Apostolic Horizon International

More than Forgiveness

I was made aware some years ago that my mannerisms, the way I speak or approach others can be intimidating and/or discourteous. Though this is not my conscious intent it does not change the fact that I can produce in others a defensive or retaliatory response, especially from those who do not know me well. This means that I may find myself in a place of enmity from which I need to repent and rectify.

If the result of my ‘inadvertent’ aggression produces a need to apologise and repent then it is a pattern of sin that needs to be overcome. I know that I have forgiveness through Christ (1 John 1:7-9) but I also realised that it is better to not cause offense than rest in forgiveness. So, my prayer does not end with “I am a sinner Lord, please forgive me”, but moves on to a plea for deliverance from the power of sin. A prayer that says, “Holy Spirit, deliver me through the power of the cross from this obnoxious flesh, that I may not cause offense through my sin-nature. Let my human interactions be to the praise of your glory”. If I cause offense let it be the offense of the cross and not the offense of my sinful self.

Justification

The doctrine of justification is an amazing revelation of God in Jesus Christ. To be justified in the opinion of God; to be free from the guilt of sin; to be at peace with God by grace alone produces in my heart an overwhelming desire to burst forth in praise of His majesty.

This must be Apostle Paul’s experience as he wrote letters to various churches, for throughout these letters we see pockets of spontaneous praise burst forth from the pages (cf Rom 11:36ff; Eph 1:6).

In positing the title “beyond forgiveness” I have no intention of diminishing this amazing truth but rather I want to add an often-overlooked dimension. Also, I do not write with the belief that we have fully grasped nor walk in the fullness of the knowledge of the wisdom of God in justification and feel that if it was preached more and understood better and meditated on there would be a greater freedom in the churches to glorify God¹.

The point to which I want to draw attention is the attitude of God’s people to go beyond a heart of repentance and pursue the heart of freedom from the power of sin. The desire of the heart should go beyond the knowledge of forgiveness and seek to be delivered from sin itself. Not to rest on the knowledge that if I sin I can be forgiven but that through forgiveness I can receive power to stop sinning – to no longer be a slave to the whims and passions of the flesh, of the worlds system of thinking, or of the patterns of death. That is, the desire to be sanctified.

Sanctification

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

—Romans 6:22, New International Version

R.T. Kendall (Understanding theology [Volume 1] 1999:168) calls sanctification “the doctrine of gratitude”.

This makes sense to me. If I have fully comprehended the depravity of fallen humanity; the abhorrence of sin to God; the wrath of God towards sin; and the grace of total forgiveness, I cannot help but be overcome with gratitude. This gratitude has no power to justify me or to make me pure it is my disposition towards holiness: A desire to not sin.

Delivered from the Power of Sin

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

—1 John 1:9 (NIV)

The idea of ‘purify’ is described this way, “In virtue of the sacrificial death of Christ, Christians are a new and purified people for God’s possession, able and willing to perform the corresponding works (Tt. 2:14; cf. 1 Jn. 1:7, 9).”² The emphasis I want to make is on the phrase “able and willing”. In the Greek the word purify has a sense of deliverance from the power of sin: A change of desire and a spiritual impartation that empowers us for holy living.

In the Old Testament the forgiveness that is offered through the blood of animals – a type/shadow of the reality that was to be found in the blood of Jesus – was a covering-over of sin, the blood of Jesus in the New Covenant is a removal of sin, making the worshipper perfect (Heb 10:1-4).

The End of the Matter

It is essential that we grow in the knowledge of the Father and the Son, especially understanding our position before God. This understanding should produce in us a gratitude before God that sees us move from living retrospectively, sinning, repenting and seeking forgiveness, to one that seeks the eternal nature of God in purity. A passionate desire to be free from the tyranny of the law – guilt and condemnation of sin; from the tyranny of the flesh – our sinful self-centred (lustful) nature; the tyranny of the world – worldly patterns of thought and values; and the tyranny of death – fear. These tyrannies produce in us every kind of evil – it is the law of sin and death. The law of life in Christ Jesus, which sets us free, is an empowerment to live as the new creation, to go beyond the relief of forgiveness and pursue the joy of Christ-likeness: living free from the power of sin.

My desire is to never neglect the need for confession and repentance and to pursue the Spirit’s empowerment to overcome sin so that holiness reigns in me.

Forgiveness is God’s grace; holiness is God’s design.

Footnotes

¹ “Unless you understand first of all what our position is before God, and what the judgement which he passes on you, you have no foundation on which your salvation can be laid, or on which piety towards God can be reared.” John Calvin, institutes of the Christian religion book third: chapter 11: section 1

² Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.