Forgiveness
When we first come to
God, we may come just as we are with all our
sins, poor, and blind, and naked, and God
will receive and forgive us. He will not turn
us away; He will not scold us; nor will He be
angry. Our sins may be as scarlet, they may
be red as crimson, but God, enfolding us in
His arms, will cover us with His robe of
righteousness and bring us in triumph to the
feast which He has prepared. We are at peace
with God, with man, and with ourselves. The
former things have passed away, all things
have become new, and profound thankfulness we
sing, It is well, it is well, with my
soul.
However, after we are
converted and are walking softly before God
we suddenly become aware that the evil one
has not left us alone, but has tripped us up,
and we have made a misstep. We did not intend
to sin, we did not transgress deliberately;
but we are sorrowfully aware that we have
fell short of the glory of God. We have
sinned. What are we to do? There is only one
thing to do: Go to God and confess all, and
if we have wronged others or hindered them in
their Christian life, confess this to the
ones concerned; and if restitution is
indicated, attend to this also. If from a
full heart we honestly do our part, God will
forgive. He will abundantly pardon.
However, we should
remember that there are conditions attached
to this pardon, and that forgiveness is
linked to these conditions. They are intended
to help us remember to be careful in our
daily walk and heed Christs admonition,
Go, and sin no more. John 8:11.
These conditions are
the same as those God prescribed for ancient
Israel, and while Christians are not to
observe the ceremonies that Israel had to
follow, the principles are the same. It will
stand us in good stead to receive these
ordinances, for they present to us in visual
form what God wants us to do when we come
short.
When an Israelite
sinned, even though he did not know at the
time that is was sin, when he knoweth
of it, then he shall be guilty. Leviticus
5:4. It was a merciful provision that
he was not counted guilty until hr was made
aware of his sin. However, when he did
discover that he had sinned, then he became
guilty. He was not to pass the matter off
lightly and excuse himself, because he did
not know that it was sin. He had been
guiltless before, but now he was guilty. This
required confession. He was to confess
that he had sinned in that thing. Verse
5.
Confession Not Enough
It will be noted that
God was not satisfied with a general
confession. It must be specific and concern
that thing. Ordinarily it is easy
to confess publicly that we come short in
many things; but to make a specific
confession is hard. To go to Brother James
and confess that you have slandered and
spoken evil of him, takes Christian courage.
To go to a storekeeper and tell him that you
have taken things out of the store and not
paid for them, to ask forgiveness and make
restitution this is real Christianity
and takes much grace. God demanded this of
His people of old, and He has not changed.
To impress upon the
sinner the sinfulness of sin, God required of
Israel not only confession, but also
sacrifice. The sinner was to bring to the
sanctuary an offering of a lamb or other
prescribed animal for a sin offering, confess
his sin, and then slay the lamb. After this,
the priest was to take of the blood
thereof with his finger, and put it upon the
horns of the altar of burnt offering
.
And the priest shall make an atonement for
him, and it shall be forgiven him.
Leviticus 4: 28-31.
It will be noted that
the sinner was to slay the lamb himself,
doubtless to impress upon him the fact that
he was guilty. It must have been a solemn
moment when the priest handed him the
sacrificial knife and commanded him to slay
the lamb. As he plunged the knife into the
innocent victim, he realized as never before
the heinousness of sin and its great cost. He
doubtless resolved never to sin again, which
was the very effect God wanted to produce. He
wanted to make vivid to the sinner that sin
meant death and that the sinner should leave
the temple grounds with the intention to go
and sin no more.
This ritual of the
lamb, the Christian, of course, does not
observe. It pointed forward to the true Lamb
of God, and after Christ came, the ritual
ceased. The Christian has seen the true Lamb
of God; he has seen the nails driven through
the hands; he has seen the spear thrust in
His side; he has heard the bitter cry,
My God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me. He has seen the blood shed for him,
and if these scenes have not produced in him
the same determination as it did in the
Israelite, to go and sin no more, then to
that extent Christ has died in vain. Such a
one may not have done despite to the grace of
God, but he has most certainly grieved the
Holy Spirit.
The ancient Israelite
understood more of the plan of salvation than
we sometimes think. He must certainly have
received a lively sense of the sinfulness of
sin; and he could not have failed to
understand that the Lamb that he slew
signified no less than the Lamb of God of
which the prophets had spoken and which he
had seen illustrated in the Passover lamb.
