God Forgives

God Forgives

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 1:5-2:1-2)

President Ford pardons former President Nixon. It was full, free and unconditional pardon for any wrongs he may have committed while occupying the office of President of the United States. This act of courage and grace has created a furor in our nation. It threatens to bring an end to the “honeymoon” between the executive and legislative branches of the government.

It is not my purpose to sit in judgment upon this decision or to question his motives. As President of the United States, Mr. Ford had the right and the authority to extend executive clemency. We may question the timing of this act. We may question what should be the fate of others involved in Watergate. But we must agree that to “err is human and to forgive is divine.”

Mr. Ford said that he “sought divine guidance” before making his decision. We strongly believe that God does make his will known to those who seek it in relation to a particular decision. I do not know what process he followed in seeking and finding God’s guidance. Perhaps as he struggled with this decision there came to mind the words of the Apostle Paul in relation to a wrong doer in the Church at Corinth: “But now I think the punishment you have inflicted on him has been sufficient. Now is the time to offer forgiveness and comfort, for it is possible for a man in his position to be completely overwhelmed by remorse.” (2 Corinthians 2:7)

This action by the President of the United States serves to bring into focus the central teaching of the Bible: God forgives the sinner and pardons all his iniquities. I have read that the rope used by the British Navy is different from the rope used by any other navy in one respect. Running through every inch or mile of the rope is a red thread. No matter where you may cut that rope you will find a red thread in the midst of all the other fibers. Where ever you turn in your Bible you will find this central truth: “I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and transgressed against me.” (Jeremiah 33:8)

One has called “forgiveness” the most beautiful word in the Bible. Herein you see love in action: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and gave His Son to be a propitiation for our sins.” It is a beautiful word because it includes all the attributes of God, His wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. It is the most beautiful word because it kindles the most beautiful light upon the face of God and on the countenance of man. It is the word that is found upon the lips of the redeemed in heaven. There they sing of the forgiveness of God: “Now unto Him who loved us and loosed us from our sins by His blood.” “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”

It is a beautiful word because it ministers to man’s basic need: the forgiveness of sin. There is nothing so universal as sin. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one.” Our sin has become between us and our God. Not all needs are common to each one of us. It is not everyone who needs an optician, some have twenty-twenty vision without the aid of glasses. Not everyone needs a dentist; some of us are thankful for two sets of good teeth. But everyone needs forgiveness. “If you say you have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us … if we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and His Word is not in us.”

The basic Biblical meaning of the word “sin” is missing the mark. The Tsar of Russia was asked by his engineer what should be the route of the railroad from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. The Tsar went to the map hanging on the wall, placed one end of the ruler on Moscow and the other end on Saint Petersburg, drew a straight line and turned to his engineer and said, “There that is the route.” The railroad was to be built across the rivers, over the mountains, through the valleys and across the plains in a straight line from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. The rule of God is, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul and thou shall love thy neighbor as yourself.” Any deviation from this is sin.

Some think in terms of sin as a theological concept which has little, if anything, to do with him. He says, “I have not sinned.” Others think of sin in terms of robbery, murder, theft, adultery – things with which the outwardly respectable person have nothing to do. But when sin is seen as failure to miss the mark, then each of us stand guilty. Who has been a good father, mother, wife, husband, son, and daughter, and workman, a person as he might have been and could have been? All have sin and stand in need of forgiveness.

The good news from God is, “Where sin abounded grace abounded all the more – and that is but another word for forgiveness – did much more abound.” John assures us that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What does it mean to be forgiven? In the Old and New Testament there are many words which are used in an attempt to express all that is included in this most beautiful word. It seems as if the writers of the Bible exhaust their vocabulary in an effort to explain this most marvelous action of God. There are three basic ideas contained in these words.

A group of words which mean to eradicate, to erase, to expunge, to wash absolutely clean, to blot our completely. (Psalm 103:10-12) When you accepted God’s forgiveness your sins became a forgotten issue. God has promised, “I will pardon all their iniquities and remember their transgression no more.” The Apostle Paul tell us, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Do you see the mighty transferal suggested in these words? God took all your sins and laid them on Jesus, who in His death suffered the righteous for the unrighteous, he bore our sin in His body on the tree, He was wounded for our transgressions. Through what He did the penalty of sin is remitted, our guilt is removed. The other side of the picture is that God credited to our account all the righteousness, the goodness, the perfection of Jesus. Thus we stand before God completely and absolutely accepted in the beloved, clothed now in the righteousness of Christ.

There are those words which means to be set free, to be loosed. “He has washed us and loosed our sins.” We are set free as a bird is set free from the cage that has contained him, free to soar in the wild blue yonder. We are loosed from the bondage of sin as a slave is loosed from the chains that bound him. This truth is expressed in the hymn: “Be of sin the double cure, save me from its guilt and power.” We are delivered from the tyranny of sin. This is why Jesus said to many, “Thy sins be forgiven thee. Go and sin no more.” This is possible because you are cleansed and set free from the bondage of sin to be and become the person God intended you to be.

Then there are those words which picture forgiveness as a free gift of God’s love and grace and mercy. Forgiveness is given out of grace as an absolutely free gift. It is interesting to note that this aspect of forgiveness is used not only in relation to God’s action towards us, but also in our action towards our fellow man. “Be ye tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Forgiveness is not something that can be earned, merited or achieved. It is the free gift of God and a man can do no more than take a humble gratitude that which it is offered to him.

This is what Jesus Christ has done for us. All that we can do is to confess our need for forgiveness, humbly accept what has been done, and in eternal gratitude go and live for Him who died for us.

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

First Presbyterian Church, Dade City, Florida, September 15, 1974