The Forgiveness of Sins (Psalm 51)

Sometimes people complain when others use big words and the reason for the complaint is that they don’t understand what the words mean. Yet it is not only big words that are misunderstood because as we know some of our smallest words defy a full explanation. The word ‘God’ is short but we cannot fully explain what is its meaning. Of course we do not have to know everything about God in order to know what he is like. In fact, the simplest mind and the smartest theologian can speak intelligently to one another about him.

Another little word that is misunderstood is the little word ‘sin’. Because it is misunderstood, people can use it in ways that others do not appreciate. We can imagine a Christian complaining strongly and regretfully about his sin. When we ask him what those sins are, we might be surprised at his answer. He will inform us that he is concerned about attitudes in his heart that no one else can see. Some people may not regard his thoughts as sin because they are not tangible and instead conclude that he possesses a hyper-sensitive and introspective temperament and suggest that he will feel a lot better if he takes up a distracting hobby.

Sin is more than crime and evil actions

Of course, we may be surprised at the links between words. What are the basic links with the word ‘sin’? Our initial response might be that we link sin with crimes. Yet we know that in today’s world some sins, such as immorality, are not crimes and that some crimes, such as speaking about Jesus in certain places, may not be sins. You see, those who decide that an action is a crime are those who have some kind of human authority whereas the One who has decided an action is a sin is God alone. The last detail is very important because some imagine that it is the church that has decided that a certain action is a sin. Some parts of the church may do something like this, but the church can only call something a sin if there is biblical authority for doing so.

The word ‘sin’ therefore in its basic features is a response to God. It will have many consequences for ourselves and for others, yet those consequences should not blind us to the fact that sin is primarily something with which God has to do. We are designed to do everything for God's glory and not to do so is sin.

This means that I can be a sinful person and never commit a crime. It means I can be a sinful person and do all kinds of good things for other people. We need to realise that when we speak about sin we are primarily describing our interactions with God at every level of life. My thoughts about and my actions against another person are sins because God has said they are, not because he or she might not like them.

The Bible uses different words to depict the nature of sin. It often uses the word ‘sin’ itself in its meaning of failing to reach a standard or a target (after all, a person who gets 90% has fallen short as has a person who gets 60%, if the required standard is 100%). There is no point in comparing myself with someone who is not as good as me if I am not as good as I am required to be.

Another word is transgression, which has the emphasis or going beyond what is forbidden. It is climbing over a wall in order to do something else. God’s law is like the wall when it tells us what we should do because it provides us with safety. But we can and do choose to climb over it in order to disobey it. Of course, the illustration of climbing should not cause us to think only of physical acts of disobedience. The wall is also in our hearts as well as outside of them.

Of course, if God was powerless, we could conclude that his assessment was of no value because we could easily dismiss any consequences that he might want to bring about. But since he is all-powerful, we should conclude that we are unable to avoid any consequences that he intends to bring about because of our sins. Yet we should not stop at his almighty power. In addition, we should ask what else we can know about him, and one of those details about him is mentioned here in the Creed. The God we sin against can forgive our sins. And we should think about this because he has told us that he will either forgive us or punish us. We cannot experience both, but we will experience one of those options.

Why should we be forgiven our sins?

The answer to this question is obvious – to escape the terrible punishment that will be meted out on those who have offended the glorious God of eternity. We know that there are degrees of offence depending on the dignity of the person whom we insult. If a resident of another country were to insult me when I was on holiday there, very little would be done about it. But if he were to insult the ambassador, then it would be very serious. In the past, wars were caused by such behaviour.

Sin offends the wisdom of God because it suggests it knows a better way to live; it offends the power of God because it treats him with contempt; it offends the holiness of God because it claims that perfection is not important; it offends the love of God because it indicates that he is not good to us and we need more. We could list many ways in which sin offends God and deserves to be punished. In reality, sin deserves to be punished because of its persistent opposition to God and because of its potential for increasing its opposition to him.

What kind of punishment does it deserve? Because it is an attack on God it deserves divine punishment. It does not merit a diluted form of divine punishment as if somehow clemency could be shown and God punish in an un-Godlike manner. If God were to do so, how could he be regarded as righteous and how could he be trusted that he would always act in a Godlike way?

The punishment for sin is very serious and involves eternal punishment. It is striking to observe how often Jesus and his apostles refer to this awful reality. They remind us frequently that there will be a Day of Judgement at which every person will be dealt with for their sins. The punishment described should frighten us, but it should also cause us to ask the Lord for mercy. We have been warned for our own good.

Of course, to only mention sin and its punishment is a failure to preach the gospel. Along with the warning there must be an explanation of what God has done in order for the good news of the gospel to be declared. We are familiar with what he did when he sent his Son into the world to live a righteous life, to die an atoning death, and to rise again from the dead in order to ascend as a Saviour. We have heard of his offer of mercy, and this leads us to consider our next point, which is

When should we be forgiven our sins?

The answer to this question is that we should be forgiven immediately we hear the gospel invitation to repent of our sins and trust in Jesus. This invitation assures us that when we do so we will be pardoned all our sins. At this point, it does not matter what kind of sinner we have been, whether an outrageous one or a self-righteous one. The Bible contains many wonderful promises connected to the immediate and full pardon of sin and all sinners should be encouraged by them to draw near to the God they have sinned against throughout their lives.

In addition to being forgiven immediately, we should recall that we are also forgiven completely. It is understandable that at the moment of initial pardon a person will usually be thinking about his current sins. Yet it is also the case that sooner or later they will recall sins that they committed in the past, even decades previously. A common one that arises is the recollection of ignoring the advice of pious parents, and sins such as this can suddenly loom very large in the thinking of people. It is essential when such sad sins come to mind that we remember that the Lord’s pardon is complete, that the atonement of Jesus has dealt with all our sins, and that we have been forgiven.

Connected to this situation can be another problem, which is that a person becomes apprehensive that future sins may deprive him of salvation in the end. It may be a sudden realization or it may be a gradual understanding, but eventually he realises that although he has been pardoned he is still sinful. Powerful temptations may be felt and sometimes they can be so strong that the believer concludes that he will succumb.  As we face the future, it is important to also realise that God’s pardon is permanent, that future falls into sin do not deprive a believer of his state of pardon. This does mean that he can or should take the presence of sin lightly. But when he does fall, he is entitled to take the words of Psalm 51 and apply them to himself as a pardoned believer asking afresh for forgiveness.

What are some consequences of forgiveness?

There are consequences for our standing before God and there are consequences in our own experience. As far as his standing before God is concerned, a pardoned sinner is also a justified saint and a member of the divine family, both being unchangeable as far as God and anyone else is concerned. They are reckoned as righteous before God because they have Christ’s righteousness credited to them and they have been given full membership of the family of God. It is important to remember that those blessings in this life can only belong to pardoned sinners. Moreover they are being sanctified, which basically means that they are being changed gradually by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Jesus and in this life this again only happens to pardoned sinners.

Inwardly, those who have been forgiven can enjoy assurance of salvation and the other experiences connected to it such as peace with God and joy from his fellowship. They can look ahead by faith and anticipate the blessings that will given to them freely in the future. And as they think about the atoning work of Jesus they discover that their consciences no longer accuse them of their guilt before God. Instead by the work of the Holy Spirit they understand that they have been forgiven by the Father because of the work of Jesus on the cross and have now entered into a divine relationship that will never end. They will always be the forgiven.

Forgiveness of sins is one of the blessings promised in the new covenant and we can close our meditation by thinking of its details as recorded in Hebrews 8:10-12: ‘I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’