The need for forgiveness suggests a number of things. Number one, the need for forgiveness suggests that an offense has been committed. The offense is sin. Number two, the need for forgiveness suggests that someone has committed the offense. Man is the offender. Number three, forgiveness suggests that someone has been offended. The One who has been offended is God.

The need for forgiveness is universal. We are told "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Again we read, "For there is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecc. 7:20). John wrote, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 Jno. 1:10).

Who can forgive sins that have been committed against God? Some religious groups claim that some man can forgive or absolve others of sin. The Jews of Jesus' day recognized that only God can forgive sin. They said, concerning Jesus, "...Who is this that speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" (Lk. 5:21). In the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He said, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). If I offended one person I would not ask another person to forgive me, I would ask the person that I offended to forgive me. No priest can forgive sins, though they claim that they can. The sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church in years past took in thousands of dollars. People were told that they could buy the right to commit some sin and be automatically absolved of the sin. It was ridiculous that they made such claims and even more ridiculous that thousands of people would actually fall for such foolishness. This shows the gullibility of people, especially when it is something that sounds good to their ears.

Next we need to consider the means by which forgiveness can be obtained. Sin always separates a person from God (Isa. 59:1-2). When one is separated from God by sin he is dead spiritually (Gen. 2:7). Adam and Eve did not die physically the day that they ate of the forbidden fruit, but they died spiritually. The wages of sin is spiritual death (Rom. 3:23). God could not be just if He did not enforce the penalty for sin. However, He showed mercy to mankind by allowing another, His only begotten Son, to pay the debt for us. God was willing to accept His death on the cross as full payment for sin, for all who would accept and obey Him. A few passages that make this clear are as follows: (Jno. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 2:9; 1 Jno. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). Christ was indeed the"propitiation for our sins" (Rom. 3:25; 1 Jno. 2:2; 4:10).

As indicated earlier, there are some conditions that must be met in order for man to be forgiven. For the alien sinner these conditions are faith in Christ, repentance (a turning from sin), a confession of faith in Christ, and baptism for the remission of sins. For the erring child of God, forgiveness involves a confession of sin, repenting of sin, and prayer for forgiveness. Until the necessary conditions are met, one cannot be forgiven.

What is the evidence that one has been forgiven? Some would have us believe that it is some kind of peculiar feeling "better felt than told." However, this is not the case at all. The evidence that one has that he has been forgiven is the testimony of God's word (1 Jno. 2:3-4). When we have obeyed the truth, the Spirit (through the word) bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16). To illustrate, suppose a prisoner tells the warden that he just feels like he is free, will they open the doors of the prison and let him out? Absolutely not! However, if he has a pardon, signed by the governor of the state, that is all the evidence they need to turn him loose. He is a free man. There is another condition that must be met before we (as Christians) can be forgiven by the Lord. We must be willing to forgive those who trespass against us. In the "model prayer" Jesus said, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14-15). Paul wrote, "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Col. 3:13). Again he wrote, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). We must be willing and anxious to forgive, but the offender must repent before we are obligated to forgive him. Our Lord made this clear when He said, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Lk. 17:3). He even went on to say in the next verse, "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him" (Lk. 17:4).

This is difficult teaching, but this is what the Lord commands, whether we agree with it or not. How can we expect God to forgive us over and over, if we are unwilling to forgive?

We need to realize that forgiving means forgetting. When God forgives, He forgets (Heb. 8:12). Sometimes people say, "I will forgive, but I cannot forget." We may not forget in the sense that it will never enter our mind again, but we must never let it hinder our relationship with the one that we have forgiven. God wants all to be forgiven, because He is not "willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). Though God wants all to be saved, most will be lost (Matt. 7:13). Men must desire to be saved, and must comply with the conditions that God has given in order to be saved. Have you met the conditions? Why not do so now?

...Virgil L. Hale