Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness
- Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God. We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway. We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway. As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others. In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
There is a
simple reality about God. We don’t have
to be forgiven. He would be completely
righteous if He judged us because in our free will we chose sin. He would be completely righteous if He were
to let us perish when we so readily choose to abandon His ways.
That’s the
meaning of the iron pan in God’s command for Ezekiel. Clearly this first vision in this chapter is
given with respect to the siege of Jerusalem.
The iron pan shows that there is an impenetrable barrier between the
brick (Jerusalem) and Ezekiel (God’s messenger). In the same way, the real Jerusalem is under siege
because their sinfulness is an impenetrable barrier between them and salvation.
When we
realize this, we come to an understanding of God’s grace. Our sin in our life is no less of an
impenetrable barrier than the people of Jerusalem. Just because we understand that it is wrong
does not make it okay. What makes it
okay is that God has atoned for us in our sinfulness. He has paid the price; He asks us to live
repentantly as a response to what He has already done. That’s grace and forgiveness.
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