Your sins are forgiven

The forgiveness of sins is one of the most important themes in all of scripture. The simple fact is, without forgiveness of sins, no man could approach God. But the Bible makes it clear that because God is merciful and willing to forgive sins, mankind can have his sins forgiven and can be restored to a right-relationship with God. The dictionary defines forgiveness as the act of giving up claim to requital for something, or the granting of relief from the payment of some debt. This is precisely what God is willing to do for man – to grant us relief from having to pay the price for our sins.

But God does not just forgive sins at random, or according to the whim of the moment – he always has a basis for granting forgiveness. Ultimately the basis for God forgiving any sin is his mercy. (See Psalm 103:10) But God does not grant forgive sin on the basis of his mercy alone. Before God forgives any sin, there must first be atonement, which is defined as “reparation or satisfaction for an offense or injury.” The Bible makes it very clear that the price for sin is death. So the only way atonement for sin can come is through death.

The entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament was based on this principle. It was only the death of the sacrificial animal that provided atonement for the worshipper’s sin, and only then was forgiveness granted to him or her (See Leviticus 4:20,26; 5:10,16). In the New Testament, the parallel is almost exact. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who provided the atonement/propitiation for the sin of all mankind (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2). He is, therefore, the basis for our forgiveness of sin and restoration to righteousness with God. (Luke 22:47; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:12)

In addition to God’s mercy and the power of an atoning sacrifice, there are many passages that teach us that that God looks for repentance on the part of man before he grants forgiveness. Ultimately repentance is a condition of the heart, but there are certain outward acts that often accompany true repentance. The most obvious of these is confession of sin, which is referred to in many passages throughout the Bible. (Psalm 32:5, 38:18, Mark 1:5, James 5:16, 1 John 1:9) The principle of confessing sin first appears as a requirement in Leviticus 5. The word translated “confess” in this passage is translated in other passages as “praise” and “give thanks.” Literally this word refers to lifting up the hand – as to throw something. In Zechariah 1:21 this same word is translated “throw down.” The idea behind this word is to take something inside of us and “throw” it out through speech – whether it is thanksgiving, praise, or confession of sin.

But it is not accurate to say that God only forgives those sins we confess to him. Several stories prove this point. In Matthew 9:2 for example, upon seeing a paralyzed man being lowered to him from the ceiling by his friends, we are told, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” There is no indication that this man or his friends confessed any sin at all, and yet Jesus forgave the man instantly solely on the basis of their faith. And in Luke 7:47-48, after a woman had washed and anointed His feet, Jesus said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven her, for she loved much.” Again, there is no indication that this woman confessed any sins, she simply “loved much” and it was her love that Jesus attributed her forgiveness to.

These stories prove that what God really requires of man is a heart that believes in him and is tender towards him. As the Lamb of God, Jesus has already “Taken away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). All that remains for us to do is to believe in Him, moment by moment, and to love him with all our heart, soul and strength. As we do this, we will walk “in the light as he is in the light” and have the assurance that “The blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Keep this in mind today and rejoice! Your sins are forgiven!