[And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity'] (Ex. 34:6, 7).
Scores of centuries ago, the heavenly Father, the King of kings who so loves and pities His children on earth, declared a surprising message which makes us doubt our ears. He granted an amnesty to all the sinners on earth who were doomed to death by transgression, trembling with fear and waiting hopelessly for the day of execution. This message was the best news that had ever been heard by all condemned criminals who were helplessly waiting for the day of execution, living in despair in the bar-less prison of earth. The general amnesty itself was for their lives.
But in spite of the fact that this acquittal has already been declared, which should fill this earth-prison with joyful exclamations and shouts of exultation, it is rather strange and even more surprising to see that no one has even attempted to take off their filthy garments. No one seems to run out of this prison to freely enjoy the already newly endowed life of glory and liberty even though thousands of years have passed now since the amnesty was declared.
Consequently, in the prison of this earth is a perpetuation of the same dark and miserable life amid oppressive silence without any response to the joyful message. What is all this about? What is the reason? The first reason is that most criminals have not heard the message as they themselves claim; and the second reason is that although a few have heard it, they do not understand what it implies. This is why this glorious message of joyful tidings has contributed nothing to anyone in the immense prison of this earth. What a heart-breaking, sorrowful reality it is! Their acquittal has already been declared thousands of years ago and they did not hear it! Even if they heard it, they did not understand it! Oh, what a sad story it is that they have all died in this prison for generations, transferring their prison garments from father to son, and from son to grand son, and from generation to generation! Now, we can fully understand the heart of our heavenly Father who sent the message, [My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge] (Hosea 4:6). Our Father sight, saying, "My children are dying away in this earth-prison without bars because they do not know!"
(1) I Forgive [Iniquity and Transgression and Sin] (Ex. 34:7).
We will now learn what the amnesty (declaration of their acquit¬tal means, and why most of the criminal on earth do not understand it.
[The Lord ... proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin] (Ex. 34:6, 7). This means, I the Lord, the King of the universe proclaim, I am the Lord: I am merciful, gracious and longsuffering who hates to punish. And so I proclaim to all prisoners under heaven, enjoy your freedom, live happily and freely from now on since I have forgiven your [iniquity and transgression and sin] (Ex. 34:7).
Our merciful Father proclaims that He has forgiven our iniquity and transgression and sin. Then what are the nature of these three sins that confine us so miserably? And what makes us enjoy such complete liberty when we are freed from them? Let us now learn, one by one.
(1) Iniquity: This is what sinful David sighed about when he said, [Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity] ( Ps. 51:5), and this is what we are born with from our mother's womb. We are helpless to change our evil inclinations. This is the source of our evil inclinations which have been so strongly rooted in us throughout six thousand years, and we are helpless to be freed from it. It is an evil trait that a sinner can neither overcome nor change, as God says in the Bible, [can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard it spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil] (Jer. 13:23). But the merciful God proclaims that He will change it for us Himself.
(2) Transgression: This is a sin committed, not on purpose, but by a momentary mistake, as a converted soul who longs and strive to live according to the will of God, makes accidental mistakes along the way. As Apostle Paul says,[O wretched man that I am!] [for the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do , that I practice] (Rom. 7:24, 7:19). For instance, it is likened to the guilt of an accidental homicide committed by the mistake of a fine driver.
Our heavenly Father proclaims that He understands all these mistakes and forgives us completely.
(3) Sin: This is the worst evil out of the three, like that which David committed when he killed an innocent man Uriah, under an elaborate plan to take Bathsheba, his wife. But as God forgave the dreadfully sinful David when he returned in heartbreaking repentance, so He also proclaims to us that He has already forgiven all our sins, even the ones we committed intentionally.
[`Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord, `though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool'] (Isa. 1:18).
[I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins] (Isa. 43:25).
[I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you] (Isa. 44:22).
Now, besides the three evils - that which we were born with, that which we commit by mistake during our lifetime, and that which we commit intentionally with no sense of shame, can you search out any other unpardoned evil in you? Brothers and sisters! Your Father in heaven who has begotten and brought you up with such great love, has been exclaiming for scores of centuries now, earnestly again and again, that He has already forgiven all your sins through the blood of Jesus His Son. [I have redeemed you] (Isa. 44:22). He has been shouting, " I have freed you from the chains of death; therefore, live forever happily in freedom and peace."
[Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea] (Micah 7:18, 19).
[Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed] (Isa. 44:23).
[What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us? ... Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? ... For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord] (Rom. 8:31-39).
(2) He Will By No Means Clear the Guilty
Our grateful Father has cast our iniquity and transgression and sin into the depths of the sea. Then what does He mean when He says He "will by no means clear the guilty" but visit the iniquity? Perhaps there is some other kind of evil that cannot be forgiven. If so, what are these unpardonable sins and how many are there? Let us take time to find the answer.
Confucius who was once referred to as the Saint of the East, classified all evils committed by men into three thousand categories. Then how many do you think are numbered by our heavenly Father? How many will there be in the sight of the Almighty God? Let us direct our attention to His voice. [My people have com¬mitted two evils: (1) they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and (2) hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water] (Jer. 2:13). Therefore, in the sight of our real Father who has removed all our iniquity and transgression and sin, there are found only two evils.
First is that we have forsaken and departed from God, the Source of life; and second is that we have striven to live by ourselves apart from God, the Source of life which implies the same as the first. Consequently, in the sight of God there is only one kind of evil, that is to forsake and depart from our heavenly Father who is the source of eternal life.
