I left you hanging yesterday. Sorry about that!
When we talk about forgiveness, we must understand that it is relational between at least 2 persons. God is a personal God – He is a Person. How does He forgive us? Unconditionally? No.
Because of our disobedience and the ugliness of our sins, God forgives us when we…REPENT, but repentance is NOT ENOUGH to receive His forgiveness because He requires a perfect sacrifice which we cannot offer him in ourselves. We only receive His forgiveness when we repent based upon the perfect sacrifice that God Himself provided through the Son, our Lord Jesus!
God in His grace poured out His just wrath upon Christ Jesus on the cross RATHER than upon us who deserve His wrath.
We must REPENT and ask for God’s forgiveness in Christ alone – believing in His sacrifice at Calvary as sufficient. Apart from Christ, we would remain lost. We bring nothing to the table to earn or deserve His forgiveness. All we do, is repent and believe. Then, He grants all who repent and believe FORGIVENESS of sins. Those who fail to repent are eternally lost – that’s why we should be out seeking those who are lost and who desperately need the Gospel and its good news!
It is simply the Gospel – that sinful mankind who repents and trusts in Christ for the forgiveness of God will be forgiven (I John 1:9). Even our repentance is a gift from God (Rom. 2:4).
More on forgiveness to come…
-Mark (understanding God’s great gift of forgiveness a little more though I will always marvel at the depth of His forgiveness and never understand it fully)