Forgiveness
When the
first stirrings of the Spirit of God took place within us, the effect in almost
every case was that we became conscious of our sins and of the guilt that
attached to them, and consequently we became seekers after forgiveness. We
wanted to be forgiven, and to know it.
The reader
has, we trust, the knowledge of forgiveness, yet it may be well if we begin by
surveying the teaching of Scripture on this subject, and thus aim at obtaining
an orderly understanding of this great, fundamental blessing of the Gospel.
First of
all then, let us observe that when sin entered into the world by the
transgression of Adam, and the human race consequently lapsed into an utterly
fallen and sinful condition, its effects were manifold and went far beyond the
incurring of guilt. Yet the first and most obvious effect was that Adam became
a guilty and conscience-stricken man. As men multiplied it had to be said that,
"all the world" was "guilty before God" (Rom. 3: 19), and
this means, since guilt is an intensely individual matter, that every
individual composing the world, every one of us, is guilty.
But the
Scripture speaks of, "them that are contentious, and do not obey the
truth" (Rom. 2: 8). Many such are to be found, who are by no means
disposed to acknowledge their guilt, but rather challenge the foundations on
which rests the very idea of being guilty before God. They assert on the
contrary the innate goodness of all men, who are, so they say, always
struggling upwards. Some of these contentious folk go so far as to deny all
fixed standards of right and wrong. Good and evil are words of only relative
force, since to them "good" is that which is approved by the most
enlightened sections of humanity in any given age, and "evil" is that
which their mind repudiates. It therefore follows that "right" and
"wrong" are values which fluctuate according to the fashions of the
age in matters of morality. The human mind is left the whole arbiter of such
questions, and consequently the only guilt they know is that which may be
incurred before men as the result of flouting the standards erected by the most
enlightened and advanced amongst them. The utmost verdict that they can approve
of is therefore, guilty before men.
The
epistle to the Romans, on the other hand, begins with GOD, and we do not have
to travel far into its contents before we arrive at the verdict against us of,
"guilty before God."
In its
opening chapter we read of,
"The
Gospel of God"
"The
Son of God"
"The
power of God"
"The
righteousness of God"
"The
wrath of God"
"The
glory of God"
"The
judgment of God"
and God,
whose power and righteousness and wrath and glory and judgment are revealed, is
"the Creator" (Rom. 1: 25). At once therefore we leave the quagmire
of human standards and opinions for the sure rock of divine truth, and we find
ourselves standing in the presence of the Creator, who is marked by fixed and
unalterable righteousness.
Much may
be needed indeed before the conviction of guilt is driven home effectually into
the consciousness of the individual sinner. This may not be so difficult a
matter with peoples who have lapsed into the barbarism that so frequently
accompanies heathenism. Such are in view in Romans 1: 18-32, and they stand
without excuse, and consequently their mouths are shut. The mere recital of the
enormous evils into which they had fallen, as a result of turning away from the
knowledge of God, is sufficient. In their case no reasoning is necessary in
order to convict and silence.
But at
different times in the world's history, nations, though pagan, have evolved
amongst themselves systems of natural culture and civilization. Such were the
ancient Greeks, and to these Romans 2: 1-16, is addressed. In their case the
dark cesspool of iniquity was partly covered up by fine systems of
philosophical thought and ethical teaching. They condemned the poor, unlettered
barbarian yet they themselves did the same things in a more refined way. They
too are pronounced to be "inexcusable," yet some very pointed
reasoning, coupled with sharp home-thrusts of the keen blade of truth, is
necessary before the conviction of it can be driven home. In the course of
reasoning they are reminded that, "The judgment of God is according to
truth;" that the day is coming for the revelation of "the righteous
judgment of God;" and that "there is no respect of persons with
God."
