Forgiveness according to...

Maybe one of the best ways to demonstrate that the Bible does not say the same thing to everybody at all times is to select a subject, in this case we are going to look at the subject of forgiveness, then compare what the scriptures have to say. There are four men that disseminate doctrine in the Bible; Moses, Jesus, Peter and Paul. So let's take a look and compare what they have to say about the the topic of forgiveness.



MOSES:

• Leviticus 4:26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.


• Leviticus 5:13 And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat offering.


• Leviticus 6:7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.


• Leviticus 19:22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.


• Numbers 15:25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:

When was the last time you offered a bullock for an atonement? how about a ram without blemish? Okay, I'm being silly now. Clearly, there was the need for a priest, animal sacrifices, altars and much work to get the sin forgiven. I don't want to bog down in the details and procedures of getting a sin forgiven, but if you read through these passages it is obvious the work associated with forgiveness and the need of a priest to mediate and expedite the matter, and at the end of the day, if you sinned again, the whole procedure would need repeated to obtain forgiveness. Talk about a never ending process, mercy.

JESUS:

• Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.


• Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:


• Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


• Mark 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:


• Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.


• Mark 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.


• Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Conditional forgiveness. If you forgive then God will forgive. That is what a covenant relationship consists of, the "if" and "then" position. Don't let these passages be wasted on you in that we can also see the result of not forgiving others was that there was no provision for forgiveness for yourself. The need for a daily inventory of yourself in the matter of forgiving debtors, and just folks that have offended you in any way was absolutely necessary in order to be forgiven by God. If you think these passages apply to us today as we stand firmly in the dispensation of the grace of God you would be wrong. Basing forgiveness from God on the merits of your behaviour or any other facet of your ability would be as denying the efficiency of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ wherein we have our forgiveness.

PETER:

• Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.


• Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.


• Acts 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:


• Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.


• Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.


• Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

Most of your Christian friends will tell you the church began in Acts chapter 2, when they tell you that, ask them to explain Acts chapter 3:19-21 which declares their sins MAY BE blotted out at the time when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom on the earth. Move on a few more chapters to Acts 5 and show them it was about the nation Israel and not the church, the body of Christ. Acts 5 also declares it was given to them which obey Him, which would include getting dunked in a baptistry and keeping the commandments, and enduring til the end and a whole laundry list of stuff to do. In Acts 8, we see an uncertainty of forgiveness once again from Peter in that he says "if perhaps" the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. You have a "may be" in Acts 3 and a "perhaps if" in Acts 8, that doesn't sound anything like what our Apostle Paul has to say when he speaks of Christ according to the "revelation of the mystery" now does it?

PAUL:

• Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:


• Acts 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.


• Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;


• Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.


• Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Did Moses say anything that vaguely resembles these scriptures? How about Peter? Not even Jesus while in His earthly ministry to Israel made such statements. These doctrines are unique to one apostle, that being Paul. Redemption through the blood of Christ and His grace. We are forgiven for Christ's sake, not by offering a ram, not because we have forgiven our debtors, not by being dunked in water or keeping the law.....only by the blood of Jesus Christ! All trespasses were forgiven before anybody reading this was ever born. The issue today is the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe in that Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose the third day. The cross took the sin issue and forgiveness off the table, the only element remaining is....do you trust the Gospel...or not?