Psalm 32:1-2 (Forgiveness)
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit" (Psalm 32:1-2).
There are infinite aspects of God's character that defy human logic or understanding, of which grace and mercy are among the top concepts that we cannot fully comprehend this side of heaven.
Perhaps the greatest by-product of God's grace and mercy is His willingness to forgive sins. For as the apostle Paul declares, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).
Each concept though has a distinct purpose in God's will and Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary provides incredible differentiation among these three characteristics of God's character that are worth considering:
GRACE - 1. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him. 2. The application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner. 3. A state of reconciliation to God.
MERCY - That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.
FORGIVENESS - 1. The act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty. 2. The pardon or remission of an offense or crime; as the forgiveness of sin or of injuries.
I am continually amazed by the wisdom Noah Webster defines the English language according to a Biblical perspective. Notice the explicit distinctions among these concepts. Grace is unmerited love and favor of God while mercy treats an offender better than he deserves, but forgiveness takes upon its shoulders the weight of the entire sin.
As Webster states, forgiveness is the pardon of an offender by which he is considered and treated as NOT GUILTY. In other words, because God is gracious and merciful toward His children, He forgives them of their sins.
Let us not be all-encompassing in this fact though, lest we assume that every human being in the history of time has been unconditionally forgiven of all their sins and is now sitting in heaven with Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is a promise given to every BELIEVER that accepts the forgiveness of their sins through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
For Jesus set forth a new covenant during His final Passover meal: "And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins'" (Matthew 26:27-28).
Scripture is rich with the promises of forgiveness God proclaims to His people based on their recognition of sin and genuine repentance through the act of humility.
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Jesus does elaborate on the concept of forgiveness further as an act of obedience that we must display toward others in order to receive God's gracious and merciful forgiveness for ourselves, lest we be judged according to the hardness of our hearts.
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).
The true blessing of forgiveness that David declares in Psalm 32 is based upon the promise of God's grace and mercy that flow from His character, or as The Expositor's Bible Commentary plainly states, "The psalmist declares that the forgiveness of sin, of whatever kind—whether against God or man, whether great or small, whether conscientious or inadvertent, or whether by omission or commission—is to be found in God."
God is the ultimate forgiver of sin and every knee will bow to Him on the day of judgment. Therefore, we must apply the truth of Scripture into our lives that declares we are His children, and held to a higher standard than the world.
For no matter the offenses we commit against others or offenses we endure, we must seek unconditionally seek forgiveness and forgive others simply for one reason: Christ forgave us and died for our sins.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Colossians 3:12-13).
I praise God that He not only treats me better than I deserve (mercy) by offering me unmerited favor (grace), but that He goes far beyond any human comprehension of love by sacrificing His one and only Son on my behalf (forgiveness through imputed righteousness) so that I may have the privilege of spending eternity with Him.
Forgiveness is simply divine and it should make us proclaim as David did in Psalm 27:4, "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." Without forgiveness, that picture of heaven will never become a reality.
It must begin with grace and repentance and accepting God's Word as true. For if we do not believe His Word, we cannot begin to comprehend His grace and mercy which produces a willingness within Him to forgive our sins based on the sacrifice He made through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus and the absolute truth of Scripture are inseparable. One cannot exist without the other and more importantly, Scripture declares that He is the manifestation of the Word of God. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
Therefore, let us give thanks for the by-product of God's grace and mercy, the eternal blessing of forgiveness found only in Jesus Christ that covers sins and restores us whole to our Creator and Father in heaven, praising God for all eternity because His Word declares it as ABSOLUTE TRUTH!