From the recital of
how sins were forgiven in the old
dispensation, we should have clearly in mind
that forgiveness is not merely a matter of
Gods overlooking our faults, forgiving
and forgetting them. Every sin required blood
atonement; every transgression meant the
death of an innocent victim. God can and does
forgive, but the cost is Calvary.
We are always to
confess our sins to God; but if the
transgression is such that others are
affected or involved, it may be necessary to
make confession to man, and in certain cases
to make restitution. If we have stolen ten
cents or a thousand dollars, it is not enough
to confess that we have done so; we must pay
back that which we have stolen, with
interest. As soon as Zacchaeus was converted,
he said to the Lord, Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the
poor; and if I have taken anything from any
man by false accusation, I restore him
fourfold. Luke 19:8. God does not
require fourfold, but in some cases in the
Old Testament, one fifth was to be added.
Leviticus 5:16. There is no rule in the
New Testament in regard to adding a certain
sum in addition to that which has been
lawfully taken; hence we take it for granted
that this is left to the individual
conscience.
There are some things
that cannot be restored, especially where
there have been slander, criticism, false
witness. Though no real restitution can be
made, they come under the general rule of
confession and restitution. Charity demands
that every effort be made to undo the evil.
Where Others Are Involved
In cases of sexual
misconduct, care should be taken lest
innocent persons be made to suffer because of
confessions made. Where a case involves the
husband or wife, and the sin is not known to
the other mate or to the children, the
procedure calls for great wisdom. While
no hard and fast rule can be given, let all
move cautiously lest harm be done by the
unwise confession. In fact, it is only in
very exceptional cases where confession
should be made to an innocent person, though
we think of circumstances where it may be
necessary. However, often it may be best to
let the matter rest and not bring sorrow and
disaster to innocent parties. We do not feel
free to give this advice in cases not
personally known to us. It is too dangerous.
We know of incalculable harm that has come
from unwise advice.
In a certain church,
a deaconess had for years been a leader in
good works and an example to the flock. Her
reputation was unspotted, and she held in
high esteem. In her youth she had a misstep,
however, of which she deeply repented. The
man was never a church member, and the case
was not known.
Twenty years had gone
by, and then the partner in the transgression
became converted and joined the church where
the deaconess also was a member. He felt it
his duty to confess his past sin, naming the
deaconess as the other party. The pastor
stood aghast. The deaconesss family was
a happy one, and the two daughters were
enrolled in one of our schools. What should
the pastor do? He did not feel that the
matter should be published, and yet he did
not think the good sister should continue her
work. Therefore, at the next election she was
quietly relieved of her office.
This caused
wonderment in the church. She was the best
fitted for the work. Why could she not serve?
At last, the news leaked out, and under the
circumstances, the sister felt it best to
tell her husband. Result, a blasted home, a
bewildered and crushed husband, a disgraced
wife, and the two children called back from
school where it had become impossible for
them to remain. This was the result of
ones persons confessing for
another.
Involving a Third Person
There may be times
when it seems best to consult with some
experienced and godly saint, one who will
lock the confession in his heart and never
divulge to anyone the secret entrusted to
him. However, let the confessor be sure that
he selects the right kind of person. No woman
should confess to a man alone, and no pastor
should permit a woman to confess to him
alone. The pastors study is not a place
for confessions of that kind, since often he
is not in the building alone. What then, is
to be done? If the pastor thinks it not best
to have his wife present, let him select an
old and trusted friend and let the two hear
the case. Even then, it may be best to stop
the confession when it appears that no good
will be gained by hearing it to the end.
One reason for
discouraging confessions on this subject is
that some people like altogether to well to
confess. They seem to think that it gives
them a certain standing. For once, they are
important and intend to make the best of it.
They tell unnecessary details, and the pastor
gets uncomfortable feelings that they might
not be averse to repeating their
transgression. However, let the young
minister beware, and the old also. Hearing
confessions of sexual misconduct is a
dangerous practice. Let none be moved unduly
by the penitential tear or the bid for
sympathy. Danger is near. It is doubtful that
hearing confession should be a large part of
a ministers work. In addition, this
goes for the minister in a church and the
chaplin in a school.
Let no one draw the
conclusion that all confession should be
discouraged or that counsel should not be
sought. However, let each individual think
twice before he bears his soul to a human
being. It is in the confessional that
Catholic clergy get their power over the
people. Let the minister beware lest he be
contaminated by their example.
Memory Verse:
But there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. Psalms 130:4
Questions:
1.
Are we always to confess our sins to God or
man? Explain.
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2. What
is restitution and does the Lord require us
to undo the evil that we caused?
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