FORGIVENESS

Our creator is a very forgiving God. When we sin, He is ready to forgive us when we repent (Psalms 86:5, Psalms 130:4). Repentance is required in order to obtain the forgiveness (Isaiah 55:6-7, Luke 13:3-5, Luke 15:7, 1 John 1:9). Once God forgives a sin, He doesn't keep it in memory to use against you later (Jeremiah 31:34). It is perfectly acceptable for us to pray for His forgiveness (Matthew 6:9-12, James 5:15).

Our means of forgiveness from God is through Christ's blood (Matthew 26:27-28, Luke 24:47, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, Romans 3:25, Ephesians 1:7). Before Christ died for us, forgiveness was through the extensive Law Code that God gave His people (Colossians 2:13). Since forgiveness is through the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22) the Law stipulated certain animal sacrifices for sins (Exodus 29:1-14, Leviticus 4:22-35, Leviticus 5:1-12, etc.). Christ's sacrifice ended the Law Code, (Romans 10:4) therefore it was unnecessary for people to continue to adhere to the Law Code (Hebrews 10:18).
Many people ask: If mere animal sacrifices could forgive sins, then why did Jesus need to die in order for us to obtain forgiveness from sin? The answer is in the scriptures: All of mankind are sinners (Romans 3:23). All this sin came to mankind through one man, Adam (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22). The penalty for all sin is death (Romans 6:7,23). Thus, our actual dying at the end of our lives pays the debts for our sins. Now, under God's Law, people were performing animal sacrifices to pay for their sins as they went in life. Since God allowed the people to use animals in place of themselves, they were actually being forgiven by proxy through the animals. This was just a temporary fix until God gave us a more permanent solution: Christ. Jesus Christ was the only human who never sinned (Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 9:14), therefore he did not owe death for sin for himself. Therefore, his act of dying opened up an endless opportunity for mankind: Since one man's (Adam) original sin caused death to all mankind, then one man's complete righteousness would restore life to all mankind (Romans 5:12-17, 1 Corinthians 15:22). Because Christ's selfless sacrifice reversed what Adam had done, Christ is referred to as the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45). His undeserved death serves to absorb all our sins, because no amount of sinning can "use up" the perfect death he gave for us. This is why Christ becoming human and giving himself for us was so important for humankind. However, and it cannot be forgotten, this provision for forgiveness is contingent on our being repentant, as is shown in the scriptures towards the beginning of this page. The idea of "once saved, always saved" is untrue (Hebrews 6:1-6), so we must be sincerely repentant in order to benefit from Christ's blood.

Now, we as Christians are also to live by God's example when it comes to forgiveness. This means we are obligated to forgive others who sin against us when they are repentant, if we are to expect God to forgive us when we sin against Him (Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:23-35, Mark 11:25, Luke 17:3-4, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:13). This is the rule even if someone sins against us repeatedly (Matthew 18:21-22).

Realize that this isn't saying we must always forgive even if someone is not repentant. Of course we are free to forgive if we wish, it's just that we are simply not obligated to forgive an unrepentant one. This is shown in that God Himself didn't always grant forgiveness to unrepentant people (2 Kings 24:4, Lamentations 3:42), and that forgiveness goes in tandem with repentance (Mark 1:4, Luke 17:3-4, 24:47). We must also realize, though, that if we choose not to forgive, that still doesn't absolve us from showing Christian love to the transgressor, for all that we do must continue to take place with love (1 Corinthians 16:14). Love means treating them humanely and without cruelty (Psalms 41:1, Proverbs 14:21, 28:27). Granted, this may be extremely difficult, especially in cases of pedophilia, murder, adultery, and things like these. In these situations, it may help to remember that God will take vengeance for the crimes (Romans 12:18-19, Hebrews 10:30). God must be the one to take vengeance, not we ourselves, because only God can see what's in a person's heart (1 Samuel 16:7). On top of that,even the most vile and wicked person has the potential to become a true worshipper of God later on (Acts 8:1-3/9:1-19). It is a wonderful thing if you can find it in your heart to forgive an unrepentant person, but at the same time there is no sin if you are unable to do so. We simply need to remember to continue to treat the offender with civility and godly love.

What if we find ourselves as as the one being in line for forgiveness from another person?
The Scriptures tell us to seek forgiveness when we have wronged someone. This is so important that if we are offering a gift in our place of worship, and remember that someone has an issue with us, God prefers that we make peace with that person before continuing the offering (Matthew 5:23-24). This is paralleled at Romans 12:18 which states that we must be peaceable with all.

The only unforgiveable sin is that of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Any other sin can be forgiven (Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28). The scriptures show that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is accomplished by speaking badly against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29-30). So let us be sure to watch what we say and how we say it!

Wrapping it all up, we see that God is always willing to forgive us when we repent, and even provided a way for us to be forgiven and saved from sin. We are to live by the same idea: forgive others who sin against us. We must remember to strive for repentance in order to benefit from God's divine forgiveness, and do our best to remain peaceable with all. Each of us can make room for improvements in these areas, so may God bless your sincere efforts in areas regarding forgiveness!