SUBJECT:  Forgiveness and Repentance

QUESTION:  What does your church have on the subject of Forgiveness and Repentance?

ANSWER:

We have two current booklets on the subject:

Betrayal and Forgiveness:  click here

Forgiveness, Buried Sins, and Spiritual Graves Robbers:  click here

Be sure to let us know if you would like these booklets sent to you free of charge.

Following are two questions we frequently receive regarding the subject of Forgiveness:

FIRST QUESTION: 

Some ask about forgiveness of sins BEFORE one commits them.  There is a clear distinction between God saying, “I forgive you now for sins you will commit in the future.” and “In the future, when you commit a sin, I will, by my authority, forgive you when you come before me and repent of this sin.” 

Put another way:  Will God forgive you now for a sin you will commit in 2015?  No, He will not.  This is not how the process works.

Will God tell me, today, that in the year 2015 He will forgive me of a sin I commit then?  Yes.

Hebrews 8:12 

I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Note:  The verse says “WILL BE” not “I now forgive”.

In the year, 2015, when I sin, will God forgive me then?  Yes, He will, but there is a requirement.  You must repent.  Sin is more than an action, it is:

1)    an attitude

2)    the subtotal of our character at the moment we sin.

If we were to say that God forgives you now for all future sin, one could take that as a license to go ahead and sin.  This is a dangerous attitude because in the end result…at the judgement, God will be looking at the subtotal of our character and not individual sins.  He will be looking at and for repentant attitudes and our forgiveness of others.  Both are critical and essential if we are to enter into the Kingdom. 

SECOND QUESTION: 
What if a person commits a sin and he or she is unaware it was a sin; would God forgive it?

There are a couple of things we need to discuss to fully understand the answer:

1)    We must be a student of God’s laws and principles.  If we are, we know when we sin.

2)    We must develop and exhibit an attitude of constant repentance, not only for the specific sins we know about but for “any” sins we might commit.  In the “Lord’s Prayer” the phrase is, “forgive us our sins” which implies those known and unknown.

Psalm 25:18

Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.  (Note: “all my sins”)

Psalm 51:9-10

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

3)    We must have a close relationship with Christ and God, the Father.  If that relationship is close then God will be working with us, showing us our sins and imparting knowledge to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the most important aspect we can talk about regarding this question.

Psalm 25:4-10

4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesss; for they have been ever of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

These verses show a relationship.  They also show that God will work with a person.  How could He work with a person and not show them their sins and areas that need improvement in their lives and character?

Just a couple of other things about UNKNOWN SINS:

1.     We can pray that God forgives the sins of others even though we do not know their sins.

Acts 20:32  (Paul prays for the church)

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

2)    We can offend a person and not know it or do something in front of a person that is to that person a sin and not know it.

Romans 14:14

I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Romans 14:23

…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

It is easy to be a stumbling block to our brother and not even know it unless he or she tells us about it.  The point is that in our relationship with God, in prayer, we talk about this very subject.  We ask Him to point out our sins and transgressions so we can change.  We talk about offending our brother and not knowing it.  God will show us the path.  He will lead us to truth and wisdom and insight in these matter.  Whether it be our unknown sins or our being an offense to our brother, He will make it plain to us.

Finally, I want to make a distinction about sin, forgiveness and repentance that, of late, so many are missing.  There are two kinds of sin:

1)    UNREPENTED OF SIN

2)    REPENTED OF SIN

When I see and hear so much being stated and discussed about the sins of others and what should be done about it, I perceive that they either do not understand the distinction or do not see that they are interchanging the terms as they talk or write.

Sin repented of is forgotten by God.  Unrepented of sin must be confronted; by the individual, by the offended brother (Matthew 18) and by the ministry.  We often see repented of sin treated as unrepented sin in people’s decisions and their discussions with others.  This often leads to much error and misunderstanding.  We all need to be sure which we are talking about.

Below is a Bible dictionary definition of Forgiveness:

FORGIVENESS

            The act of excusing or pardoning another in spite of his slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God's pardon of the sins of human beings.

            No religious book except the Bible teaches that God completely forgives sin <Psalm 51:1,9; Isaiah 38:17; Hebrews 10:17>. The initiative comes from Him <John 3:16; Colossians 2:13> because He is ready to forgive <Luke 15:11-32>. He is a God of grace and pardon <Nehemiah 9:17; Daniel 9:9>.

            Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of God's holy character <Genesis 2:17; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Peter 1:16>, but His pardon is gracious <Psalm 130:4; Romans 5:6-8>. In order for God to forgive sin, two conditions are necessary. A life must be taken as a substitute for that of the sinner <Leviticus 17:11,14; Hebrews 9:22>, and the sinner must come to God's sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith <Mark 1:4; Acts 10:43; James 5:15>.

            Forgiveness in the New Testament is directly linked to Christ <Acts 5:31; Colossians 1:14>, His sacrificial death on the cross <Romans 4:24>, and His resurrection <2 Corinthians 5:15>. He was the morally perfect sacrifice <Romans 8:3>, the final and ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament sacrifices <Hebrews 9:11-10:18>. Since He bore the law's death penalty against sinners <Galatians 3:10-13>, those who trust in His sacrifice are freed from that penalty. By faith sinners are forgiven--" justified" in Paul's terminology <Romans 3:28; Galatians 3:8-9>. Those who are forgiven sin's penalty also die to its controlling power in their lives <Romans 6:1-23>.

            Christ's resurrection was more than proof of His deity or innocence; it was related in a special way to His forgiveness. Christ's resurrection was an act by which God wiped out the false charges against Him; it was God's declaration of the perfect righteousness of His Son, the Second Adam, and of His acceptance of Christ's sacrifice <1 Timothy 3:16>. Because He has been acquitted and declared righteous, this is also true for those whom He represents. Thus, Christ's resurrection was a necessary condition for the forgiveness of man's sins <1 Corinthians 15:12-28>. To be forgiven is to be identified with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.

            Christ has the authority to forgive sins <Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 9:11-10:18>. This forgiveness is an essential part of the gospel message <Acts 2:38; 5:31>. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (attributing to Satan a deed done by Jesus through the power of God's Spirit) is an unpardonable sin <Mark 3:28-29>-- not because God cannot or will not forgive such a sin but because such a hard-hearted person has put himself beyond the possibility of repentance and faith.

            God's forgiveness of us demands that we forgive others, because grace brings responsibility and obligation <Matthew 18:23-35; Luke 6:37>. Jesus placed no limits on the extent to which Christians are to forgive their fellowmen <Matthew 18:22,35; Luke 17:4>. A forgiving spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ <Matthew 5:43-48; Mark 11:25>. ~from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary