FORGIVING SINS
God said,
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." II Chron. 7:14
I Thess. 5:21 says,
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
So you must...
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Tim. 2:15
Going to Mark 2:7-12
"7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."
If a person can really forgive another's sins then let him or her prove it by healing that person if needed... Jesus showed that he could forgive sins by manifesting a healing in the person's life whom he was forgiving. Many times healing and forgiveness of sins are tied together in the word of God.
Jesus couldn't do it unless he saw faith in the person.
He continually used the words, "As thou hast believed..." "According to your faith", etc.
God desires all to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth but even Jesus Christ cannot forgive someone's sins and save them unless they repent and turn to him for life...
We cannont remit sins, the sinner must acknowledge his sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask him for forgiveness and the Lord of Glory will forgive.
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3)
cf. I 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."
I Tim. 2:1-4
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
In these scriptures we see that we are to pray for those in authority so we can live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty since God wants all saved.
II Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Again we see that God wants all saved, he is longsuffering towards man and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
So we know that God wants all saved but he cannot forgive them unless they turn to him for life..
A girl who was coming to our church services gave me these verses in Matt. 18:15,21 to how that we can forgive sins. Let's read them in context and find out.
Matt.18:15-22 says,
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
From reading this I see that Jesus mentions trespassing and faults as does James in...
James 5:16,
"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Peter is the one to bring up sinning against another. Jesus dealt with the forgiveness since he already dealt with trepassing and faults right before Peter asked his question.
Let's deal with a few "one verse" teachings and then continue on in reference to us forgiving sins...
ONE VERSE TEACHINGS...
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"
I Cor. 15:29
Are we to baptize for the dead?
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
(Matt. 16:18)
Is the church built on Peter? If you think so then check my teaching to the Roman Catholics on this subject.
"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
(John 6:54)
Are we really to eat the body and drink the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?
and there are many more...
The person showing me that we can forgive the sins of others used this one on me too...
Luke 17:1-4 says,
1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Another one of her verses-
I Cor. 8:12
12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
Here we see that whatever we do to another in the body of Christ, we do to Jesus Christ... We are the body of Christ. Jesus said,
"34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
Matt. 25:34-45
Let's tie this in with what we just read... Remember we are a representation of Jesus Christ... We are not Jesus Christ, but we are the closest thing that the world will see of him on this side of the pearly gates or we should be.
Going to Matt. 10:11-16
"11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
AND...
Mark 6:10-13...
10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
FINALLY...
Acts 13:46-52...
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
If they reject the gospel that we preach then we have the authority to retain their sins and shake the dust off of our feet BUT if they accept the gospel, we have the authority to remit their sins in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ...
Crossing this with...Acts 7:60...
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
AN IMPORTANT COMMENT HERE:
He was moving in the Spirit of God, submitted fully to him, hence he could take what was dealt out to him and forgive even as the Lord Jesus Christ forgave... He remitted their sins towards him and in that manner the Lord remitted them too...
Quoting from a brother using the Vatican Bank...
Scriptural "proof" text: Jn 20:23, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained." If this meant Confession and Absolution, the Holy Spirit was not faithful in teaching the apostles what Jesus said and meant (John 14:26), or they were disobedient to Him. Not once in the Book of Acts did they hear confessions. The context of the verse is sending forth the disciples to preach the Gospel. That is what they were told to do. That is what they did. The ambassador for Christ has absolute power to communicate the true message of the Gospel and to declare, unequivocably, if the message is believed, remission of sins will follow. If it is rejected, sins are retained. This was the message of the apostles, and still is the message of Christians.
((( It seems that some so-called Protestants want to outdo the Roman Catholics in forgiving others' sins...even though neither can do it...)))
Now let's go to the Book of Acts..since the church started there.
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 3:19
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:31
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 10:43-45
(COMMENT: True belief and repentance can't be separated...)
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Acts 13:38,39
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Acts 22:16
How are your sins washed away? By calling on the name of the Lord!
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Acts 26:16-18
IN CLOSING- Peter uses "sin" against him and Jesus was talking about "faults and trespasses"...in Matt. 18:15-22.
When we are moving in the Spirit of God, we are a representation of Jesus Christ on this planet and hence, they sin against us when they sin against him BUT when we are moving in our natural, outer man then they are trespassing or having fault with us...
People go to hell because of their own sins BUT we, who are moving in the Spirit of God can draw them out of darkness to God's light, his life hence, they will go to heaven because of Christ's righteousness through us ministering life to them... That's why God is going to require their blood at our hands...Ezekiel 3:18
So when we are opening their eyes, turning their hearts from darkness to light so that they might receive forgiveness of sins then we are remitting their sins, so to speak, or retaining their sins by not speaking truth that will set them free..Acts 26:16-18
Return to the Christian Directory