Two
different kinds of forgiveness are found in the Scriptures, and if we are going
to be careful students of the Word, we must learn to distinguish them. We will
call them judicial and parental forgiveness (though these names are not used in
the Bible).
To put it very simply, judicial forgiveness is the forgiveness of a judge and
parental forgiveness is the forgiveness of a father. The first term is taken from
the courtroom and the second from the home.
First let us go to the courtroom. God is the Judge and sinful man is the person
on trial. Man is guilty of sinning, and the penalty is eternal death. But the
Lord Jesus appears and announces, "I will pay the penalty which man's sins
deserved; I will die as a Substitute for him!" This is what the Savior did
on the Cross of Calvary. Now the Judge announces to sinful man, "If you will
surrender to my Son as your Lord and Savior, I will forgive you." As soon
as the man puts his faith in the Savior, he receives judicial forgiveness of all
his sins. He will never have to pay the punishment for them in hell, because Christ
has paid it all. The forgiven sinner now enters into a new relationship: God is
no longer his Judge; now He is his Father.
So now we move into the home for an illustration of parental forgiveness. God
is the Father and the believer is the child. In an unguarded moment, the child
commits an act of sin. Then what happens? Does God sentence the child to die for
the sin? Of course not, because God is no longer the Judge, but the Father! What
does happen? Well, fellowship in the family is broken. The happy family spirit
is gone. The child has not lost his salvation, but he has lost the joy of his
salvation. Soon he may experience the discipline of his Father, designed to bring
him back into fellowship. As soon as the child confesses his sin, he receives
parental forgiveness.
Judicial forgiveness takes place once-for-all at the time of conversion; parental
forgiveness takes place every time a believer confesses and forsakes his sin.
This is what Jesus taught in John 13:8-10: we need the bath of regeneration only
once to deliver us from the penalty of sins, but we need many cleansings throughout
our Christian lives to give us parental forgiveness.
The difference between the two types of forgiveness may be summarized graphically
as follows:
| |
Judicial Forgiveness |
Parental Forgiveness |
| The Person's Status |
Sinner (Romans 3:23) |
Child (1 John 3:2) |
| Relationship of God |
Judge (Psalms 96:13) |
Father (Galatians 4:6) |
| Result of sin |
Eternal Death (Romans 6:23) |
Broken fellowship (1 John 1:6) |
| Role of Christ |
Savior (1 Timothy 1:15) |
High Priest and Advocate (Heb. 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1) |
| The Person's Need |
Salvation (Acts 16:30) |
Joy of salvation (Psalms 51:12) |
| Means of Forgiveness |
Faith (Acts 16:31) |
Confession (1 John 1:9) |
| Kind of Forgiveness |
Judicial (Romans 8:1) |
Parental (Luke 15:21, 22) |
| Consequence Averted |
Hell (John 5:24) |
Chastening ((1 Cor. 11:31, 32)
Loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:15) |
| Positive Result |
New Relationship (John 1:12) |
Renewed Fellowship (Psalms 32:5) |
| Frequency |
Once - one bath of regeneration (John 13:10) |
Many times - many cleansings (John 13:8) |
From now on, when we come to verses that speak about the once-for-all forgiveness
that is granted to us as sinners through the work of Christ, we will know that
the subject is judicial forgiveness. The following illustrate this: In whom we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace. (Eph. 1:7).
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you (Eph. 4:32 RSV).
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath
he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all your trespasses Col. 2:13).
However, there are other passages of Scripture that deal with parental forgiveness:
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses (Matt. 6:14, 15).
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned;
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37). And when ye stand praying, forgive,
if ye have ought against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive
you your trespasses (Mark 11:25).
Notice that in two of these verses God is specificaly mentioned as Father;
it is the Father's forgiveness that is involved. Notice also that our being forgiven
depends on our willigness to forgive others. That is not true of judicial forgiveness;
willingness to forgive others is not a condition of salvation. But it is true
of parental forgiveness; our Father will not forgive us if we don't forgive one
another.
In Matthew 18:23-25 Jesus told the story of a slave who had been forgiven 10,000
talents by the king. But that same slave wouldn't forgive one of his fellow-slaves
100 pence. The king was therefore angry with him and delivered him to the jailers
till he paid all his debt. Jesus concluded the parable by saying "So likewise
shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not
every one his brother their trespasses." Here again it is a matter of the
Father's forgiveness. It is sin to have an unforgiving spirit, and God cannot
forgive us parentally until we confess that sin and forsake it. One of the thrills
of Bible study is to see these basic distinctions and to be able to apply them
in our daily reading. From now on when you come to the subject of forgiveness
in the Word you should be able to say, "Oh, yes, that refers to judicial
forgiveness, or else "that must refer to the Father's forgiveness of His
child." |
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