The Forgiveness of God
In Him we haveˇKthe forgiveness of sinsˇK ˇXEphesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so
kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely
on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on
which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To
base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only
ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is
through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so
easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the
forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in
simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the
Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to
be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the
atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot
forgiveˇX He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be
forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross.
Godˇ¦s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience
of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression
or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that
awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has
forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it
cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love
of God.
(Taken from Oswald Chambers ˇV ˇ§My Utmost
for His Highestˇ¨ November 20)