Forgivenss of Sins

Biblical Meaning: The word Forgive first appears in the Bible in Gen 50:15-17: And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, FORGIVE, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: Question: What did Josephs brethren do? Answer: They did evil / trespass / sin against Joseph. Question: Now that their father was dead, and Joseph was in authority, what did they expect Joseph to do to them? Answer: They expected Joseph to hate them and requite them for their evil actions. Question: What did Josephs brethren ask of Joseph? Answer: FORGIVENESS From above verse Forgiveness = not seeking requital for evil actions. English Etymology: for+give. For = completely + gve = give up which means to comprehensively give up requital; to give up the desire to penalize; to annul the penalty for a crime; to cancel an indebtedness or liability of.See Mor

Forgiveness in Gospels: When Christ taught his disciples how to pray, he warned them: 'But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' Matt 6:15 This conditional forgiveness does not apply to the body of Christ. Today, a believer is forgiven 1) NOT because he forgives others; a believer is asked to forgive others because he is forgiven! 2) Because a beleiver already in christ. Teaching in Pauline Epistle: In his prison epistles, the Apostle Paul, speaking of the forgiveness of sins, has these to say: 'In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace' Ephesians 1:7 'Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.' Colossians 3:13 'And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' Ephesians 4:32 'And you, being dead in your sins , hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses' Colossians 2:13 Each and every time Paul speaks of the forgiveness of sins in the life of a believer, he speaks of it as A DONE THING, in the past tense. He teaches that this forgiveness took effect when the unbeliever was quickened to life, when he believed the gospel.

The substance of Pauls teaching is that God has forgiven us, Christ forgave us, and we have the forgiveness of all trespasses. All trespasses imply all the sins of the believer from his birth to his death all trespasses. A believer in the body of Jesus Christ today is a totally forgiven and justified saint. Forgiveness = No Condemnation: A forgiven person does not cease to be guilty; forgiveness does not mean that the believer is sinless. A forgiven person is not deemed innocent. Its just that, though he is guilty, a forgiven person need not pay for his crime. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The old sinful nature still resides in a believer, until his death. A believer may commit sins by virtue of that nature in his being. But he is a forgiven person. Furthermore, a believer may be chastised of God. That is not the condemnation for sin. The 'second death' is. Forgivnesss in non-Pauline Epistles: 1 John 1:9 was written to those who are awaiting the kingdom. The picture is that of the Old Testament. These saints were redeemed; Christ was their Passover Lamb. They were awaiting the kingdom of God to be restored to Israel, and the New Covenant. During that time, if they committed sins, they received punishment (1 Cor 11, Acts 5). So just as their fathers came to the temple confessing their sins with sin offerings they were to seek forgiveness by confessing their sins. 1 John 1:6-10 presents the blood of Christ as the perpetual and final sin offering. With the setting aside of the kingdom, and the revelation of the New Dispensation to the apostle Paul, God revealed that believers were positioned in the body of Christ and seated in heavenly places, fully forgiven, and fully justified. While THEY were warned to forgive others, in order to receive forgiveness we are instructed to forgive others BECAUSE we are already forgiven. Conclusion: Based on the period and based on the audience, there is a variation in the meaning and responcibility a person have. For those in body of christ, it is enough that we believe that all our sins are forgiven even we comit sin. Where as if we are still guilty of sin what we commited it is better to confess. Between confession and belief, Beleife is more appropriate and enjoyable for us.