2435.-Forgiving Sin by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Mar 25, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 13.

2435.—Forgiving Sin.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

How can I forgive an offender if he does not ask for forgiveness?

B. B. No. 925.

God holds nothing but forgiveness for the sinner whether he asks for it or not. He forgave the sinner and all sinners when He gave His only-begotten Son before the foundation of the world. Whether man shall receive the benefit and blessing of that or not depends upon whether he is willing to take it by faith. So any one who has been wronged should cherish forgiveness toward the one who has wronged him. We can not truly ask God for forgiveness unless we ourselves are willing to forgive. These are the words of Jesus, "And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us." Luke 11:1-4. Again: "And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." Once more: "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." That is, forgiveness in Christ can not come to the soul that bars it out by unforgiveness toward others. If it be hard for us to do this, let us remember how great are our sins toward God as compared with others' trespasses toward us; and if He is willing to forgive when we have been such great sinners, how willing ought we to be to forgive when the trespasses against us are so small.