By the
combination of these three facts their escape from the judgment of God is
rendered impossible. If His judgment were sometimes according to mere outward
appearances, or if it occasionally lapsed from strict righteousness, or
deviated because of favouritism or other personal considerations, then there
might be some chance of escape. It is however "according to
truth," and hence the exact reality of things will be dragged into the
light of day. It is "righteous," and hence absolute and
inflexible justice will prevail. There is "no respect of persons,"
hence nothing will turn God from a judgment of absolute righteousness in
the light of absolute truth. This must shut the mouth of the most civilized and
the most cultured, and convict them too as "guilty before God."
Lastly
there were the Jews, a people brought under a culture which was not merely
natural but divine. Romans 2: 17 - 3: 20, is addressed to such, and in this passage
we have not merely reasoning but the decisive evidence of their own Scriptures.
Their indictment is couched in terms culled from their own law, and at the
close the weight of this Scriptural evidence is driven home into their
consciences by the fact that "what things soever the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law;" that is, to the Jews. The
sweeping accusations and condemnation of the law was aimed therefore, not at
the barbarian nor the Greek, but at the opinionated and self-righteous Jew,
that even his mouth might be stopped, and thus all the world become
"guilty before God."
Guilt
being established, forgiveness becomes an urgent necessity. Hence we find it
placed in the very forefront of the instructions given by the risen Lord to His
disciples. In Luke 24: 45-48 He told the eleven that "remission of sins
should be preached in His name among all nations." In Acts 26: 16-18 we
have the apostle Paul's account of how in a heavenly vision he heard the voice
of the Glorified One, sending him to the Gentiles, "to open their eyes . .
. that they may receive forgiveness of sins." How these commissions were
carried out the Acts bears witness. To the multitude in Jerusalem, who on the
day of Pentecost were pricked in their heart, Peter spoke of "the
remission of sins" (Acts 2: 38). Before the council he again testified of
"forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5: 31). Again to the Gentile Cornelius
and his friends he proclaimed that "through His name whosoever believeth
in Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10: 43). To the mixed crowd
in the synagogue at Antioch Paul declared, "Be it known . . . that through
this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" (Acts 13: 38).
In each
case, of the six quoted above, the same Greek word occurs in the original,
though translated both as remission and forgiveness in the Authorized Version.
It signifies simply "a sending away" or "a release" and
this is just what a guilty sinner needs as regards his sins. Let them be sent
away or dismissed by the One against whom his guilt has been
incurred, and what a happy release is his! Now this is just what every
child of God is entitled to enjoy. "I write unto you little children"
said the aged apostle John, "because your sins are forgiven you [are
dismissed and sent away] for His name's sake" (1 John 2: 12).
It is in
the epistle to the Romans, as we have seen, that the Holy Ghost pronounces the
verdict of "guilty before God" against the whole human race. We might
naturally have expected therefore that immediately following this we should
have found a full unfolding of forgiveness. As a matter of fact however the
word for forgiveness only occurs once in the whole epistle, and that when the
Apostle cites David's words from Psalm 32. The blessedness of the man to whom
God imputes righteousness without works is described by David saying,
"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven" (Rom. 4: 6, 7). This
shows us however that the imputation of righteousness — i.e justification — is
in this passage practically equivalent to forgiveness.
The words
that are so much used in the early chapters of Romans are righteousness and
justification, and they are on the whole words of great fulness. One
cannot have one's sins forgiven without being justified, nor vice versa;
yet in the main the force of forgiveness is negative — we lose our sins: the
main force of justification is positive — we gain righteousness.
It has
been asserted that everybody is forgiven. Is there any sense in which such a
statement is true?
No. It is
of course a wonderful fact that, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor. 5: 19).
Hence the Lord's words to the sinful woman, "Neither do I condemn
thee" (John 8: 11). God's overtures of mercy, in Christ present upon
earth, were however rejected. It is also a wonderful fact that, His overtures
being rejected, He has taken advantage of the death and resurrection of Christ
to send out a world-wide message of forgiveness, so that in the Gospel today forgiveness
is preached to all, and He is presented as a forgiving God. (See Luke 24: 46,
47).
