The Forgiveness of Sins

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to te riches of his grace(Eph. 1:3-7)

The writer of this passage is the Apostle Paul. The italicized phrase, “the forgiveness of sins”, also appears in two other places in scripture; in the Acts, in Paul’s famous sermon in Antioch (Acts 13:38), recorded by Luke, which marked the beginning of Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles, and in his letter to the Colossians (Col. 1:14). The phrase appears in no other place in Scripture.

Concerning “the forgiveness of sins”, the questions we should ask are: (1) What does this phrase mean, (2) Why does it appear only in these three areas of Scripture, and (3) To whom may it be applied? In answering the first of these three questions, it is imperative that we understand the tense in which the phrase is written, viz., the present perfect tense. According to Madeline Semmelmeyer, “the present perfect tense denotes action that is completed at the time of speaking or writing. It may also indicate action that is continuing into the present.”¹ In other words, this is an action resulting from an act–which occurred almost 2000 years ago—which continues to be operative in the present. That is to say, it is just as effective today as it was at the time that the Apostle spoke it for the first time in Acts 13.

Now, prior to answering the second and third questions from above, allow me to restate that second question: Why do we not see the phrase, the forgiveness of sins, in other areas of the New Testament writings, particularly in those of the four “gospel” accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? If we were to ask this question of those who are generally known as “Christians”, and who ascribe to “orthodox” theology (which would include Roman Catholics and most Protestants) the answer would be that it is found in all the other areas of the NT, by implication. In other words, even though the phrase is not explicitly stated as such, such persons feel that it is certainly implicitly stated by the Lord as recorded in the gospel accounts, and also, as recorded by the other apostles in their respective writings.²

An often-sited example of one of these so-called implicit statements is found in Acts chapter two:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)

This promise being preached by Peter to these Jews in Jerusalem, is it the same promise as that one declared by Paul to the mixed audience of Jews and Gentiles in Acts 13? To answer this, let us compare, in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 2:13, some other Scriptures surrounding these verses, all of which pertain to this doctrine. In Acts 3, Peter again preaches to a crowd of Jews on the steps of the Temple, summing up his sermon with this statement:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:19-21)

Please notice that the Jews (to whom Peter is preaching) are told that their sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…Jesus Christ. 25 years later Peter writes in his first letter to these same people:

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1 Pet 1:7,8,9,13)

Both of these passages clearly indicate that what Peter is offering these folks is not at all the same thing that Paul was offering to his hearers in Acts 13—not by a long shot. Both passages plainly say that the sins of Peter’s listeners will not be blotted out until the Lord (Jesus) returns in his second advent—and this “blotting out” is contingent upon the folks having been faithful to their calling. Indeed, Peter’s followers, upon repenting of the sin of killing the Messiah,³ and upon submitting to the ordinance of water baptism, had to remain faithful to the requirements listed in Acts 2:41-46, which certainly included observing the law of Moses (note that they “continued …daily with one accord in the temple…” v. 46). This list would certainly be in line with the Lord’s requirement for salvation in Matthew 24:13 and Mark 13:13— to endure unto the end.

In contrast to the above requirements, Paul’s statement in Acts 13 asks nothing of his hearers other than simple belief, i.e., all one has to do to possess salvation now, is to believe that what Christ did at Calvary was all sufficient to pay for your sins. There is no requirement to sell-out (Matt. 19:21-27), or to keep the commandments (Matt. 19:17). In fact, Paul explicitly states in verse 39, among many similar statements in his epistles, that keeping the law (i.e. performing “works of righteousness”) can not justify anyone.⁴

The above, then, provides us with the answer to the second and third questions: The reason the phrase “the forgiveness of sins” appears only in Paul’s writings and statements is, simply stated, because that phrase did not apply to those preached to in the four gospels, the first part of the Acts; nor to those to whom the Hebrew epistles (the epistles of Hebrews through Revelation) are written. The message in the four gospels, as well as that in the Hebrew epistles, was not the same message as the one that Paul preached, Paul’s message was to a different group of people, for a different purpose. Paul’s ministry and message, viz., “the gospel of the grace of God”(Acts 20:24), interrupted the twelve’s message, viz., “the gospel of the kingdom“(Matt. 4:23), and Paul’s message is now the message to the world today. This message means exactly what it says: that Christ’s singular act of faith at Calvary paid for all sins, ((2 Cor. 5:19  “….God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them….”)) and therefore God, being satisfied with this (Rom. 3:25), is now extending forgiveness to everyone by the means of grace (Eph. 2:8,9)

So what in the world is the problem with this? Why are folks—particularly Christian folks—so adamantly opposed to it? Two reasons: a. Most Christians today perceive that they themselves are indeed keeping the commandments; and they want this work to count towards their own salvation. b. In the estimation of these Christians, people such as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Ladin, etc., have committed such grievous wrongs that they deserve to burn in hell. Therefore, these Christians do not want the forgiveness of sins to be extended to such grossly immoral persons.⁵ God’s answer to this is plain and blunt: for by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight…for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,⁶ and all that believe are justified from all things.⁷ The “all” in the passage excludes no one, including the three individuals mentioned above.

The statement that God is making to the world today, through the Apostle Paul, is that everyone’s sins have been forgiven (again, the past perfect tense), not just “all that believe.” Paul’s statement in chapter five of his second letter to the Corinthians, substantiates this,

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:19)

Before you jump to conclusions, and accuse me of being a universalist,⁸ allow me to qualify this statement: Everyone’s sins have been forgiven, but this does not mean that everyone is saved from hell, and bound for heaven. The Bible teaches that salvation/justification is imputed only to (upon) those who believe. We can debate all day long whether or not so-and-so is going to hell or heaven,; but the decision, really, is between that individual and God. What is needed is that we first divert our attention from others, and pose questions to ourselves: Am I saved, and bound for heaven? Have I trusted Christ and what he did on my behalf (that he died for my sins), and have I received, by faith, the gift of salvation? Have I ceased from believing that my good works, or my religious affiliation is part of the equation, and have I simply believed on the Lord Jesus Christ⁹ to save me?

Mike Schroeder

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Kings James Bible.¹⁰ Please feel at liberty to re-print this article for free redistribution, or to forward to email contacts.

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