The Bible refers to this kind of sinner as one whom God "will by no means clear his guilt but surely visit the iniquity." Then is our God one who kills and has vengeance upon those children on earth who depart from Him? I am sad when I see that many people misunderstand here.
Our heavenly Father is the one who so loved His sinful children on earth that He gave up His only Son for us. He came down with His Son to share His agony of Calvary. His Son who died for the sins of the world. Can this be the wicked God who kills and destroys so mercilessly those children who forsake and depart from Him? No, never. On the contrary, He has greater pity and compassion on them than those children who have returned to Him. He always thinks of them, yearning for them with love and tenderness. So the why does the Bible describe the sinner who commits this sin "unpardonable?" This is well illustrated in the parable of the vine. As the branch dries up under the sun when it is separated from the vine, so do earthly children die away exhausted when they forsake and depart from the Father who is the fountain of living water. Jesus prophesied that the soul-branches who depart from God would dry up and be thrown into the fire in the end, saying, [They gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned] (John 15:6). These are whom God represented as guilty, who cannot be forgiven but their iniquity will surely be visited.
Concerning this unpardonable evil, Matthew, one of the disciples, testifies that it is [the blasphemy against the Spirit and it [will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come] (Matt. 12:31, 32). This testimony is true and right. Only in the hands of our Father are the living water of the Holy Spirit and precious blood of Jesus found. And so our heavenly Father is running after His sinful children of Earth holding this living water of the Holy Spirit in one hand and the precious blood of His Son Jesus on the other hand, but these foolish children run away all the more quickly. How can they find a drop of sin-cleansing blood that can wash them clean, or the living water of the Holy Spirit which can quench their thirst, either in this world or in the world to come, if they keep running away from the Father who is the only One possessing the living water and cleansing blood? Wandering around endlessly in the vast desert, they fall exhausted and die, all dried up and parched. Therefore,[the blasphemy against the Spirit ...] that [will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come] (Matt. 12:32), does not mean that our Father of infinite love and mercy does not forgive, but that He cannot forgive.
Before the love of our Father greater and broader than the universe, and before the sea of the precious blood of Jesus our Brother surging with greater majesty that the Pacific Ocean, can there be found any sin too great to be washed? No, not one. If there is any, it is solely because he himself chooses to run away from the tender care of the Father and from the precious blood of Jesus. And so, without pardon he only perishes in his sins. This is the natural consequence of his own deed, as one must reap the harvest of his own sowing. For He [will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity] (Ex. 34:7).
What is the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? (Matt. 12:31, 32)
Since we are on the subject , let us find out more about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit before we close this chapter.
Jesus told us, [It is the Spirit ( the Holy Spirit) who gives life ... the words ( the Bible ) that I speak to you are spirit (the Holy Spirit)] (John 6:63), and [the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart] (Heb. 4:12). This is the Holy Spirit. He also adds, [You are gods ... to whom the word of God came, (and the Scripture cannot be broken)] (John 10:43, 35).
Moses was a man just like us, but he became a god (Ex. 4:16, 7:1) because he received the word that came out of the mouth of God (the Spirit of God).
The Holy Spirit is the Author of the entire 66 books of the Bible. He abides in the Bible and the words of the Bible themselves are the Holy Spirit. Therefore blaspheming against the Spirit means to defy and reject the word of God in the Bible. This is the dreadful sin of [blasphemy against the Spirit] that [will not be forgiven either in this age, or in the age to come] (Matt. 12:31, 32).
We know quite well the reason why King Saul, the greatly favored of God and leader of His people, was forsaken. he perished by a horrible death because of no other sin (Iniquity, transgression or sin) but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, that is, disobedience to the word of God (the Bible).
[But Samuel said to Saul ... `For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel'] (1 Sam. 15:26).
Jesus said, [Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine (the Bible) and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these saying of Mine (the Bible ) and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, and it fell. And great was its fall] (Matt. 7:24-27). [For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things (the words of the Bible), God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book,] [He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches] (Rev. 22:18, 19, 2:7).
The words of the Bible that proceeds from the mouth of God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit are [Spirit and life] - the everlasting life (John 6:63). Jesus also says, [You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life] (John 5:39). [Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God] (Matt. 4:4).
Therefore, the [two evils] that [they have forsaken Me] and hewn themselves Cisterns] (Jer. 2:13) are, to abandon the Bible, or disobey it although they have it. In the Bible abide God the Father, Jesus the Savior, and the Holy Spirit - the living water for perishing souls. In the Bible are found the guarantee of forgiveness, the cleansing blood, the heavenly kingdom, eternal life, the living water, and the fruit of life. All these promises and rewards are granted not to those who listen and obey only one or two phrases or some parts of the Bible, but to those who obey [every word] (Matt. 4:4) of God from both the Old and New Testaments.
Dear brothers and sisters! Your real Father in heaven who has forgiven the tremendous evils of your life - your iniquity, transgression and sin - asks you for only one thing in turn, to obey and follow the Bible; for it is the earnest desire of He who so loves us, to give us eternal life and every reward that is promised in the Bible.
[My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments] (Pro 3:1). [Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar] (Pro. 30:6). [You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it] (Deut. 4:2).
[To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them] (Isa. 8:20).
[Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry] (1 Sam. 15:22, 23).
[My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart] (Pro. 3:1-3).
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