Who can receive forgiveness?

Is forgiveness something that we can assume will be available to us whenever we ask? No. We must not assume that God puts aside His justice when He has to forgive us. Justice is a part of His character, and He can never be unjust. He is able to forgive us freely only because the demands of His justice for our punishment have been met by our Saviour, Jesus Christ, taking our punishment in our place. So, first of all, we must not assume that anyone can receive forgiveness from God, even if they go to Him through some other way, other than faith in Jesus (Ac.4:12). People who imagine they can be forgiven through religious rituals of any kind or based on their overall goodness are deceived.

Even as disciples of Jesus, we must know that whenever we now go to God for our forgiveness for the sins we fall into, there are at least two conditions to be met. The obvious, first one is that we must own up to our sin, that is, take responsibility for our sin (1Jn.1:9). Merely saying things in words does not help. If we do not acknowledge that we have sinned, there is no meaning in asking for forgiveness. People go into detailed explanations of what happened, how what they did was really not a sin, how someone else caused them to do it, and how they ought to be excused because of their particular situations, frame of mind, bodily weaknesses, etc. But God is waiting for us to admit our guilt and our recognition of the punishment we deserve, so that He can forgive us justly.

The second thing to understand is that if we truly repent of our sins, we will have a strong desire to stop sinning and to live for God. If we know this, we can also see that there is no meaning in going to God and asking for forgiveness for what we have done, if we have no desire to stop doing it. Some people take forgiveness for granted and assume that the next time they sin, it will be available to them. Some are consciously choosing to sin at times, believing that they can ask for forgiveness afterwards.

But God cannot be mocked in this way. He looks not only at what we do but also our thoughts and intentions of our heart (He.4:13). If He sees that we don't fear Him and are trying to mock Him or take advantage to Him, He is really not going to forgive us (Ps.130:3,4).

There is such an over-emphasis nowadays on the love of God, in an attempt to draw people to Him and to comfort them, that many times people do not get to know the fear of God. Actually, if we do not understand the fear of God first and realise where we stand before Him with our sins and what judgment we face, we cannot appreciate the unmerited favour that He is willing to show us. Many people do not see the grace of God towards them at the same time as realising what they really deserve from Him. Therefore, they take grace lightly and assume it will be always available for them. But when we see how holy, righteous, just and impartial God is, then we can understand His grace towards us.