I JOHN It is a comfort to read about the reason for John's penning his first epistle. He says, "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake" (I John 2:12). The term "little children" appears in this verse as well as in the 13th. It is a differ ent Greek word in each case. The first one denotes the whole family of God. It is divided into three stages, fathers, young men, and little children. The last means eith er those who are young in the faith in relation to time, or else who are victims of arrested development. They have been saved but have never grown spiritually. You know into which part of the heavenly family you fit. John wants us to know that ev ery believer is in actual possession of forgiveness. It is a present pos session and a tremendous spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). You are not a Christian at all unless your sins have been forgiv en. If you are in Christ, God's judg ment has already been passed upon your sin. The proclamation of the forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ is the good news of the Gospel. It is not enough that you only believe in the idea of the forgiveness of sins. This will not get you to heaven. You need ac tually to experience forgiveness. Forgiveness is a primary blessing, shining brightest among the stars of God's grace and mercy. Every other spiritual blessing is withheld until first of all the forgiveness of sins has been experienced. The perfect tense used in I John 2:12 speaks of a past completed action having present permanent results. Christ put away sin perma nently and perfectly so that all
who come unto God by Him are for all time forgiven. It is also a personal blessing. Everything the Father does for His Son's name's sake is stamped with the full approval of God's satisfac tion. Christ's is the only name the Father recognizes as the grounds for forgiveness. The sinner is nev er forgiven because God is big- hearted. Any presentation of divine forgiveness which represents God as directly exercising clemency to ward a sinner is a fatal detraction from the meaning of the cross of Christ. The forgiveness of God to ward sinners is a judicial pardon of a debtor in view of the fact that his debt has been fully paid by another, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is precisely a personal matter for the one who is forgiven. John writes, "Your sins are forgiven you." Forgiveness is a priceless bless ing because it is precious. It could not be purchased by wealth, works, nor weeping. When a man has done all that he can do, he is still as far from forgiveness as the east is from the west. Salvation was purchased through Christ's blood (I Peter 1:18-19). Have you ever tried to measure the guilt of one single sin? Multiply the sins of one individual's lifetime by the total population of the human race, and you have such a number of sins, that you could not even calculate them. Thank God, Christ makes a clean sweep of sin. When He for gives, He forgives all of my sin for ever. This is why forgiveness is priceless and so precious (Psalm 85:2). Forgiveness is also a productive blessing. Forgiveness of sins is a perennial fountain of joy. When a
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