Peter 1:13, 15)