If God were to forgive me of a sin that I committed against another person, on whom does the responsibility for that sin now rest? If a judge is merciful to a thief or a murderer or a rapist, even though they have confessed to the crime, is that justice? If the victim of the crime hears the verdict will he not cry out against it, and will he not be justified in doing so? Does not the judges mercy now place the burden of the forgiven sin upon the Judge himself, even though the judge did not sin and was free to dispense with justice how he saw fit? The Bible says that Jesus became sin for us, perhaps he did this by way of mercy, by forgiving our sins against God and each other, and surely if he had the power to do this, he also must take the responsibility for it lest we look at him and cry out that he is unjust, as many people in fact do quite regularly. So he not only was merciful, but he also took on the responsibility of his mercy, and in doing so not only satisfied justice, but also proved that he truly was God, has the power to forgive sin and over death, and because of this we can surely trust that our sins are indeed forgiven. And it is true that God has not created a man that hasnt sinned, but Christ was not created, he exists eternally with the Father and the Spirit and was begotten as a man. And if there is no created man that is without sin, then we require mercy in order to be freed from it. Each is to die for his own sin, unless of course there is an authority with the power to be merciful and forgive sin, and then each can be spared of this death (which is spiritual death). But authority naturally comes with it responsibility, they go hand in hand, this is the very nature of not only these principles, but of God himself. One cannot use their legitimate authority to dispense mercy without also accepting the responsibility for the consequences of that mercy, or they de-legitimatize their authority. God, of course, embodies this, He is the standard bearer of these principles. Gods authority is legitimate, even in light of his mercy, because Christ took on and bore the responsibility for it. So Christs death is not a sacrifice so as to appease the legalistic and capricious demands of a cruel diety, but it is simply the fulfillment of his act of mercy towards us. Is God going to dispense mercy to us that is somehow lacking? Of course He is not, so in Christ His mercy is fulfilled. COULD God have forgiven our sin without taking on the burden of it? I suppose He could have done whatever he wanted, but doing so would not have healed our relationship with him or with each other, in fact it may have hurt it. Sin breaks relationships, and if one has the power to forgive sin, but does not also take the steps to heal the relationships, then what is the point, the power of sin remains intact unless the relationship is healed.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 14:34:17 +0000
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