Blessings of Forgiveness

1. WHO only has the right to remit punishment and forgive sin? I, even 1, am He that blots out thy transgressions. Isaiah 43:25. 2. How ready is God to exercise His mercy toward the sinner? The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Exodus 34:6, 7. 3. What did Gods holiness necessarily impose upon His mercy? Without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22. NOTE. The terms are most direct, most explicit. They are not repentance or good works, but the shedding of blood-an atonement without which there is no remission of the punishment of sin.... How direct and abundant the proof of the necessity of the atonement by Jesus Christ. - Thomas Lape, A Manual of the Christian Atonement, pages 33, 34. The ruin wrought by sin in the depravity of human blood could be repaired only through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ. Mark A. Matthews, Gospel Sword Thrusts, page 42. 4. By whom have the conditions of forgiveness been met? Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man [Jesus] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Acts 13:38. 5. How did Jesus make forgiveness possible? In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7. NOTE-It has been said that it is not desirable to lay too much emphasis on the word blood; that it sounds coarse, and the thought expressed by it can be conveyed in a way more in accordance with our modern habit of speaking or thinking. 1 must acknowledge that I do not share in this view. I receive that word as coming, not just from John, but from the Lord Himself. - Andrew Murray, The Power of the Blood of Jesus, page 126. My comrades in Redemption! this life is for you and me. May the blood be all our glory, not only at the Cross with its awful wonders, but also at the Throne. Let us plunge deep, and ever deeper into the living fountain of the blood of the Lamb. Let us open our hearts wider, and ever wider, for its operation. Let us firmly, and ever more firmly, believe in the ceaseless cleansing by which the Great Eternal Priest Himself will apply that blood to us.-Ibid., pages 127, 128. 6. By virtue of the sacrifice of Christ what is God willing to do for those who are convicted of sin? He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Job 33:27,28. 7. How completely is God prepared to remove the guilt of sin? Come now, and let us reason together, said the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18. NOTE. Through the redemptive work of Christ sin is not merely covered. It is destroyed, the soul is emancipated, the individual Christian comes into existence a newborn babe in Christ, freed from the power of sin. Jesus Christ did not die to cover my sins. He died to save me from sin, and through His redemptive, re-creating blood to bring me into existence as an individual unit in Himself.-Mark A. Matthews, Gospel Sword Thrusts, page 44. 8. How far will He remove our transgressions from us? As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12. 9. What does He say concerning the remembrance of sin? 1 will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will 1 remember no more. Hebrews 8:12. 10. How supremely blessed, therefore, is the forgiven sinner? Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:7, 8. See also Psalm 32:1, 2. 11. Believing the promises of God, for what did the psalmist pray? Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness sake, 0 Lord. Psalm 25:7. See also verse 18. 12. How did he testify to the forgiveness of his sins? 1 acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have 1 not hid. 1 said, 1 will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 323. 13. For what does Jesus encourage believers to pray? Forgive us our sins. Luke 11:4.

14. Is there any sin which God will not forgive? Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Matthew 12:31. See also verse 32. 15. What makes this sin unpardonable? When He [the Spirit of God] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. John 16:8. NOTE - If the sinner refuses to be convicted of sin, by rejecting the Spirit s pleading, obviously there can be no pardon; for there is no other messenger of mercy to follow. 16. If we claim forgiveness from God how should we relate ourselves to those who wrong us? Be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32. See also Colossians 3:12, 13. 17. Should there be any limit to our forgiveness of others? Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said unto him, 1 say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21, 22.