Many Christians believe that doing some iniquity and asking forgiveness from God will clear the iniquity as if they had never did that. God said that He will forgive the iniquity of those who ask forgiveness but He will not clear that iniquity to leave them unpunished. Receiving forgiveness but not clearing the iniquity means not to remove the curses or the punishment for that iniquity. Is that so? Let’s see.
Israelites Pardoned, yet Punished
Exod 34:6-7 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
After the children of Israel committed idolatry, God spoke the above words. It seems to say that God forgives the iniquity but does not clear guilty implying the guilty and the forgiven sinner aren’t same. However, the guilty was an added text by the translator. Let’s see if the translator is correct by asking God Himself.
Num 14:17-19 “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
When the people rebelled against God, Moses intercedes for them by quoting what God spoke earlier, that He is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Moses wants God to pardon the iniquity of the people. What was God’s response?
Num 14:20 Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;
God promptly pardoned those people. Since God Himself had pardoned the people, no punishment should follow right? Wrong!
Num 14:21 “but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD– because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
God promptly pardoned the people according to the word of Moses, but He made sure they are punished accordingly. Hence, God forgiving sins does not mean you escape from His punishment.
Jer 51:56 … For the LORD is the God of recompense, He will surely repay.
It is important to remember that our LORD is a God of recompense.
David forgiven, yet punished
David killed Uriah and took his wife as his own. God sent Nathan to confront him.
2Sam 12:9-12 ‘Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
Nathan then declares God’s judgement for his sins. God said, He will raise an adversary from his own house who will take his wives and sleep with them before all Israel. For David did in secret with another man’s wife but God will make the adversary do with David’s wife in public. This is a terrible punishment and a curse on David.
2Sam 12:13a So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
David was terrified to hear what Nathan spoke and immediately he repented. Psalms 51 explains his heart of repentance.
2Sam 12:13b And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
Ezek 18:26-28 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
David was righteous but he committed iniquity. According to the law, there is no atonement for David and he must die. Yet, David pleads with God and He hears the prayer of David and forgives him by putting away his sin and confirmed that he shall not die because of that sin.
2Sam 12:14 “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
But then, God said something interesting. God is punishing David by taking the child’s life for the sins which God just put away. Hence, forgiveness from God means it is referring to eternal life or death because of the iniquity, not curses or punishment in this world because of it.
2Sam 16:22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
God even fulfilled all the punishments which he spoke for the sins which He already forgave by making David’s own son taking David’s wives and sleeping with them before all of Israel.
Why God’s forgiveness didn’t stop the Punishment?
Deut 6:16-18 “You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers,
In case of Israelites, God very clearly warned that they must not tempt Him but diligently keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes for them to be well and go into the promised land and possess it. However, they failed at the base of Mount Sinai and God did not take back His Word for He cannot.
2Sam 12:9-12 ‘Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
Lev 26:14-17 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
David despised God and His commandments and God did exactly what was told in the law. David’s own son became his enemy and David fled from him.
New Covenant
Can God punish for our sins which He already forgave?
Matt 18:32-35 “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Jesus taught in one of His parables that God can punish us for the sins which He already forgave if we become unworthy of the forgiveness we received from Him. Hence, it is extremely important that we forgive all who sin against us by bearing fruits of repentance.
Matt 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Jesus also taught us that it is our responsibility to reconcile with the brother if he has something against us even before giving a gift to God.
Luke 19:8-9 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
Only when Zacchaeus cleared up his iniquity with those he sinned against, Jesus said that Salvation had come to his house. Hence, it is our responsibility to make things right and remove iniquity from us. God is not going to hear a prayer of forgiveness when you still have the stolen money with you or the family you sinned against is suffering because of you. However, God is willing to forgive you if you can’t pay your debt. But for the debt you can pay, you must pay.
Matt 18:24-27 “And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
As in the parable of unforgiving servant, the servant must pay the debt with what he had. The servant didn’t come with the expectation of the King being compassionate. Hence, it is our responsibility to settle all our debt with those who we sinned against. If we don’t settle our iniquity even though we can, our sins may be forgiven but God will repay for the iniquity just as He did to Israelites and king David.
What about Christ’s atonement?
