Humans are forgetful, not some of us, but all of us. Do you want proof? Look at all the libraries filled with books - for we write things down so that we don't forget. What enters into our minds soon leaves it, unless it is constantly remembered, acted upon, and sharpened; likewise we have truth within us that requires constant remembering so that we don't forget. If we leave this earth, forgetting what we first heard, then we have believed in vain, and received God's grace in vain, because we did not hold fast the testimony until the end. It is one thing to hold fast, and another thing to continually grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, and building upon Him, our foundation. We ought not be the one who forgets the Gospel, the one who has to keep being reminded of the elementary fundamentals of God's Word over and over, having become dull of hearing, sluggish or indifferent. Instead, we should constantly remember by the use of the truth, confessing the word in deed and in truth. As the apostle James says, " Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. " (James 1:22-25)
So we remember who we are in Christ by acting upon the Word. There is a stark warning in the letter of Hebrews, as it says, " For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. " (Hebrews 5:12-14)
The Psalms of Asaph (Psalms chapters 73 to 83) show us the importance of remembering the Lord's deeds. In fact the Israelites fell into sin because they forgot the LORD's deeds when He rescued them out of Egypt. The Israelites remembered the Lord's works through annual festivals like the Passover which God ordained as testimonies to them; as the prophet Samuel said, " Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." (1 Samuel 12:24)
Today, we have the Lord's Supper or Communion to remember what Jesus has done for us on the cross, breaking His body and pouring out His life for us; this is not given on a set day, but anyday we like - that we may meditate upon the Lord and His work for us. These Psalms show us the importance of not forgetting what we heard at first. I charge you in the Lord to read the Book of Hebrews which calls all believers to hold fast the confession and the hope of Christ, persevering in the Lord until the end. Also read the Psalms of Asaph. We remember the Lord and what He has done for us through the confession of our lips, proclaiming His deeds to our neighbors, to our household through the testimony He has given us of His grace and by His grace. For we did not discover the mystery of the gospel ourselves, but we have come to the understanding of it through others. So thus we ought to be always growing in love, faith and good works unto all people, especially those in the household of faith; if we grow in these ways, we will not be ineffective in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as we await for His coming. We have many great examples of patience and perseverance; as the apostle James provides examples, for he says, " See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." (James 5:7-11)
And the apostle Paul was constantly reminding the church of the gospel in his letters, as he says in one place, " Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. " (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
Then he says in another place, “My brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Philippians 3:1) And the apostle Peter says, “I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder.” (2 Peter 1:12-13)
Remember then, it is not how we start the race, but how we finish. The one who starts strong, but does not finish, does not win; and the one who starts weak, but finishes first, certainly will win the prize. And do not the Scriptures say the same thing? Was not the thief on the cross counted righteous, even at the end of His life, and received the promise of Paradise? What about the prophecy in Ezekiel; as it says, " If the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. " (Ezekiel 18:21-24)
So if the wicked turns to righteousness, his wickedness will be forgotten; and if the righteous turns to sin, his righteousness will likewise be forgotten. The race is from start to finish by faith; it is no triathlon where you switch between biking, swimming, and running - no! How we begin is how we finish - if we start the race by faith and we received the Spirit by faith, then we finish in the Spirit by faith. Therefore, let no-one deceive you: how we die is how we will be raised. And it is through constant remembrance of the fact of the truth that we persevere. If we are born of God, He will keep us; but I ask, "How do you know you are born of God?" Aren't you proven by keeping His Word until the end? As it says, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19) But don't you remember these exhortations in the Scriptures? As the apostle John says, " No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. " (1 John 3:9)
For "The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) And as the Lord says, " I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. " (John 10:28-29)
And concerning the new covenant it says, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.” (Jeremiah 32:40) For the fear of the LORD is to preserve us in Himself unto the end; as Moses says, " Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin. " (Exodus 20:20)
Furthermore it says, “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with stripes. But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.” (Psalms 89:30-33) For I am convinced that even if our head be destroyed, and the functioning of our brain grows dim, and our bodies utterly perish in fire, we who believe with the heart won't be utterly crushed nor destroyed - for our faith in the heart will not be taken away. For the enemy may destroy the body, but can do nothing more thereafter: for the body of flesh belongs to the ground, but the body of the spirit belongs to God.