Psalms 130:3-4 "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."
Over the years I have talked to and corresponded with an awful lot of people who struggled with questions, which in their minds were hard and confusing, about the forgiveness of sins. So I thought it might be beneficial to address some of those questions tonight. The title of my message is QUESTIONS ABOUT FORGIVENESS.
I know that some of you are presently struggling with questions in your own minds about this matter. Satan is such a crafty deceiver that he often uses the Word of God itself to confuse us. He is particularly good at using Scripture texts as stumbling blocks, which he piles in the path of sinners seeking the Lord. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will enable tonight to clear away some of those stumbling blocks.
Divisions: I cannot answer all the questions people have asked me about the forgiveness of sins. It would be futile for me to attempt that. However, I have carefully and prayerfully chosen seven questions which I want to answer in this message.
I. ARE THERE VARYING DEGREES OF SIN, OF GUILT, AND OF PUNISHMENT?
As I will show you in a few moments, the Word of God clearly teaches that there are no varying degrees of innocence, righteousness, or holiness, and no varying degrees of reward for the righteous in heaven. The teaching of decrees of reward in heaven is totally contrary to the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. However, the Scriptures do teach us that there are varying degrees of sin, of guilt, and of eternal punishment.
The papists teach that certain sins are venial (pardonable) in themselves, not deserving the wrath of God and eternal damnation, while other sins are mortal, deserving of God's wrath and eternal damnation. That distinction is purely a matter of papal invention, as are most of the doctrines of Rome. All sin deserves the everlasting wrath of God in hell. There are no exceptions. "The wages of sin is death!"
Yet, the Word of God does tell us, in the plainest terms possible that there are greater and lesser sins. Just as some breaches of the law were weightier than others, so the sins of men and women today are of a greater and lesser degree, depending upon the circumstances. Those who perish without the light of the gospel shall indeed perish forever under the wrath of God, but their punishment will be far less than that of those who go to hell pushing God out of their way. Let's see if that is not the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Romans 2:12 "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;"
Matthew 11:20-24 "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."
Luke 12:47-48 "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
John 19:10-11 "Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin."
In comments about this very question, John Gill wrote, "God forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, which include all sorts of sin; sins of the greatest magnitude, and of the deepest die, are blotted out for Christ's sake. Such as are like crimson and scarlet become through him as white as wool, as white as snow. His blood cleanses from sin; every sin is forgiven, but the sin against the Holy Ghost, Mt 12:31,32."
That brings me to the second question.II. WILL THERE BE ANY FORGIVENESS OF SINS IN THE WORLD TO COME?
Some people reading Matthew 12:31-32 have erroneously concluded that our Lord there suggests that there is another day of grace yet to come in which sins shall be forgiven. Let's go ahead and read that text, because I want to deal with it in a minute anyway. But Matthew 12:31-32 certainly does not teach some future time of forgiveness.
Matthew 12:31-32 "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. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
Our Lord here tells us that this sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven. The text teaches no more and no less than that. This blessed Book does not teach…
Once this gospel age is over, once the day of grace has ended, once you have breathed your last breath on this earth, there is no hope for your soul. If you die without forgiveness, you will spend eternity in hell without so much as a faint, glimmering hope of forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
III. WHY IS THE SIN OF BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST SAID TO BE UNFORGIVABLE?
MATTHEW 12:31-32 "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. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
We know that our Lord is not saying that any sin against the Holy Ghost, or every sin against the Holy Ghost is unpardonable. That cannot be the case, because every sin committed against God is committed against the Holy Ghost, as well as against the Father and the Son. He is God!
The sin here spoken of is something more than a denial of his deity, and of his personality.
It is more than a denial of the necessity of the operations of his grace on the souls of men, in order to their regeneration, conversion, and sanctification.
It is also something more than vexing and grieving the Holy Spirit.
The Israelites certainly vexed and grieved him, as did Lot in Sodom, as did David in the matter of Uriah, as do we all in our acts of sin. But these things are not unpardonable. The fact is a man may break all the Ten Commandments, (and we all have), and not commit this sin against the Holy Ghost.
