The Forgiveness of God

Last night I was reading in my daily devotional, (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers) and November 19-21 really struck me. I was going to try and paraphrase it here, but I'm afraid I won't do it justice, so I'll type the 20th verbatim and fill in thoughts from the others. Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is uncounscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enourmous cost to God that made all of this ours.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost of God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive--He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God's forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.

Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held in a vice, constrained by the love of God.The love of God means Calvary--Nothing less. The only basis for which God can forgive is the Cross of Christ.

Do you ever forget the price? Do you ever let the thought that you "deserve" it creep into your mind? Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the Word of God and makes the Cross unnecessary. God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of the death of Christ is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the mercy of God. Jesus hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.