Matt 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Ezek 16:63 “that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
Christ came only for the lost sheep of Israel and as an atonement for Israel. Hence, it is wrong to assume Christ came to gentile Christians and died as an atonement for all the world for all the sins. He died to defeat death and now holds the keys to death and Hades (Rev 1:18). Why should He die for any future sins when He already holds the key to death and Hades? He created a new covenant with His own blood with Israel and a light to gentiles (Isa 42:6) and does not exclude gentiles from this new covenant (Matt 8:10-11). If we are found worthy of that covenant by coming to the light and obeying Him (John 3:19-21), we receive salvation (Luke 20:35).
Christ’s sacrifice provides a way for those who are worthy of death according to the law to receive atonement. Hence, those who are cursed to death in the law now have a way through Christ to receive atonement. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross does not remove any curses spoken by God but rather, it provides a way to eternal life through the curse of death. Just because Christ died on the cross does not mean we stopped working, sweating or dying or becoming dust. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t remove any birth pains from ladies either. Hence, it is important to remember that our curses because of our iniquity are not removed by Christ’s death. But when God forgives us from our sins, He clears up the way for eternal life. God’s forgiveness does not remove the curses we brought upon ourselves because of our iniquity. Even at this, we still have hope because, just as Levi was cursed to have no inheritance by Jacob, but when he stood with God, He Himself became their inheritance making the curse on Levi to become the greatest blessing anyone can receive. God can even overturn curses into blessings while fulfilling the curse to it’s very word, just as He did to Levi.
Hence, Christ’s atonement does not remove curses, just as it did not remove any curses from the garden of Eden.
Conclusion
God said that He will forgive the iniquity of those who ask forgiveness but He will not clear that iniquity to leave them unpunished. Just as Zacchaeus, it is our responsibility to settle our iniquity with others for salvation to come to our home. Christ’s atonement does not remove curses, just as it did not remove any curses from the garden of Eden. His sacrifice provides a way of eternal life through the curse of death, not avoid the curse of death.
Well all I can say is thank God for Jesus atonement. C
Thank you so much for this post!
(Colossians 2:14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. (Galatians 3:13 )Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us because cursed is he that hangeth on a tree. Christ died as a curse for us. We have to confuse and repent from that sin and then apply these verses to the appropriate area. Christ’s perfect work on the cross covers every area of our life where we or our bloodline may have sinned. We apply these verses by faith a break those curses. It doesn’t matter what it was. Christ also took the keys of the Kingdom from Satan and gave them back to the church.🙏
Is Christ redeeming gentiles from the curse of law who were never given to begin with? It’s a strawman argument by Paul. ‘cursed is he that hangeth on a tree’ – is a misquote from Paul who doesn’t even know Scriptures properly – nearly every quote of Scripture by Paul is a misquote. The verse actually says, “Deut 21:22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death … “. By following Paul, you are accusing Jesus of sinning deserving death. I suggest you to read the post, Quick Reference for Paul’s Contrary Teachings.
For the many sins we have committed over the many years, are we going to be punished for all of them even if we confessed them and turned from them?
Sin is a broad term that includes iniquity, unrighteousness, unjustice and also sins that does not affect others but against God (e.g., unholiness, unclean thoughts).
Regarding sins that affect others, as Scriptures say in Jer 51:56 … the LORD is the God of recompense who will surely repay. But this verse and this post deal with iniquity or unrighteousness or injustice which always deals with others. Can a thief steal the money and confess to God, turn away from that sin but without restoring what he stole? There is no forgiveness without restitution. If we can’t for some past sins, we can always give the stolen thing or the equivalent value of it to God (that is, the poor and needy in the church).
For sins that involve murder that no one can set things right, God will forgive if we truly confess but it will bring curse just as God did to David.
For sins that does not affect others, as in the parable of the prodigal son, God is always willing that we return back to Him. The father in the parable did not punish the second son when he returned but rejoiced.
Wrong. Of course
God’s forgiveness clears us. The consequences of sin will be something we may have to deal with but now it’ll be done under His mercy and His grace. A perfect example of this is the womN of Luke 8. The consecuence of her sin would’ve been that she die stoned to death. But God’s Forgiveness, His mercy and His amazing grace told her instead to go and sin no more… where are your accusers?, He asked.
