What Is Forgiveness? Part 3

These are some thoughts before today’s message begins. There are two things that a believer should understand: (1) Declaring the whole counsel of God always provokes a fight. (2) Seeking to practice the whole counsel of God also provokes a fight. The word “provoke” means to anger or stir up. When you preach the whole counsel of God you will anger some church members. Provoking stimulates to action and offers a tremendous challenge.

This is the third part of the series entitled “What Is Forgiveness?” Read I John 1:1-10, 2:1-4, and 3:6-9, remembering that this is written to Christians. God’s provision for the forgiveness of the sins of His chosen ones, subsequent to their regeneration, is important. The chosen sheep are predestined to depravity, regeneration, fellowship, service, and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. In Biblical fellowship, emphasis is placed on Who (the Holy Spirit of grace) and What (the inspired Word of truth) binds the regenerated together rather than the persons who are bound. Furthermore, the Word of God not only gives assurance to the regenerated, but it counteracts the tendency to magnify knowledge at the expense of being practical. Christ was emphatic when He said, “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:17 NASB).

Since Christians only know spiritually what they practice, most “church members” know very little. That is where our problem lies today in America. We have gotten away from great teaching and the teaching of the whole counsel of God. Mainly, we have religious institutions, not Christian institutions. Paul described them in II Timothy 3:7—“…always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (NASB). In America, we are gaining a lot of knowledge but not of Divine truth. The reason is given by Paul in II Timothy 4:3, 4—“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths (muthous, fanciful stories)” (NASB).

There are three unions in Jesus Christ which answer to the operations of the three Persons in the Godhead. They are union of election by the Father, union of representation by the Son of God at Calvary, and union of the Spirit in regeneration. Solomon said, “And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” (Eccl. 4:12 NASB). Scripture teaches there is a threefold union in the Godhead that cannot be broken. Therefore, those chosen by the Father, represented by Christ at Calvary, and regenerated by the Spirit are all the same persons—no more and no less. This threefold union can never change because it is eternal.

The apostle John wrote his first Epistle to assure the chosen ones concerning their knowledge of Christ. There are 69 perfect tense verbs, participles, and infinitives in I John. The perfect tense is something that is completed with continuous results. Twenty-two of the perfect tense verbs are used to express knowledge. A classic example is I John 2:3—“And by this we know (present active indicative of ginosko) that we have come to know (perfect active indicative of ginosko) Him, if we keep His commandments” (NASB). In the first two verses of chapter 2, we have four important things: (1) There are the persons who are addressed— “My little children” (babies in Christ). (2) The purpose of writing was to warn them about sin— “that you may not sin.” (3) The possibility of the little children sinning is understood—“if anyone sins.” (4) The provision was made for the believer’s sinning—“We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world” (NASB). The word translated world (kosmos) is used in the sense of a collection of a particular people into a combined total. The particular people are the elect, the chosen ones.

This passage does not assert that one must be sinless before he is safe, but only that he must not presume that he is safe before the grace of God makes him long to be sinless. All Christians must resolve not to sin, but we must be able to recognize sin when we commit it. The aorist active subjunctive verb, used twice in I John 2:1, means one may commit an act of sin. The subjunctive mood is the mood of possibility. However, committing an act of sin (I John 2:1) does not affect one’s knowledge of salvation (I John 2:3) from sin. God has taken care of it, and He has made provision for His own.

The proof of salvation is not a person’s language but one’s life. It would be better if a preacher could spend his whole life in one church, and those Christians who are saved in that church should hope that they can remain in that church (if it is a true church) their entire life. This way the Christian would learn more because in order to hold the congregation together the preacher would have to study and give the people something. A church that changes preachers every two or three years does not amount to much. Christ said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NASB). Trust and obey are the two legs on which we progress heavenward, the two hands in which we receive Divine blessings, the two ears by which we hear the Divine Word proclaimed, and the two lips with which we effectively declare the truth. True Christianity is always corroborated by a true Christian life. Christ said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31 NASB).

Believers as well as unbelievers have a sin problem. Paul said, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am (eimi ego, present active indicative verb and a personal pronoun—I myself am) foremost of all” (I Tim. 1:15 NASB). Paul was not talking about time because we all sinned in Adam. The apostle was talking about status. A popular television preacher recently said, “The saved person is not a sinner. Such a statement is not in the Bible.” It was not a mistake because he went on to clarify his statement by saying, “Such a statement is not in the Bible.” It would be interesting to know what he would do with Romans 7. The apostle used the adjective protos, meaning foremost or prominent. Do not overlook the fact that Paul was “in Christ” by God’s eternal choice before he was “in Christ” by regeneration. In fact, he spoke of Andronicus and Junias being “in Christ” before him (Rom. 16:7). Election does not find men in Christ, because election is unto salvation. With respect to grace, one is not before another; but the whole body of the elect was chosen together in Christ (Eph. 1:4). Although election is an important part of the Biblical plan of salvation, it is only one part of the saving purpose of God. Therefore, election must not be understood to mean regeneration itself.

