REMEMBERING

"By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." (1 Cor 15:2)

OTHER VERSIONS CAN ASSIST in enlarging our thoughts concerning keeping in "memory," or remembrance. "Hold fast that word" (NKJV), and "holy firmly to the word" (NIV). How does a person "hold fast?" We are admonished to "hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess 5:21), "hold fast the form of sound words" (2 Tim 1:13), "hold fast the confidence" (Heb 3:6), "hold fast your profession" (Heb 4:14), and "hold fast till I come" (Rev 2:25). It is apparent from these texts that these are not optional matters, to be ignored with impunity. How can we accomplish such things?

OUR TEXT PROVIDES SOME UNDERSTANDING on this. The subject with which Paul is dealing is the Gospel of Christ. It was the same Gospel Paul had preached to the Corinthians in the beginning, which they had received, and in which they were standing in a state of acceptance. Paul clearly identifies the message of reference by saying, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (verses 3-4). This was the message through which they were being saved, "IF" they would "keep in memory" what they had heard. Thus, whatever the expression "keep in memory" means, being saved, in some sense, depends upon it.

ACTUALLY, THE EMPHASIS is placed on "keep" instead of "memory." Keeping is what is done, and the memory is where it is kept. You cannot "keep" the Gospel in a lifeless creed, a religious form, or any other impersonal way. It can, however, be retained in the memory – kept in a state of remembrance. In fact, if we do not think upon the Gospel, we cannot derive spiritual nutrients from it – nutrients for the soul that must be possessed. This is one of the primary reasons for the Lord's table. It is a place where memory is given a place of prominence. The memory, under the control of faith, reaches into the God-ordained past, and gathers manna for the soul.

REMEMBRANCE IS TO THE PAST what hope is to the future. It is accompanied with determination and purpose, together with intent and godly ambition. Both remembrance and hope are profitable only when faith is prominent, ruling, as it were, the processes of heart and mind.

IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, you cannot "keep" what you will not remember. That is why Peter sought to "stir up" even "pure minds," by way of remembrance (1 Pet 1:13; 3:1). The "memory" is a place where truth is processed, and its vital nutrients obtained. The memory can also be used to the detriment of the individual, as when Israel remembered Egypt while in the wilderness. It is said of those wayward people, "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic" (Num 11:5). WHAT IS REMEMBERED directly impacts on whether or not the individual is helped or harmed

by the memory. When truth is remembered, or pondered, it exerts a sanctifying influence upon both heart and mind. Such remembrance is involved in meditation – something the sweet Psalmist of Israel resolved he would do: i.e., "I will meditate" (Psa 77:12; 119:15,48,78).

WHEN THE TRUTH, particularly the Gospel, occupies the "memory," it impacts upon the way we speak. Thus it is written, "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness" (Psa 145:7). Concerning the remembrance of the Gospel, the "memory" can also keep us from "believing in vain" (1 Cor 15:2). One version reads, "Otherwise, you have believed in vain" (NIV). That makes this a most serious matter. The saints of God cannot afford to allow their hearts and minds to be distracted. Jesus mentioned three things that stifle the Word of God, causing it to become "unfruitful." They were "the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things" (Mark 4:19). These "enter in" to the individual, turning one aside from the due consideration of the Word of God. They are a kind of spiritual clutter that tends to fill up and dominate both heart and mind, pushing the Word of God away from consideration. The results have eternal ramifications.

THE "MEMORY" OF EVERY rational person is filled with something. It may be the here and the now, a sordid past, holy things, or even the present moment. Our choice of friends, what we watch, what we hear, and what we do, has an impact upon our memory, making it either our friend or foe. What about you? What do you remember? To what is your "memory" devoted? Whatever fills your memory controls your thought.

– Given O. Blakely