GOF's FORGIVENESS

 

THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD

The Bible teaches that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’, speaking about the necessity of offering of Jesus blood for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

It is also said that this necessity of atonement for sinfulness and imperfection is born from the supreme perfection of the divinity, which cannot be compromised or modified to accept any variant that is not sheer perfection and holiness (1Peter 1:15-16), which necessarily demands payment for sins, as well as reward for virtue.

Considering these two things, the thought arises, that God never really ‘forgave us’, but only judicially absolved us in virtue of the payment received from Jesus on our behalf.

If this is correct, that alters all our conception of God, from being a loving forgiving Father, to be a strict Supreme Judge who is either unable or refuses to forgive anyone, since real forgiveness is giving in exchange of nothing, otherwise it is not ‘forgiveness’, but retribution, away from any loving motivation.

But what we forget to consider, is that even though God is obligated to act in this manner by his own perfect nature, and truly is unable to freely forgive anyone; He alone decided to provide an atonement to attain that absolution.

When sinfulness and its consequent imperfection, entered human life, we became separated from God, and were destined to total destruction. The deal was closed (Genesis 2:17).

God could have destroyed us then, but out of love for us, He decided not to destroyed us, or replace us, but to rescue us.

Without having the necessity of doing it, the God of the Universe, designed the Plan of Salvation. He took human nature, in order to truly represent our unique form of life, and being in total holiness, offered Himself to His own Justice, to provide a way out of his own trap.

The forgiveness of God is not in the immediate mechanism of the atonement, but in the initial conception and implementation of it.

God loved us, and decided to save us, without having to do it.

It was an act of totally undeserving and gratuitous love, born from a desire to forgive humanity.

If God could have forgiven us without the death of Jesus, He would have done it (Matthew 26:39), but it was not possible. Retribution is an eternal, immutable principle existing within the Divine nature. But the desire to implement a rescue from this eternal principle, was totally born from the love of God for us, and his desire to absolve us from all guilt.

The cost was great, and He Himself designed it, and implemented it; when He did not have to.

Omar Flores.