FORGIVENESS

THE hopelessness of sinful man outside of God’s plan for his redemption is declared in the words
of the psalmist: “If Thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand?” Psalm 130:1 But the
ground for hope in the Lord is stated in the next verse: “There is forgiveness with Thee.”
This basic fact in Christian belief was taught by the typical service of the earthly sanctuary: “If a
soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord,” “he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram
without blemish out of the flock, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an
atonement for him before the Lord, and it shall be for ‘Yen him for anything of all that he hath done in
trespassing therein.” Leviticus 6: 2, 6, 7.
This forgiveness is of God, and is in definite relationship to the promises of the unchangeable
covenant. “0 Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because
we have sinned against Thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have
rebelled against Him.” Daniel 9:8, 9.
Even the most vile, and those most hopelessly discouraged by their sins, need not despair, for
God’s forgiveness covers all our iniquity. “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who
forgives all your iniquities; who healed all thy diseases!” Psalm 103:2, 3.
It was misunderstanding of this great truth that ruined Cain. “The Lord said unto Cain, Where is
Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What has thou done?
the voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto Me from, the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth,
which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tills the ground, it
shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shall thou be in the earth. And
Cain said unto the Lord, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven.” Genesis 4:9-13, margin.
Misconception of God’s attitude toward the sinner wrung from Cain those despairing words,
“Behold, Thou has driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid.” It
was with this burden of unbelief and misunderstanding on his heart that he “went out from the presence of
the Lord.” This attitude of persistent unbelief -never permitted the revelation of God’s mercy in the
forgiveness of sins to lead Cain from the darkness of his own sinful course to the light and love and
plenteous redemption of his Lord who delighted in mercy.
The fact of forgiveness as taught in the Bible has to do with a need as wide as the race, for “all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God!” Romans 3:23.
Men, according to the Scriptures, are divided into two classes: Those who are dead, distant, and
alien, and those who have been made alive, brought near, and given the place of sons. Those of the first
class are said to be without hope, while those of the second are said to have been begotten unto a lively
hope. Between these two conditions of life the forgiveness of God has wrought, working upon the one class
The Atoning Work Of Christ
51
and making possible the other. “You, being dead in your sins, . . . has He quickened together with Him,
having forgiven you all trespasses.” Colossians 2:13.
The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Colossians, clearly says that the basis of this forgiveness is
the blood of the atonement, for in Christ “we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of
sins.” Colossians 1:14.
But it should be understood that the sins that are forgiven ate the sins of the persons who repent of
their wrong doing and confess their guilt in their transgressions. To this, both the Old and the New
Testament, in many passages, bear witness. Observe the following:
“I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my
transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgave the iniquity of my sin!” Psalm 32:5.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness!” 1 John 1:9.
It should also be understood that conversion precedes forgiveness. It is not enough merely to have
sorrow for sin, and to cry to the Lord for its removal. We must come in confession with sincere purpose to
turn away from sin, and to live apart from it, turning to God in all things.
“When Thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against
Thee, and shall turn again to Thee, and confess Thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto Thee in
this house. Then hear Thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy people Israel, and bring them again unto
the land which Thou gave unto their fathers!” 1 Kings 8:33, 34.
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith
that is in Me!” Acts 26:18.
Forgiveness is not holiness. Our guilt is the obstacle that stands in the way of a life of progressive
holiness for us. Forgiveness provides a way whereby our guilt is canceled. But the remission of our sins is
not to be confused with the actual bestowal of righteousness. Forgiveness is precedent to the bringing in of
righteousness. “Then did I own my sin to Thee, uncovering my iniquity; and as I vowed I would confess,
Thou did remit my sinful guilt!” Psalm 32:5, Moffatt’s translation.
The cleansing from all unrighteousness accompanies the forgiveness of our sins. That this
cleansing is by the blood of Jesus we learn from the words of the apostle John: “If we walk in the light, as
He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
from all sin!” 1 John 1:7.
Cleansing us from all sin by the blood of the, atonement is as surely an act of atonement as is the
shedding of the blood by which the cleansing is accomplished. Since it accompanies, the act of forgiveness,
it is clearly a work that is performed by the risen Savior as priest in the sanctuary above. Observe this in the
preaching of the apostles: “Him bath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to
give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31.
But we proceed a step further, to find in the teachings of Paul that forgiveness precedes
justification. Proclaiming Christ to the people at Antioch, he said: “He, whom God raised again, saw no
corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not
be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:37-39.
