the Fourth Week after Easter
Click here to learn more!
Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
Colossians 1:14
‘The forgiveness of sins’
Read 1 John 1:1-10
Occasionally I hear preachers make this statement: ‘God does not forgive sin.’ I understand what they are doing. They are emphasizing the fact that God’s justice must be satisfied. But we must be careful not to contradict the plain statements of Holy Scripture. God does forgive sin. He says that he does. He is a God ‘keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’ (Exodus 34:7). ‘God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you’ (Ephesians 4:32). ‘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). Yes, marvelous and unbelievable as it may appear, the holy, just and true God does forgive sin! It is true God does not forgive sin as men speak of forgiveness, but he does forgive sin. In faithfulness to his covenant, in faithfulness to his character and in faithfulness to his Son, God forgives sin in a way that is altogether consistent with his justice.
God cannot forgive sin unless he can do so in a way that is honoring to his law and satisfying to his justice. He said, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:20). He said, ‘Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them’ (Galatians 3:10). How can God forgive sin and yet be just?
In order for a holy God to forgive sin four things must be done.
1. The law of God must be honored and perfectly obeyed.
2. The justice of God must be satisfied.
3. The sinner must bear the full punishment of his sin.
4. The sin must be entirely removed.
The Word of God makes it abundantly clear that there is only one way for a holy and just God to forgive sin. God can only forgive sin through the righteous obedience and satisfactory sacrifice of an all-sufficient substitute. The Lord Jesus Christ is that Substitute! In him, and only in him, is there forgiveness with God (Romans 3:23-26). Trust that Substitute whom God has accepted, and all your sins will be forgiven you. Yes, it is true, ‘He delighteth in mercy’! God delights to forgive sin justly, through the blood of his Son.