The Christian message is one of light. “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5 NASB). This message is not primarily literary, religious, or historical; it is spiritual. John heard this message from the faithful Witness, the Lord Jesus Christ. “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5, 6 NASB).

Christ delivered the message of light to His disciples. Paul said to his child (teknos), Timothy, “And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:2 NASB). The Greek word from which we get the verb “entrust” is paratithemi, which means to entrust or commit to one’s charge. Therefore, it is a tremendous responsibility to entrust the revelation of God’s message to another person. That is why Paul said to Timothy, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. Do not lay hands upon any one too hastily and thus share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin” (I Tim. 5:21, 22 NASB).

“God is light” (I John 1:5) is the theme of John’s message. This is the opposite of man in his natural, fallen state. Paul said to the Ephesian Christians, “For you were formerly darkness [not in darkness, but you were darkness], but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8 NASB). Does the natural man, who is darkness, open the door of his heart to let Jesus Christ, who is Light, enter? In nature, the advancement of light causes the darkness to withdraw. Therefore, the advancement of light is the cause, and the departure of darkness is the effect.

The cross was planned as carefully as creation. Having received physical life as a result of creation, we receive spiritual life as the result of regeneration. No one can better express the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration than the inspired Paul who said, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves” (II Cor. 4:5-7 NASB).

Physically, light represents glory. Intellectually, light represents truth. Morally, light represents holiness. Darkness, which is the absence of light, may be material (Gen. 1:2), natural (Rom. 1:21), mental (Eph. 4:18), prophetical (Joel 2:2), supernatural (Eph. 6:12), eternal (Jude 13), and spiritual (I John 1:5). The statement “God is light” is the theme of John’s message in I John. Light is the nearest approval of anything to immateriality. The sun bears upon its beams a multiform ministry for the sustaining of life. The power put forth each day is beyond compute. God asked, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” (Jer. 23:24 NASB).

The message of light must be declared. It stresses the Christian obligation to tell our discovery to others. In the field of medical science, doctors take an oath which is called “the Hippocratic oath.” Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived from 460 to 360 B.C., was the father of medicine. Any new discovery in the field of medical science is to be announced for the physical good of mankind. This distinguishes the doctor from the quack. Thus, the preacher who withholds anything he knows or learns from God’s people is a quack.

The Christian message has both a warning and an assured assurance. The warning says, “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:5-7 NASB).

“Walking in darkness” is a statement of great debate. Some say I John 1:6 describes professors but not possessors of eternal life. The person who researches this passage of Scripture may be shocked to find the names of many “scholars” who say that “walking in darkness” refers to a state of unregeneracy and blindness. On the other hand, there are others who argue that “walking in darkness” and “walking in the light” must be viewed in the light of their respective contexts. Furthermore, there is a difference between “sin on the conscience” before God (Heb. 10:1-3) and “sin in the flesh” that hinders fellowship (Rom. 7:17). Is the passage in I John 1:5-7 dealing with position or condition?

The sins of Christians can never come into God’s presence because of the sacrifice of Christ. The sins of the world of the elect have been taken away (John 1:29). The chosen ones in Christ can “smile” because God loves them (John 3:16). The other side of this coin should read for the nonelect, “frown” because God hates you. Religionists hate Romans 9:13 because it says, “Just as it is written (perfect passive indicative of grapho, meaning it has been permanently written), JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED” (NASB). Election and reprobation are the two most hated subjects in all of Scripture. Since God elected some for salvation, He passed by those who He did not choose. Therefore, no one can believe one without accepting the other.

Giving grace to the elect (II Tim. 1:9) is apart from merit; therefore, it is a choice of grace (Rom. 11:5). By refusing to give grace to those He passed by or reprobated, God manifested what all deserved. Furthermore, election is the manifestation of sovereignty which demonstrates justice. Both election and reprobation took place before the creation of man. God determined the end from the beginning. “Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure” (Is. 46:10 NASB).

On behalf of the elect, sin is borne by one act that continues to cleanse. The two goats of Leviticus 16 represent one Christ—one goat for death and the other, the results of that death. The sins of Christians can never come into God’s presence because of the sacrifice of Christ, but they surely can cloud the light and sever the fellowship if they are not confessed. God has already judged our sins in the death of Christ as our Substitute and Surety; but in the act of confession, we judge ourselves. If this is not correct, the cleansing of progressive sanctification, which is conditional, becomes a prerequisite to positional cleansing. How can “having fellowship one with another” precede regeneration? The plain truth is that Christ’s one perfect sacrifice for sin is the basis of the continuous process of sanctification.