By this it is evident that justification follows belief in God’s willingness to forgive, that belief of
God’s forgiveness follows the preaching of that particular truth, and that this preaching is through Jesus
Christ, who, though slain, saw no corruption, and was raised again from the dead.
Now if the preaching of the doctrine of forgiveness is through the crucified and risen Christ, and
belief of this doctrine brings justification, then the priestly service which obtains for us that justification, is
rendered after we believe. Since this work of justifying us is an important part of the atoning work of
Christ, then it is quite evident that the work of atonement was not completed at the cross. The Scriptures
plainly state that Christ there “was delivered for our offenses,” but “was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 4:25.
In the type it is clear that forgiveness was obtained for the penitent through the blood of the
sacrifice by an act of the priest. “If a soul sin he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord. And the
priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.” Leviticus 6: 2, 6, 7.
Because forgiveness is a gift obtained for us by the Savior exalted in heaven, the obtaining of our
forgiveness through His own precious blood is an act of Christ’s priesthood, and as such is in harmony with
the type. Observe in Acts 13:24-38 that the doctrine of forgiveness bases itself in the death and resurrection
The Atoning Work Of Christ
52
of Christ, and that emphasis is given to the resurrection of Christ as a basis for forgiveness. “He, whom
God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this
Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins!” Acts 13:37, 38.
The typical service revealed clearly that there can be no forgiveness until the penalty for sin has
been paid. However, the mere payment of the penalty, while basic to the act of forgiveness, is not
forgiveness. There must he acceptance of the payment by Him who demands it. There must be tendered
with it acknowledgment of the justice of the penalty. There must accompany it evidence of a purpose to
turn away from sin. There must be a seeking of new power to live aright in God’s sight. There must be
acceptance of new principles for that new life.
These were provided in the type by the penitent’s bringing a substitute to sacrifice at the appointed
place, thus acknowledging his need and the justice of the penalty prescribed. By laying his hand upon the
head of the victim, thus expressing his willingness to have his guilt borne by another, and his debt paid by
substitution. By slaying the victim as an offering for his sin, thus expressing his willingness to die in his
substitute, and to accept the life which his victim’s death permitted to continue; thus, also, signifying the
acceptance of a new principle and a new power for that life. These all were provided in the typical service
by the individual sin offerings.
At the making of the continual burnt offering there was no personal acknowledgment of guilt, no
personal tender of this offering as an individual ransom, no presentation of this as a personal substitute, no
laying on of the hands of individual sinners, no personal acceptance of the victim’s life in substitution by
individuals, no personal killing of the sacrifice by the penitent, and. no evidence presented with it that
individuals had purposed to live anew in new power upon new principles. At the making of the sin offering,
all these were in evidence.
The continual burnt offering served to keep before the minds of the people the great fact of
redeeming love, that God had provided a ransom for all. The individual sin offering signified that the
penitent, in approaching God, did so by faith in the sacrifice which God had provided, and on the grounds
of that provision, had come to express his acceptance of it, and to yield himself to the demands of a just
God.
In figure the sinner thus died; but inasmuch as his death was by substitution, he had died only to
the law which demanded his death, that is, he had died legally. He, in reality, had continued to live. It is this
fact that makes it necessary for man, the penalty for whose guilt has already been paid by the death of his
substitute, to obtain forgiveness through a ministry of the blood of the sacrifice, by the priest.
In reality he must receive pardon for that for which he has died in figure, and, thank God, he can
do this through the ministry of the blood of Christ. Being pardoned, he is justified, and thus given a
changed standing before God. He must have sin’s power in him broken. He must have a changed purpose,
and a new power to keep him. From being under the dominion of sin, he must be given ruler ship in Christ.
Now all this, after the price had been paid on the cross, is, in the antitype, made possible by the
cross, but through the blood of the cross is made real by the priestly ministry of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary.
As the typical priest took the blood and with it made atonement, and thus brought forgiveness to
the penitent, so our antitypical Priest with His own blood makes atonement for the penitent in the heavenly
sanctuary and obtains forgiveness for him. Then it is that our antitypical Priest, through His own blood
ministered in the heavenly sanctuary, presents the merits of the life He gave for the penitent, and secures
his justification. This latter, as we have already seen by Paul’s teaching in the book of Acts, is made
possible by the belief of the penitent in the doctrine of forgiveness. Thus justification is dependent upon
forgiveness, and follows it in the penitent’s experience.