This is a sin not against the law, but against the gospel. "It lies in the denial of the great and fundamental truth of the gospel, salvation by Jesus Christ, in all its branches; peace and pardon by his blood, atonement by his sacrifice, and justification by his righteousness" (John Gill)
This blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a sin committed after a person has received the knowledge of the truth, under the illuminations, convictions, and demonstrations of the Spirit of God; and yet, through the instigation of Satan, and the wickedness of his own heart, knowingly, and wilfully, and maliciously denies this truth, and obstinately persists denying it. The person who commits this blasphemy never comes to repentance, and therefor he has no forgiveness, here nor hereafter.
This is not, Gill continues "because the Holy Spirit is superior to the other divine Persons; for they are equal: nor through any deficiency in the grace of God, or blood of Christ; but through the nature of the sin, which is diametrically opposite to the way of salvation, pardon, atonement, and justification; for these being denied to be by Christ, there can be no pardon; for another Jesus will never be sent, another Saviour will never be given; there will be no more shedding of blood, no more sacrifice, nor another sacrifice for sin; nor another righteousness wrought out and brought in. And, therefore, there remains nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment and indignation, to come on such persons."
In Hebrews 10:26-29 the Holy Spirit himself shows us that this is the meaning of our Lord's words.
Hebrews 10:26-29 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
IV. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BELIEVER SINS?
This is a question that perplexes many. If I trust Christ now and am forgiven of all my past sins tonight, what will happen when I sin again? Will the Lord turn against me again? Will I lose my salvation? Will I forfeit my interest in Christ and his salvation?
I want you to listen to the Word of God and listen carefully. When a believer sins, much happens in his own heart and experience. He often loses the joyous knowledge of Christ's manifest presence. Our communion with him whom we most love is broken. Our heavenly Father chastens us sore. But our standing before God, our relationship with him, and our acceptance with him is not affected at all. Our acceptance with our God is a matter of grace, not merit. It is in Christ our Substitute, not in ourselves. It does not in any way depend upon us and cannot in any way be altered by us!
Let wicked, self-righteous men do and say whatever they please in response to that, that is the teaching of this blessed Book!
Romans 4:8 "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
Psalms 32:1-2 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
Psalms 89:30-37 "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah."
John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
2 Timothy 2:13 "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."
1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
V. SHOULD WE PRAY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS?
Sometimes, when I am asked that question, I think to myself, "How silly! What could it possibly hurt?" But I know that for some this is a serious question. Certainly, unbelievers ought to confess their sins and seek forgiveness by faith in Christ. However, the thing that you must not do is get the idea that praying for forgiveness and seeking it will be a substitute for believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. The unbeliever is not told to pray for forgiveness, but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
Then the question arises, "If our sins are already forgiven, is it right for us as believers to pray for forgiveness?" Rather than speculating about it, let's simply see what the Book of God says and the saints of God have done.
Luke 11:2-4 "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."
Exodus 34:9 "And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance."
Psalms 25:11 "For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great."
Psalms 32:5-6 "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found."
Daniel 9:19 "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name."
VI. WILL THE SINS OF GOD'S ELECT BE EXPOSED IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT OR IN THE WORLD TO COME?
There are many who claim to believe in salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, who yet hold people in bondage with the threat of some form of future punishment (the loss of rewards) and the promise of rewards for doing good. Such doctrine is contrasry to Scripture and to every doctrine the gospel and dishonors Christ in the most insulting manner.
Revelation 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
A. There is no such thing as partial righteousness or partial holiness.
B. The basis of our acceptance with God in the day of judgment is the person and work of Christ our Substitute.
C. The notion that Christ will expose the sins of his beloved bride on her wedding day is preposterous beyond imagination.D. The purpose of God in election, the purpose of Christ in redemption, and the purpose of the Holy Spirit in sanctification would all fall to the ground if we are found with even one spot of sin in that great and glorious day!
Ephesians 1:3-6 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
Jude 1:24-25 "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen."
Now, give me your attention as I answer one more question from the Book of God about the forgiveness of sins.
VII. How can I obtain the forgiveness of sin?
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
May God the Holy Spirit now grant you grace to confess your sins with the eye of faith cast upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and carry you home with the blessed knowledge of sins forgiven!
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