RIGHTLY DIVIDING FORGIVENESS OF SIN, by Joey Faust

by Joe D Faust

RIGHTLY DIVIDING FORGIVENESS OF SIN

Every Christian has the ETERNAL debt of sin paid in full. This is the forgiveness of a LOST SINNER which makes the sinner a SON. But when a SON sins, this sin may no longer merit an eternal penalty. But mystical antinomians and modern, Gnostic psychobabblers refuse to admit that God recognizes SIN in the saint! They refuse to see that the saint is responsible for his or her actions and that there are temporal consequences for evil conduct both here (1 Cor.11) and at the judgment seat (2 Cor.5:9-11).

Some teach that a Christian cannot sin "greatly," and that the "little sins" still in the saint are simply a result of GOD withholding His grace. Therefore, there can be no consequences for sin since these little sins are God's fault. But this is a misuse and abuse of the doctrine of God's sovereignty. Others teach that these little sins are the old man's problem, and that the new man is certainly not responsible for them. But we simply answer that the Christian who failed to "put on" the new man is the one who is responsible (Ephesians 4:23-24)!

Notice the Scriptures that teach that New Testament believers must still seek forgiveness for the sins they commit as SONS:

James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25 But HE THAT DOETH WRONG shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

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.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Luke 11:4 And FORGIVE us our SINS; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us...

"To say that they [believers' sins] are to be recognized as sins, and yet that no acknowledgment is to be made, and no forgiveness sought for them, is a statement so monstrous as to carry its own refutation."
-B.W. Newton (1807-1899)

"It is not the sinner who is in view, but the failing believer. If we will not forgive, we cannot be forgiven (Mark 11:26). This is an unalterable principle in God's government of His family. When a believer has SINNED and seeks restoration, he is forgiven as he forgives. This is not the same thing as the justification of a sinner, which is by faith alone....what we have here is the Father's forgiveness when His own children fail, and if we forgive not our brethren then the Father will not grant us restorative forgiveness."
(H.A. Ironside, "Addresses on Luke")

"The term 'forgive' is used in two senses in the Scripture. There is forgiveness in the sense of God's daily approval and fellowship of people already saved...The term is also used of salvation, in the sense that all our sins were laid on the Lord Jesus...One who has trusted Christ for salvation has his sins already forgiven, AS FAR AS HIS ETERNAL DESTINY IS CONCERNED....Dr. Scofield here, in the older Scofield Bible notes on this passage [Luke 11], is mistaken..." (John Rice, Commentary on Luke)

So many of God's children have become very confused and rebellious in these last days. They don't even ask God for forgiveness as SONS! This is the day of God's long-suffering. Yet, in 1 Corinthians 11, God made some saints sick, and others He killed for not discerning the Lord's Body in the Supper! What then will God do to Christian sinners on the day of judgment when Paul says we can experience the terror of the Lord (2 Cor.5:9-11)? The Holy Spirit provides a remedy, if we will pay attention to it:

1 Corinthians 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For IF WE WOULD JUDGE OURSELVES, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

If we would examine our lives by the Word and confess our failings, and beseech God for mercy, He would not have to judge us. But some despise His chastenings. These unfaithful sons do not confess their sins and ask God for mercy. They boast that they are no longer responsible for sin, in any sense; they use the truths of justification in eternity as a buffer against any doctrine of accountability. Stripes will surely be waiting for them at the Judgment Seat.