1. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9; see also Psa. 32:5).
The way for sinners to be forgiven of their sins is to believe, and the way for believers to be forgiven of their sins is to confess. Since a believer has believed, he needs only to confess, that is, to confess his sins in order for God to forgive Him. Just as it is impossible for sinners to confess without believing, believers cannot believe without confessing. If a sinner confesses without believing, he will not obtain the peace of forgiveness, and if a believer believes and does not confess, he will not obtain restoration through forgiveness. In order for a sinner to obtain peace through forgiveness, he must believe that God forgives his sins because of the blood of the Lord Jesus. In order for a believer to obtain restoration through forgiveness, he must confess his sins and iniquities to God.
1. “Every sin...will be forgiven” (Matt. 12:31).
Every sin will be forgiven. How sweet is this sound! How wide is this sphere! The sphere of God’s forgiveness is as wide and as large as man’s sins. God’s forgiveness is sufficient for the sins of man. It is sufficient to take care of all of man’s sins. There is not one sin that the Lord Jesus has not redeemed us from on the cross. Therefore, because of the Lord’s redemption, there is not a single sin that God will not forgive. (Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a specific sin and is not likely to be committed today.)
2. “Having forgiven us all our offenses” (Col. 2:13).
God and all that He has are complete. Hence, His forgiveness is also complete. He is never incomplete in His doings. He will never grant us an incomplete forgiveness, a partial forgiveness. He will not forgive some of our sins and leave other sins unforgiven. Once He forgives, He forgives all our sins, all our offenses.
1. “But with You there is forgiveness, / That You would be feared” (Psa. 130:4).
Man thinks that God’s forgiveness will result in man being audacious and loose, not realizing that God’s forgiveness results in His being feared. Our experience tells us that the more we are forgiven by God, the more we fear God; the more we receive God’s forgiveness, the more fear we have toward God. Only those who have never been forgiven by God or tasted His forgiveness are audacious, loose, and free. Once a person tastes God’s forgiving grace, fear is immediately born in him, together with a hatred of sin.
2. “Her sins which are many are forgiven, because she loved much” (Luke 7:47, see also vv. 42-43).
God’s forgiving grace not only causes man to fear Him but even more to love Him. Negatively, fear prevents one from doing what does not please God. Positively, love causes one to do what pleases God. Therefore, God’s forgiveness not only causes people to fear Him and to not sin, but it also causes people to love Him and please Him. The sinful woman recorded in Luke 7, who obtained the Lord’s forgiveness, did not go back to sin but instead showed her love to the Lord with all that she had and all that she was. God’s forgiving grace can deliver man from all the sins that the law with its condemnation cannot deliver man from. The condemnation of Mount Sinai caused man to fear God and stay away from Him; the forgiveness of Golgotha causes man to love God and draw near to Him. The more a person has been forgiven by God, the more he loves God. The sinful woman had much love for the Lord because she obtained much forgiveness from the Lord. The Lord’s forgiveness causes man to love Him.