Our Faith In The Forgiveness of Sins

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: Isaiah 43; Lord's Day 21
Psalters: 262, 328, 364, 83
  1. Its nature.
    1. Sin is doing what God forbids and it is not doing what God commands (I John 3:4b).
      1. Sin is anything committed against God.
      2. Sin proceeds from a corrupt nature (q. 56), our old man of sin.
      3. Sin is ours because of our relationship to Adam (Rom. 5:12; Ps. 51:5).
    2. True knowledge of sin is knowing that sin must be and will be punished with eternal damnation.
    3. Forgiveness means that God declares that the necessity to be punished is removed.
      1. The sinner is set free from his personal responsibility to bear the punishment.
      2. God will no more remember our sins (cf. Jer. 31:34; with 50:20; Micah 7:19).
      3. Further, God declares me to be righteous and worthy of eternal life.
  2. How is the forgiveness of sins made possible.
    1. Only God can forgive.
    2. The sinner is forgiven only if God?s justice accepts the satisfaction and righteousness provided by another.
    3. The method by which forgiveness is applied is imputation (justification).
    4. The only reason for forgiveness is God?s mercy and grace through justice.
    5. The extent of forgiveness: our acquittal is complete, our salvation is eternally sure; to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25).
  3. The fruit of God?s work of forgiving us.
    1. Everyone of the sins of every believer is forgiven, without exception.
    2. Forgiveness is experienced by faith in the Christ proclaimed by the church in the preaching of the gospel.
    3. Forgiveness is experienced by a forgiving spirit (Matt. 6:14,15; 18:35; Eph. 4:31,32).
      1. God never grants the experience of forgiveness without provoking us to be forgiving (I John 4:20,21 with 2:2,3,8,9).
      2. Receiving God?s forgiving grace we strive to live according to all God?s commandments.