We can fall into two opposite errors when we think of God’s forgiveness. Many twenty-first century people fall into the first error by taking God’s forgiveness for granted. “Of course God would forgive me” is the thought. God’s holiness, or of the injustice of swept-under-the-rug “forgiveness,” or the necessity of the cross of Christ all mean little.
Many others, however, find forgiveness impossible to believe and fall into the opposite error. Burdened by guilt these people sense that forgiveness cannot come lightly. They feel in their bones that wrongs cannot be swept under the rug. And so they struggle with believing it’s possible for the holy God to fully and finally forgive.
This is why we consistently need to be reminded of the gospel when we think about what it means that God forgives. Specifically, we must look to Jesus’s cross which both calms and challenges each faulty presupposition. Can God fully forgive? Absolutely. But this is no light thing; it happens at a great cost.
We see at Calvary that sin isn’t something to be ignored. It’s serious, has real consequences, and cannot be brushed aside—crushing the “of course” response to God’s forgiveness. But we also see on that tree that there is forgiveness. Sin isn’t greater than God. God can rightly and fully forgive. And through the cross he has.
Sin is serious, but so is forgiveness.
Tim Keller, in his book Prayer, elaborates on this idea. He explains how God has revealed “the freeness of forgiveness and its astounding cost.” The freeness of forgiveness is found in that “no sin can now bring us into condemnation, because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.” But the cost of forgiveness is manifest as well on the cross: “Sin is so serious and grievous to God that Jesus had to die.”
Keller then shows the spiritual deadliness of not keeping these two truths in tension. He writes,
“We must recognize both of these aspects of God’s grace or we will lapse into one or the other two fatal errors. Either we will think forgiveness is easy for God to give, or we will doubt the reality and thoroughness of our pardon.
“Both mistakes are spiritually deadly. To lose our grip on the costliness of forgiveness will result in a superficial, perfunctory confession that does not lead to any real change of heart. There will be no life-change. To lose our grip on the freeness of forgiveness, however, will lead to continued guilt, shame, and self-loathing.” (Tim Keller, Prayer, 207-208)
Sin and forgiveness are equally real and serious. If we tend toward trifling confessions, we should reconsider how the righteous Judge forgiving us is no small thing. The precious Son of God was crucified to purchase our forgiveness. There’s nothing trivial about our forgiveness.
Yet on the other hand, if we tend to believe God can’t really blot out our transgressions, or that we must do something additional (feel a certain way, pray a certain amount, go to church, do enough good deeds) to be fully forgiven, we should reconsider how the righteous Judge judged Christ in our place. Who are we to say that his judgment on the cross wasn’t enough? That we must add to it to pay more for our sins? Who are we to try to improve upon the forgiveness that he, the Righteous Judge, offers?
We all struggle with balancing these truths about our sins and God’s forgiveness. The question we should ask is: Into what error do I tend to fall? Do I struggle with taking God’s forgiveness for granted? Or do I struggle with believing that God has fully forgiven me in Christ? For each a verse may help.
- If you struggle with taking sin seriously (and tend to take forgiveness for granted), consider Psalm 130:4: “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” Forgiveness doesn’t lead to a shallow view of sin or of God—an “of course he’d forgive me.” It is meant to make us stand in fearful awe that “he forgives me.” It should make us marvel more at the cross of Christ.
- If you struggle with taking God’s forgiveness seriously (and tend to believe God can’t fully forgive), consider 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.” Because of what Christ did—taking the condemnation for the sins of those who trust in him—it is just of God to forgive. In fact, it would be unjust of him to not forgive those whom Christ died for. Christ was condemned for sin; God, the righteous Judge, cannot rightly re-judge those forgiven sins.
Let us therefore wholeheartedly believe both truths about God’s forgiveness. First, sin is serious and cannot be taken lightly. But also, forgiveness is equally serious and available through Christ’s death and resurrection. We are sinners, deeply and tragically, but God in Christ forgives, equally deeply and gloriously. When we embrace both these graces, we’ll live in the thankful freedom we were meant to thrive in as sinful-yet-forgiven children of God.
