I think we could all agree that forgiveness is an important teaching found within the Word of God. There is no salvation without the forgiveness of sins. There are three circumstances surrounding forgiveness in Paul’s epistles that we are going to touch on today.
bbi@bereanbibleinstitute.org
1). Christ died for the sins of ALL. Sins have been paid for. But, who can be forgiven? 2 Corinthians 5:19 is an important verse in answering this question. It reads, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” I will focus on the statement “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” This statement does not tell us that everyone has been judicially forgiven, but it does tell us that everyone can be forgiven.
Before Christ’s work on the cross, there was no permanent sacrifice for sin. Animal sacrifices were required to continually be offered for transgressions (Heb. 10:11). A person could commit a sin of ignorance one day and have his sin covered with the proper sacrific ...