It is to be observed that this justification is very full and all embracing: “By Him all that believe
are justified from all things.” Acts 13:39.
It is evident, then, that since this justification is dependent upon the faith of the penitent in God’s
forgiveness of him, the justification which is thus made possible by that faith embraces all that has been
forgiven and no more. That being so, and since the penitent is justified from all things, we therefore
conclude, that he has been freely and fully forgiven all the sins.
In the type, however, forgiveness followed the killing of the sacrifice and the offering of its blood
on the altar. There is no indication that forgiveness was obtained by other means. It is so in the antitype.
Forgiveness can come only after we have paid the penalty by dying in our Substitute, and the price of our
ransom from sin’s guilt has been accepted in discharge of our debt. In other words, forgiveness comes
when in confession of our faults we hold nothing of the price back, but yield ourselves wholly to God. As
The Atoning Work Of Christ
53
surely as no partial confession of our sins can be acceptable to God, so surely can there be no partial
forgiveness of sins extended by God.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. But it cleanses us from sins that have been
forgiven. The cleansing of all unrighteousness is the immediate result of being forgiven. Since the
cleansing can be no more complete than the forgiveness, the forgiveness must be complete. In other words,
when the heart is cleansed, the Lord does not cast out six devils and leave one. Neither does He partly cast
out the whole seven and at the same time leave them partly in. Rather does He leave the whole heart swept
and garnished and ready for full occupancy by the Holy Spirit, and the sending of the Holy Spirit is an act
of Christ’s priestly ministry. “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will
not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” John 16:7.
The coming of the Spirit, then, is possible only through Christ’s priestly ministry. Righteousness is
obtainable only through Christ’s priestly ministry. Forgiveness is a gift of the exalted Savior. None of these
is obtainable by the transaction at the cross in itself, yet not one of them is obtainable but by the blood of
the cross ministered in the heavenly sanctuary.
This truth in no way militates against the fact that throughout the centuries that elapsed before the
death of Christ, men did obtain forgiveness of sin and were accepted by God. This, however, was done by
virtue of a sacrifice yet to be offered, and a priestly ministry yet to be begun. Jesus is referred to in the
Scriptures as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world!” His death was anticipated in God’s
purpose to save man, and He was counted as having already been slain from the moment that His death was
pledged as necessary to meet man’s need. This, though, does not change the fact that in the course of the
development of God’s purpose to save us by Christ, it was of necessity that an hour should arrive when that
which was only of promise would become a reality. The time would come when the slaying of the Lamb
would no longer be prospective, but actual. Until that time came, these things that at yet were not, were
counted in God’s purpose as though they were.
During all the years that intervened between man’s fall and Christ’s death, prayers were offered,
confession of sin was made, and forgiveness was implored. Without question these prayers were heard,
these confessions were received, and pardon was bestowed. This, however, was all done through faith in,
and by virtue of, that which, in the fullness of time, was yet to be actually done in man’s behalf.
In a most positive way the Scriptures declare that it is the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all
sin. 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5. With equal clearness of statement they set forth the truth that it is through
the blood of the Savior that we have redemption. Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18, 19. In no less positive terms
the Scriptures also declare the truth that without the resurrection of Christ, faith in the blood of the sacrifice
is vain, and we would yet be in our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17.
So, then, faith before the cross and faith since the cross have the same resting place, namely, the
substitution death and the priestly life of the Savior, the one as much as the other. The word of God makes
it abundantly clear that neither Christ’s death for man nor His atoning ministry preceded His taking our
flesh and becoming man. He became a priest after He sprang out of the tribe of Judah. Hebrews 7:14. His
priestly ministry did not begin before He was made a priest, but in the same way that provision was made
whereby men could obtain forgiveness of sin and acceptance with God through faith in the merits of the
blood that was not yet shed, so they obtained forgiveness and acceptance by virtue of a priestly ministry of
that blood which had not yet been instituted in fact.
In the Savior’s teaching He used a parable by which He set forth a very important phase of this
question of forgiveness. This we now should note.
A certain king, taking account of his servants, found one who owed him ten thousand talents, but
had not the means to pay the debt. According to the law, the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and
all that he had, be sold, and that payment be made from the proceeds. At this the servant fell down at the
king’s feet, and besought him, saying, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” Then the
king, moved with compassion, had him loosed, and forgave him the debt.