Instead of
the rejection of Christ being followed by a declaration of war, and the hurling
of Heaven's thunderbolts against a rebellious world, God has, as it were,
established a lengthy armistice, during which time an amnesty for all rebels is
being proclaimed. If any rebel humbles himself and turns to the Saviour in
faith, he is forgiven. It is true therefore that there is forgiveness
for everybody; but in no sense is it true that everybody is
forgiven.
In His
parable of the two debtors in Luke 7, the Lord did teach however that both were
forgiven by the creditor. Was not Simon, the self-righteous Pharisee, as much
forgiven therefore as the repentant sinner?
"He frankly
forgave them both." Both therefore were frankly forgiven.
The two words "frankly forgave" are the translation of one Greek word
— not the usual word for forgiveness but a word meaning, "to show grace
to." The Lord Jesus therefore in His parable represented God as acting in
a forgiving spirit and showing grace towards men, no matter what the depth of
their sin. This is exactly God's attitude to-day.
Later in
the story the Lord did utter the usual word for forgiveness. He said of the
woman, "her sins, which are many, are forgiven." To her He said,
"Thy sins are forgiven." Her sins, then, were definitely
dismissed, for she believed in the Saviour and came to Him.
Grace was
indeed shown even to proud Simon, and he was not brought instantly and
summarily into judgment for his sins. In that sense he was "frankly
forgiven," but the Lord never told him that his sins had been definitely
dismissed. Only the repentant sinner is thus forgiven, in the ordinary meaning
of the word.
Is it a
fact that when a sinner repents and believes he receives forgiveness once and
for all?
Certainly
it is. In the argument on the subject of sacrifice, contained in Hebrews 9: 1 -
10: 18, that fact is one of the main points. In that great passage it is
affirmed no less than six times that the sacrifice of Christ was one and
offered once. It is also asserted that those who approach God as worshippers on
the ground of His sacrifice are purged once, and consequently draw near with
perfected consciences (Heb. 10: 1, 2). The perfection of which the first verse
speaks is "pertaining to the conscience" (Heb. 9: 9), and founded
upon the one perfect cleansing, or purging, that has reached them. We stand
before God in an eternal forgiveness.
To this it
is objected by some, that if a believer is taught that at his conversion he
obtained complete forgiveness, it is sure to provoke him to carelessness and
license. Might it not be better to say that all is forgiven up to the point of
conversion?
No one
would object in this way but those who deny, or at least overlook, the fact
that we are not converted without being born again and thereby becoming
possessed of a nature that hates evil. Once give this fact its due weight and
the whole case wears a different aspect. Further, not only are we born again
and forgiven but we receive the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in us, and we come
under the teaching of grace, of which Titus 2: 11-14, speaks.
We must
remember that though forgiveness is ministered to us when we believe, yet it
was procured for us by the sacrifice of Christ; and all our sins not only those
up to the point of conversion — were future, when He died and rose again.
We must
remember also that God, as Father, does deal with us, His children, as and when
we sin. Upon confession we are forgiven and cleansed, for "we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 1: 9 - 2:
1). But this is the Father's forgiveness, restoring us to communion, and not
the eternal forgiveness, which we receive at the outset from Him as Judge of
all.
What then
is meant by, "the remission of sins that are past," which we read of
in Romans 3: 25?
All
depends upon what is the fixed point, in relation to which the sins are past.
If verse 26 be also read, it will be apparent that the contrast is between what
God did as to sins in the past time and what He does "at this time;"
the great event dividing the two times being the first advent of Christ. It is
evident therefore that in speaking of "sins that are past" the
apostle Paul referred to the sins of the believers who lived in the past
dispensation. His words had no reference to certain sins of a believer being
past, if viewed from the standpoint of his conversion.
The sins
of these pre-Christian believers were remitted by God. "Remission"
here is not the ordinary word for forgiveness, but one which means, "a
passing by." The meaning of the passage is, that when the propitiatory
work of Christ became an accomplished fact, it at once showed forth that God
had been righteous in passing by the sins of Old Testament believers, just as
it also vindicates His righteousness in this Gospel age in justifying the
believer in Jesus.
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