2 Timothy 2:15 calls us to rightly divide the Word of Truth.
David must be put to death as per the law for his adultery and murder (Lev 20:10/Num 35:30-31). As mentioned in the post, the LORD had put away the sin of David (2Sam 12:13b) but made sure his own son sleeps with David’s wives before all Israel (2Sam 12:9-12/2Sam 16:22). God was merciful to not kill David but only to punish him with his own son for his deed because the LORD is the God of recompense who will repay.
Btw, Jesus never menioned the word “grace”. Pericope adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) is a well known later insertion. Irrespective of it, the gospels never mention how God recompensed those who suffered because of the woman’s adultery.
You can’t divide the word of truth as Paul was lying to Timothy. It is the word of God that will divide even the soul and the spirit (Heb 4:12).
Please tell me, if I have cheated on my spouse many many years ago and went to a priest for confession thereafter do I still have to tell my husband what I did or am I forgiven by God if I truly seek forgiveness? Do we leave the past in the past or must we tell our spouse what we did. I am now seeking god like I have never before and I pray all the time. This is a hard one that I can’t get answers to in the Bible. Please enlighten me
Jesus expects to repent of adultery as in (Rev 2:21-23). Confessing a past sin of adultery prior to fully following Jesus Christ to his/her spouse can create unnecessary problems in marriage and even end in divorce. While Scripture repeatedly warns to repent to God and turn away from the sin of adultery, it is silent on whether to confess it to their spouse or not. As Jesus said in Matt 19:6 “…what God has joined together, let not man separate.”. Let the act of confessing a past sin not separate what God joined together.
P.S. Why does anyone had to go to a priest for confession? Only Jesus (and of course God) has the authority to forgive sins (Matt 9:6) and only He is our mediator (Heb 12:24). Only those who has part in first resurrection shall be priests of God (Rev 20:6).
That was the way I was raised in Catholic Church but now that I have started following God more closely and studying the bible, I now know that God alone can forgive us our sins. That is why he died on the cross for us. What I did was 32 years ago and back then, I was acting as I was taught by my catholic faith and went to see a priest for full confession face to face. I was desperate for forgiveness. I don’t want to break my husbands heart, I just can’t and that is why I was asking. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me, you are truly a gem. God bless you! I will continue to live as a shell and that Christ is now living inside of me. I believe that he has forgiven me.
All I can Tell you is in the book of James it says” confess your sins one to another so that you may be healed” The fact that it bothers you inside its the holy spirit nudging you to tell your spouse. confession brings healing to both people as the bible says. Satan likes to keep his things in the dark. when you confess you expose the enemy and he wont have any power of that particular sin.
Christ came to fulfill the law, in which no one could keep all of the laws. Sin controlled their mind and heart, no power to repent, no indwelling of the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. We are now sealed with the Holy Spirit, we now have power to say no to the world our flesh and to the devil. When Christ came, died on the cross, raised 3 days later by God the Holy Spirit, we now walk in that resurrection power because we believe Christ and obey Christ.
Christ came to fulfil the law which He had to fulfil as being king of the Jews, and He hasn’t yet fulfilled half of it – e.g, all the fall feasts of the LORD. The law of Moses is for the kingdom of Israel specifically given to them with the promise of their safe dwelling if they follow it. The commandments of Jesus are for the kingdom of God given to us with the promise of eternal life for all people. Why should any gentile keep any law since it never promises anything to them? Was Jesus bluffing when He preached ‘Repent, the kingdom of God has come’, knowing that the people can’t repent since the Holy Spirit wasn’t given yet? Who lied to you that you are sealed with Holy Spirit? The role of the Holy Spirit is clearly mentioned by Jesus but pushing you into narrow gate and dragging you through the difficult path for you enter life is not one of them. Follow Jesus, not Paul. There is no such thing as resurrection power for overcoming sin – Jesus never taught such things. Jesus gave an excellent advise to cut off everything including our own body parts if they cause us to sin so that we can enter life. Don’t blame the Holy Spirit for people’s sins accusing Him of not keeping them from sinning.