“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred
pence: and he laid bands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owed. And his fellow
servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And
he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants
saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord after he had called him, said unto him thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that
debt, because thou desired me: should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I
had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that
The Atoning Work Of Christ
54
was due unto him. So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive
not every one his brother their trespasses.” Matthew 18:23-35.
The forgiveness of God, represented by that of the king in this parable, is the basis in us for a
compassionate attitude toward our fellow men.
“We ourselves owe everything to God’s free grace. Grace in the covenant ordained our adoption.
Grace in the Savior effected our redemption, our regeneration, and our exaltation to heirs hip with Christ.
Let this grace be revealed to others.” - “Christ’s Object Lessons,” p. 250.
If we forgive not men their trespasses, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us our trespasses.
“Nothing can justify an unforgiving spirit.” We are forgiven by God, not because we are worthy, but
because, without merit in us, He so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us. We do not
make ourselves worthy of His forgiveness by forgiving our brethren, and we are not forgiven because we
forgive. A forgiving spirit in us makes it possible for God to give us His pardon. An unforgiving spirit
keeps us in a condition of disobedience, and reveals that we are unwilling to receive the love of God into
our hearts. This is nothing less than rejection of God’s pardoning love. The blessing of forgiveness cannot
come to such, f or by their own attitude they have alienated themselves from the pardon of God. The simple
fact is that if we would be forgiven, we must be forgiving. “If you forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14, 15.
In the round of ministry in the earthly sanctuary, a sin offering was presented for all the people.
“And unto the children of Israel thou shall speak, saying, Take you a kid of the goats for a sin offering.”
“And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and
slew it, and offered it for sin.” Leviticus 9:3, 15.
The blood of the sin offerings for the people was borne into the sanctuary by the priest, some of it
was sprinkled before the veil, and placed on the altar of incense in the holy place, then the rest of it was
poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
“The priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord,
even before the veil. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the
Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar
of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation!” Leviticus 4:17, 18.
Thus the blood, being the life (Leviticus 17:14), in which the guilt of the people was removed
from them, was the medium through which sin was “transferred in figure to the sanctuary!”
Besides the sin offerings for the whole of the people, were the sin offerings which were brought to
the sanctuary by individual penitents. The individual approached God through the blood of the sacrifice.
His faith took hold of the promise of God renewed in the general offerings of the daily ministration, that
through the merits of the substitution Sacrifice which God would provide, all sin would be purged from
him. His own individual sin offering indicated that he was willing to accept that Sacrifice as his own to take
away his sins, and purge his guilt, and to pay his penalty by dying his death.
Sometimes the blood of the sin offering was not taken into the holy place of the sanctuary. Instead
it was placed by the priest upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and poured out at the bottom of the
altar of burnt offering. In such cases, its flesh was taken into the holy place, to be eaten there by the priest.
Through the medium of the blood borne into the sanctuary or put upon the altar, the sanctuary and the altar
were defiled by the uncleanness of the people in all their sins. There was thus a blood record of the sins of
the people in the sanctuary. From this defilement the sanctuary was cleansed by the atoning blood once a
year, on the Day of Atonement.
“He shall make an atonement for the holy place, because, of the uncleanness of the children of
Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the
congregation, that remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And he shall go out unto the
altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of
the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood
upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of
Israel!” Leviticus 16:16-19.
Until the sanctuary was thus cleansed, the sins of penitent sinners remained in the sanctuary in the
blood of their sin offerings, and though the penitent had been pardoned, the blood record of his sins
remained until the work of atonement for that year was completed. When the prescribed atonement had
been made on the Day of Atonement, for himself, for the people. for the sanctuary, and for the altar, the
high priest, in his character of mediator, and by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, took the sins upon
The Atoning Work Of Christ
55
himself, and confessed them over the scapegoat for the purpose of their extinction. (See Leviticus 16:6-22.)
With this Scriptural teaching the following statement is in entire agreement:
“On the Day of Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering from the congregation, went
into the most holy place with the blood of this offering, and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, directly over
the law, to make satisfaction for its claims. Then, in his character of mediator, he took the sins upon himself
and bore them from the sanctuary. Placing his hands upon the be-ad of the scapegoat, he confessed over
him all these sing, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the goat. The goat then bore them away,
and they were regarded as forever separated from the people.” – “The Great Controversy,” p. 420