Fallen man dishonours his Maker and Sustainer by his sins which are transgressions of the divine law and thus entertains enmity in his heart to God and reveals openly the nature of the carnal mind in him by wicked works. For “sin is the transgression of the law” (1st John iii. 4) and “the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
And as God is a jealous God of His glory in relation to the revelation of His righteousness in the law, and the promulgation of His claims upon men through His law, that they love Him with all their soul and heart and mind and love their neighbour as themselves, He is therefore angry with the wicked every day, will in no wise clear the guilty, and declares that the wages of sin is death. The unbelieving and impenitent and unforgiven sinner will, we are told, be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Rev. xxi. 8.) In all this, God is holy and just, when He so deals with impenitent, hardened sinners. “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand.” (Ps. cxxx. 3.)
Yet although all this is true, there is a “But” which introduces before a sinful, guilty, condemned world, the amazing fact and revelation that there is divine forgiveness: “But there is forgiveness with thee.” (Ps. cxxx. 4.) This arises from the glorious fact that God is not only righteous and just, but “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin . . .” (Exodus xxxiv. 6 and 7.) And He makes His gracious name and character known as a sin forgiving God in that way exhibited in the Scriptures which conserves His divine honour therein; and He is said to be “ready to forgive.”
The divine forgiveness is for Christ’s sake, as Paul particularly points out to the Ephesian Church: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephes. iv. 32.) Christ died for the sins of a great multitude of the ruined race of Adam according to the Scriptures, in fulfillment of them; such as Isaiah liii. where we read, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities,” yea, for the iniquities laid upon Him by Jehovah. And so it is for the sake of Christ’s precious blood by which the guilt and penalty of sin were put away, that the divine forgiveness is bestowed upon any sinner. As we further read, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Ephes. i. 7.) Christ fulfilled and honoured the law and satisfied and upheld the divine justice; and made possible the removal of the guilt of sin and the penal sufferings and curse thereof, by God as a just and a gracious God, in case of the very chiefest of sinners.
This wonderful forgiveness is according to the riches of the divine love and mercy. The whole material world cannot buy it, the righteousness of the greatest pharisee cannot procure it, the offering of the fruit of one’s body cannot bring it to a sin-laden soul, intellectual knowledge of the divine doctrine of forgiveness cannot introduce a sinner to this blessed and heavenly benefit. It proceeds from the overflowing abundance of the divine and sovereign grace of God. He is pleased to forgive whom He forgives, in face of their wickedness, awful history of enmity and their unmistakable unworthiness. He delighteth in mercy and is rich in mercy in bestowing forgiveness upon any. It is indeed received, not of works, lest any man should boast.
This divine benefit and doctrine is to be preached to Jew and Gentile, to all kinds and classes of sinners, following upon apostolic practice and example at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts xiii). In this place Paul preached of Christ to Jews who were dark and ignorant spiritually and then he and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles. And to the Jews who afterwards rejected his preaching he said: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins,” (verse 38). Now they rejected the preaching of the divine forgiveness at their peril. But many of the Gentiles in this place, guilty, condemned sinners, were indeed savingly benefited through the preaching of the Gospel of divine forgiveness through Christ Jesus. “For as many as were ordained to eternal life believed,” (verse 48). They heard a full and free Gospel of forgiveness preached and through the instrumentality of this Gospel, were by the power of the Holy Spirit enabled to believe in Christ Jesus unto eternal life which included their being divinely favoured with the forgiveness of all their sins. Thus that which was known only to God, their being ordained to eternal life, was now made manifest by their being effectually wrought upon through the preaching of a full and blessed Gospel of forgiveness.
But what is the more detailed exercise of those who receive the divine forgiveness? In both the Old Testament and the New, we read much of this. David records his experience thus: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” (Ps. xxxii. 5.) And John in his First Epistle gives direction as to confession unto the obtaining of the divine forgiveness thus: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st Epistle of John i. 9.) There is also the very vital and essential exercise of faith upon Christ Jesus and God’s pardoning mercy and grace revealed in Him. The end and design of Paul’s witness and ministry was, in part, that men “… may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Acts xxvi. 18.) These words are the words of Christ to Paul. And are they not a broken-hearted and mourning people over their sins against God, who receive His divine and gracious pardon? And do they not abandon the broad way and ungodly living as humble penitents in coming to receive and experience the sweet experience of forgiveness?
And what is the spiritual effect that forgiveness has upon the pardoned sinner? Such come to fear God with a gracious and filial fear. “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” (Ps. cxxx. 4.) They come, by the divine grace, to know, love, worship and serve God, the God of their salvation; and to join with all the redeemed in declaring: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” (Micah vii. 18.)