- Forgive Sin
Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
This word continues the revelation of God to Moses. He reasserts His nature and character by telling us what it means for us: it means forgiveness. God’s precious promise is that He will forgive iniquity and transgression and sin, or any other term one uses for sin. Mercy is the forgiveness of sins. Because of Christ God has mercy on us and forgives all sins. Forgiveness is vital to life. Forgiveness is necessary for God’s life to live in us. Forgiveness is the entrance to heaven. Forgiveness is prerequisite to eternity with God. God promises to keep mercy and forgive sin.
God forgives all sins for Christ’s sake, but it is even more important that God forgives me, the person. God forgives all past sins, and forgets them, but He also forgives all future sins. That does not give me license, but it does give me assurance. Forgiveness is mercy; it is not justice. Justice demands punishment for wrong, reward for right, blessing for good, curses for evil. Justice was done, accomplished, spent, and finished on Jesus Christ on the cross. Death is the just punishment for all sins, large or small. The death of the Son of God absorbs them all into Himself, so that the Lord God the Father can justly forgive us.
The coin has a flip side: God will by no means clear the guilty. All are sinners; all are guilty; all will die, and deservedly so. But those who have received the forgiveness of sins are no longer guilty. These are those who have heard the Gospel and believed in Jesus Christ. But those who refuse to believe the Gospel remain in their sin and they are guilty. They are not cleared. This will be eternal death, but in the present time before the End the evidence is that the sins of the parents tend to continue to influence the next several generations. Eventually, the influence will wear away, but meanwhile, certain sinful tendencies persist in families.
But we don’t despair, because this kind of generational bondage can be broken by the power of the gospel of forgiveness. The chain is broken when Christ comes in. Forgiveness promises great power to heal.