One simple answer is that he forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them. King David received this forgiveness for the terrible sins of adultery and murder. When Nathan rebuked him, David said, "I have sinned against the Lord," and Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin" (2 Samuel 12:13). In Psalm 32:5 David wrote, "I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin."
John the Baptist talked about God's forgiveness in the same way. Mark 1:4-5 says that he preached "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins", and that as people confessed their sins, he baptized them. Presumably God forgave them.
Peter said much the same in Acts 2:38. A few weeks after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, he told a crowd of people, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." What Peter said to crowds he also said to individuals. In Acts 8:22 he told Simon the Sorcerer that he had to repent and beg God's forgiveness: "Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you" (Acts 8:22).
Then there are the comforting words of John the Apostle to all who confess: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
A thousand tweaks and nuances and qualifications could be offered here, but the general pattern is plain. Forgiveness is something God extends to those who confess and repent. He does not withhold forgiveness from penitent people, no matter how wicked they have been. Even the miserable tax collector who was too ashamed to approach the temple and lift his eyes heavenward, but who could only mutter, "God be merciful to me the sinner", went home justified according to Jesus (Luke 18:13-14). With rare exceptions (Luke 23:34; John 8:11; Acts 7:60), forgiveness of sin follows the acknowledgement and rejection of it.
That is why part of the sermon I heard this past Easter Sunday bothered me. A guest speaker celebrated the resurrection of Christ and encouraged us to share the love of God with our neighbors, which is very good. But he repeatedly spoke of God's forgiveness as something that had already been given to an unbelieving world. The cart of forgiveness was put before the horse of confession, repentance and faith.
For example, though he acknowledged the apologetic value of defending the resurrection of Christ and the validity of the Bible, he said, "I have yet to see an apologetic more powerful than these two: The God of the universe loves you, and he forgives you." But that is not an apologetic. In fact, it is just a false statement when said to impenitent unbelievers. Though it is true regarding followers of Christ, the speaker at this point was not talking about encouraging faithful Christians - he was talking about evangelizing unbelievers. The biblical pattern of addressing people who have not yet surrendered to God is not, "God forgives you" but rather, "Repent, believe the gospel, and God will forgive you." The tense of the verb is crucial. Noah certainly did not say to his neighbors, "God forgives you." Nor did Jonah say that to the Ninevites, nor Isaiah to the Israelites, nor John the Baptist to the Judeans, nor Jesus to the Galileans, nor Paul to the Galatians, nor John the Apostle to the Sardinians. Forgiveness in the Bible is a thing promised to those who turn to God in faith and repentance, not a preemptive strike blasted scattershot at everybody regardless of their attitude toward God and sin.
The speaker doubled down on universal forgiveness when he quoted himself explaining the gospel to a new acquaintance: "It boils down to this: the God of the universe knows you. He knows all about you. And he loves you. And all the goofy stuff you’ve got clogged in you - he has forgiven every bit of it. He’s forgiven your every sin. And he welcomes you into a relationship with him." Then he asked the young man, "Is there any reason why you wouldn't want to trust him right now?"
What a grace that I was not asked that question! Smart aleck that I am, I would have replied, "Of course there's a reason. There's no need to trust him. I'm already forgiven - you said so yourself. You told me that he's forgiven my every sin, every bit of it. Well, if I'm already forgiven, what's so urgent about giving my life to Christ?"
As much as we might like to say to the man on the street, "God has forgiven your every sin," we simply cannot do that and remain true to the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has not forgiven every sin of every man we meet. Some sins - sadly - will remain forever unforgiven. What God has done is provide the means by which all who trust in his Son will have their sins taken away. But they cannot rejoice in this truth until they repent and believe.
The speaker continued, "The world needs to know that they're loved and forgiven." "Loved" I will grant. There is a universal aspect to God's love as celebrated in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...". But forgiven? No, not just yet. We can't jump the gun here. A mere two verses later the Gospel of John makes clear that unbelievers are not forgiven but condemned: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:18).
We Christians have good news to share with a fallen world. But it is not, "You have been forgiven! Now come to Christ." Rather, it is, "Come to Christ, and you will be forgiven." As Peter said to the centurion Cornelius concerning Jesus in Acts 10:38: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
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