1. “Who can forgive sins except God alone?” (Luke 5:21).
Only God possesses the position and authority to forgive sins because only He has the position and authority to judge. No one other than God possesses this position and authority because man is not the lord of the universe and is sinful. Only God is the Lord of the universe and is sinless; hence, only God can judge and forgive.
2. “The Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24).
Although only God possesses the authority to forgive sins, and although the Lord Jesus was a man, He was God incarnated on the earth. Therefore, He had authority on the earth to forgive sins. He is God, the Lord of the universe, and He is sinless. Hence, as God, He has the authority and position to forgive sins.
1. “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).
God’s forgiveness is based on the shedding of blood. Since God is righteous, He cannot forgive man’s sins carelessly. His righteousness demands that whoever sins must die (Ezek. 18:4). If, according to His righteousness, there is no shedding of blood for a sinner, fulfilling His righteous requirement, God’s righteousness will not permit Him to forgive sins.
2. “My blood...poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
The Lord Jesus, according to God’s righteousness, died and shed His blood on the cross to satisfy God’s righteous requirement, enabling God to forgive our sins justly and legally according to His righteousness.
3. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses” (Eph. 1:7).
The blood of the Lord Jesus, which was shed in His death according to God’s righteousness, satisfied the requirement of God’s righteousness. Therefore, it has become the means by which our sins are forgiven; it is the basis of our forgiveness. Other than the Lord’s blood, nothing, whether it is good works, virtues, zeal, or love, can be the means or the basis for the forgiveness of our sins. In this universe only the Lord’s blood satisfies all the requirements of God’s righteousness upon sinners.
1. “Repentance for forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47; see also Acts 5:31; Isa. 55:6-7).
For a sinner to be forgiven by God, he must repent, that is, change his mind to turn back to God. Formerly, he was turned away from God, and thus he sinned and offended God. If he wants God’s forgiveness, he must turn back to God. He must “forsake his way, and...his thoughts; and...return to Jehovah” (v. 7).
2. “Everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; see also 26:18).
In order for a sinner to receive God’s forgiveness, he must not only repent but also believe. Repentance, on the negative side, means to turn back to God from being away from Him. Believing, on the positive side, means to receive God’s forgiveness. Neither repenting nor believing is the basis upon which God forgives sinners; they are only the means to obtain forgiveness. Repenting and believing are not the result of an effort on the part of a sinner for which he is forgiven by God. The sinner obtains God’s forgiveness only by the blood of the Lord Jesus. Only the Lord’s blood causes God to give the sinner the gift of forgiveness. However, a sinner can receive God’s forgiveness only through repenting and believing.
Although the blood shed by the Lord Jesus on the cross satisfied all God’s righteous requirement upon sinners, and although God can grant sinners the gift of forgiveness because of the Lord’s blood, a sinner cannot obtain God’s forgiveness without repenting and believing. A sinner can receive God’s forgiveness only through repenting and believing. The Lord Jesus’ accomplished work on the cross enables God to forgive sinners and enables sinners to receive God’s forgiveness. A sinner does not need to do anything but repent to God and receive forgiveness from God by faith.