Justice, Mercy, Faith And Forgiveness

This is the sixth post from Chapter 4 of Friends With God: Living The Life Of Jesus In Us.

In this previous post from Chapter 4 we examined the symbolism of drinking blood, and what this has to do with God’s requirement for animal sacrifices, and what God expects of us today in being a living sacrifice.

The Foundation Of Forgiveness

In contrast to the profound and simple analogies, spelt out so clearly in the sacrifices and festivals of God, is the confusion and unbiblical lack of logical thinking evident in the doctrine of the penalty for sin. This is explained in much more detail in this earlier post from Chapter 3 of Friends With God.

For example, why should God want payment, particularly payment in the form of “one death equals all other deaths?” before he is willing to grant us forgiveness?

This is a difficult question to answer- for the simple reason that there are no substitutional penalties in the Bible. Indeed, the exact opposite is what we are told:

The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins which he has committed, and keep all My statutes, and do justice and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions that he has done, they shall not be mentioned to him; in his righteousness that he has done he shall live. (Eze 18:19-22)

God does not take pleasure in vengeance or punishment of sinners, he wants them to come to follow him and change so that he can give them eternal life. This is the same process of repentance provided in the New Covenant, and there is simply no requirement for “a penalty for sin to be paid”.

Please take the time to read all of Ezekiel chapter 18, for here God continues to spell out that responsibility for one person’s sin cannot be taken on by anyone else. The simple lesson is that repentance by the sinner is all God ever wants in order for him to be willing to forgive our sin. The same principle is in the New Testament:

Let him know, that he which converts the sinner (the sinner repents) from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:20)

God is willing to forgive us when we turn from our sins and follow Christ. Repentance means that we must change from going the wrong way, which leads to sin and death.

The very first recorded teaching of Christ, John the Baptist and the 12 Apostles was about repentance:

·       And saying, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt 3:2)

·       From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt 4:17)

·       And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15) 

·       And they went out, and preached that men should repent. (Mark 6:12)

Justice, Mercy and Faith Are Intrinsic To The Law

The scripture has no simplistic equation of ‘sin must be revenged’ or ‘retribution must be paid for all wrongs’. Such an approach is unscriptural legalism, as was seen in the teachings of the Pharisees:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, (very minor amounts of money) and have omitted the weightier matters of the law (which are), justice, mercy, and faith: these (more important things which are part of the law) ought you to have done (of first importance), and not to leave the other (minor things) undone. You blind guides, which strain out a gnat (very small and minor things), and swallow a camel (extremely large and obvious things). (Mat 23:23-24)

The important matters of the law, such as justice, mercy and faith, were totally overlooked by the Pharisees. Mercy is associated with repentance, and is a large, integral and important element of the law of God.

Mercy is not added to the law, it’s foundational to it.

The same with Justice. It is simply unjust for sinners, who have repented, to have a penalty put on them- particularly if they were ignorant at the time of their sin. See this post for more discussion on this subject.

Faith also is part of the law. When we have faith in the justice and mercy of God then he will forgive us our sins, but faith without works is dead. (James 2:15-16)

The same lack of mercy, justice and faith is evident today in those who blindly guide people to believe in the idea of an unscriptural penalty for sin that God supposedly wanted Christ to pay.

God’s law has always allowed for forgiveness, mercy and justice upon repentance- without anyone needing to pay any penalty.

Individual responsibility for one’s own sin is at the foundation of the fact that ‘the children do not pay for the sins of the fathers’ or vice-versa. (Eze 18:19-22)

Christ’s “paying a penalty for our sin” is not how the scriptures portray the way of justice, as substitutional payment for sin is simply not part of the Law of God. This idea has been added to the scriptures by those steeped in pagan ideology, it has nothing to do with God or his law of love, which is based on justice, mercy and faith.

Forgive Us Our Sins, As We Forgive Others

God also expects us to forgive others on exactly the same condition of repentance, and mercy:

If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him. (Luke 17:3-5)

We are expected to forgive others on repentance alone, and the scriptures tell us that God will also forgive on repentance alone. Once we have been forgiven, and turned from our sinful way of life, then we need to continue to walk in the way of life, by following the example of Christ.

Repentance is not a one-off event, but a continual process as we learn about God’s word and understand what we need to do to change to reflect the life of Jesus in us. We must not just use words of love, but demonstrate love in our actions. (James 2:15-16) We need to Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. (2Peter 3:17-18) This is a life-long process.

Repentance is not a one off event, but a continual process as we learn about God’s word and understand what we need to do to change to reflect the life of Jesus in us. We must not just use words of love, but demonstrate love in our actions. (James 2:15-16) We need to Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. (2Peter 3:17-18) This is a life-long process.

Forgiveness and mercy toward us by God, is contingent upon, and in direct proportion to, how much we forgive and have mercy for others:

and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. …  For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matt 6:12-15)

When Jesus said in Luke 17:3-5 you shall forgive seven times, he was obviously speaking metaphorically, as seven is often used in scripture as a number for completeness.

Jesus clarified this later when Peter asked: how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven. (Matt 18:21-22)

This hyperbole is to emphasise the need for total forgiveness, not just up to 490 trespasses. Jesus then elaborates with the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, where mercy is the critical factor, and he concludes:

So likewise, shall My heavenly Father do also to you, unless each one of you from your hearts (in sincere mercy) forgives his brother their trespasses. (Matt 18:23-35)

He specifically set the example of total forgiveness based on mercy, as was demonstrated by the Lord in the parable, who is obviously pictured as a type of God the Father. 

We are told to forgive on repentance alone, but, according to “the penalty for sin” doctrine, God can forgive sin only if restitution is made for the sin.

Are we therefore required to be more merciful than God?

Obviously not, as scriptures never tell us that God wants any form of payment from Christ to cover sin. What God wants in order to forgive our sin is repentance, in the living sacrificial form of a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:16-17)

This kind of repentance is exactly the same requirement for us to also forgive others. Nothing else is required in scripture, except to understand, from the bible, the light of the example of Christ to follow once we have turned from our sin.

The requirement for us to forgive others when they repent demonstrates how our love for God is also directed toward them:

And we have this commandment from Him,
that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1John 4:20)

Through our living the way of loving others, we demonstrate the way of life that Jesus lived throughout his life. When we do this then God is our friend, and is willing to forgive us our sin, because we have turned from our way of sin (leading to death) to his way of love (leading to life).