The forgiveness of sins
Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism Question 56. What do you believe concerning “the forgiveness of sins”? That, for the sake of Christ’s reconciling work, God will no more remember my sins or the sinfulness with which I have to struggle all my life long; but that he graciously imparts to me the righteousness of Christ so that I may never come into condemnation.
Study Catechism
Study Catechism Question 80. What do you mean when you speak of “the forgiveness of sins”? That because of Jesus Christ, God no longer holds my sins against me. Christ alone is my righteousness and my life; Christ is my only hope. Grace alone, not my merits, is the basis on which God has forgiven me in him. Faith alone, not my works, is the means by which I receive Christ into my heart, and with him the forgiveness that makes me whole. Christ alone, grace alone, and faith alone bring the forgiveness I receive through the gospel.
- 1 Cor. 1:30 “Christ Jesus became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
- 1 Tim. 1:1 “Paul, an apostle by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.”
- Rom. 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”
- Eph. 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
- Rom. 5:15 “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.”
- Rom. 4:16 “For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham.”
- Rom. 3:28 “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”
Study Catechism Question 81. Does forgiveness mean that God condones sin? No. God does not cease to be God. Although God is merciful, God does not condone what God forgives. In the death and resurrection of Christ, God judges what God abhors — everything hostile to love — by abolishing it at the very roots. In this judgment the unexpected occurs: good is brought out of evil, hope out of hopelessness, and life out of death. God spares sinners, and turns them from enemies into friends. The uncompromising judgment of God is revealed in the suffering love of the cross.
- Hab. 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on wrongdoing; why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?”
- Is. 59:15 “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.”
- Heb. 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
- Rom. 5:8-10 “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.”
- 1 Chron. 16:33 “Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.”
Study Catechism Question 82. Does your forgiveness of those who have harmed you depend on their repentance? No. I am to forgive as I have been forgiven. The gospel is the astonishing good news that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Just as God’s forgiveness of me is unconditional, and so precedes my confession of sin and repentance, so my forgiveness of those who have harmed me does not depend on their confessing and repenting of their sin. However, when I forgive the person who has done me harm, giving up any resentment or desire to retaliate, I do not condone the harm that was done or excuse the evil of the sin.
- Col. 3:13 “Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
- Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
- Col. 2:13 “When you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses.”
- Matt. 18:21-22 “Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’”
- Heb. 12:14 “Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”
Study Catechism Question 83. How can you forgive those who have really hurt you? I cannot love my enemies, I cannot pray for those who persecute me, I cannot even be ready to forgive those who have really hurt me, without the grace that comes from above. I cannot be conformed to the image of God’s Son, apart from the power of God’s Word and Spirit. Yet I am promised that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
- Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
- James 1:17 “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
- Rom. 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.”
- Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
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