How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!

                                                                                                                     Psalm 32:1-2 

The blessing of God runs two ways: we must receive it and we must give it back in return. On both counts, to do so is to live a truly blessed life. This is what all Christians ought to be celebrating and demonstrating in their daily lives. David understood the value of forgiveness. He declares that truly blessed is the person whose transgressions are completely forgiven and never to be counted against them. He proclaims that truly blessed is the person to whom God “does not impute iniquity”, meaning that God will not find fault in his/her sin. David’s testimony is found in the next several statements. When he pretended that he had not sinned and kept silent about it, he suffered physical ramifications, “my body wasted away through my groaning all day long” (v 3). God’s hand was heavy upon him and “his vitality was drained away” (v 4). Then David acted by acknowledging his sin to God (who already knew about it anyway) and he did not hide the sin from God (v 5). What God did from this confession was nothing short of absolute and complete forgiveness, placing David in the category of blessed, as stated at the beginning of the Psalm. God forgave the guilt of David’s sin (v 5). Did you catch that? He forgave him of his sin, certainly, but he also removed that nagging, burden of guilt that accompanied the sin. That led David to proclaim good news that everyone should pray and seek God while He may be found, in other words, while there is still time (v 6).

I’ve mentioned before that Christians should always interpret the Old Testament in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. And that is exactly what Paul does in his letter to the church in Rome. Consider the following:

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works…

                                                                                                                   Romans 4:4-6

Immediately after this passage Paul quotes from Psalm 32. He was taking the truth from Old Testament scripture and applying it to believers living under a new covenant expressed in the gospel. When believers cease their efforts in trying to receive forgiveness and blessing from God through works, and simply, like a child, trusts in what Jesus has already done for them, the blessed life that David refers to becomes a tangible reality. But for those who begin in faith, then slowly work their way back into a life of performance, the blessing of forgiveness and the peace that comes with it begin to fade into feelings of guilt, shame, and despair. But for the one “who does not work” for his salvation, but believes, his faith is credited to him as righteousness. This is where Paul brings in the truth that the true blessing of God comes to those whom God credits righteousness apart from works. I have lived on both sides of this theological equation (which in reality is no equation) and I can tell you that my most difficult times as a believer didn’t come when I failed. My biggest struggles come when I allow the enemy to convince me that those failures somehow keep me from God’s forgiveness and blessing. My righteousness is not my own and neither is yours. If you are a born again believer in Jesus, there is no condemnation for you, ever (Romans 8:1). It doesn’t matter how much you have failed or how far you think you have departed from God’s will for your life, the blessing of God and His complete forgiveness are yours simply by admitting your need and asking him for them. If we could adjust our thinking to understand that God’s blessings come by faith and that God’s righteousness and His forgiveness are applied completely apart from works, I believe we would see a church, full of spiritual vitality, ready to joyfully proclaim the good news.

But the blessing of forgiveness is not just about receiving it from God. It is also about releasing others around you from their guilt and offenses toward you. This is not a suggestion on the part of Jesus, it is taught as an imperative. Consider the following:

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

                                                                                                            Matthew 6:14-15

God is love (1 John 4:8). I believe we need to hear that more often. God is ready to forgive. Jesus has already become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). But Christians often live in spiritual poverty even though the riches of the kingdom are theirs to enjoy (Romans 10:12). I believe this spiritual poverty often leads to an inability to forgive others. Right after teaching us how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), Jesus demonstrates how God’s willingness to forgive us is directly tied to our willingness to give the blessing of forgiveness to others. He echoes this truth again when teaching on prayer:

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

                                                                                                                 Mark 11:24-25

Certainly we are to pray in faith, but Jesus also include in this discourse the reality that forgiveness must be present in the one praying. Again, he refers to our willingness to forgive others so that our Father will also forgive us. When Peter questioned Jesus on this issue, he was given this response:

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

                                                                                                            Matthew 18:21-22 

Seventy times seven indicates an unlimited amount of times. Christians should be willing to forgive others, releasing them from their offenses that they have committed. This must be done if we are to expect the same forgiveness from God.

I personally believe that if the church would proclaim the simplicity of the gospel without any mixture of legalism, people would be drawn to the love of God and the cross of Jesus. Likewise, the church must also practice forgiveness toward one another and the world around them and not sparingly rather in abundance. This would validate the very message of good news that the church claims to carry. Receiving the blessing of forgiveness and in turn releasing it to others is authentic Christian living. Anything short of this is theater.