Are There Two Types Of Forgiveness? Judicial Forgiveness and Relational Forgiveness - PART 2
Paul carried out the mission of communicating the message Jesus gave him about forgiveness, where forgiveness is received by faith (Acts 26:17-18; 13:38-39).
After Paul left a city where he proclaimed the message of forgiveness, he wrote letters to them to establish them further in the teachings he received from the ascended Jesus (see Acts 20:23-24; Acts 26:15-18; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 3:1-6; Colossians 1:24-29).
One of the cities Paul went into with the message of forgiveness was Ephesus. Paul spent three years in Ephesus. Later, he met with the leaders of Ephesus in another city (see Acts 19-20).
In his letter to the Ephesians he writes (1:6-8), “…to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.”
He also writes in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
In Colossians, Paul teaches the same about forgiveness, writing that all of our sins have been forgiven and we are to forgive others as the Lord forgave us (Colossians 1:13-14; 2:13-14; 3:12).
Notice in these verses Paul makes no mention of two types of forgiveness. He only writes about forgiveness.
Also notice, Paul says to forgive each other as in Christ God forgave you.
Contrast Ephesians 4:32 with Matthew 6:14 and 18:32 where Jesus said unless you forgive others from the heart, the heavenly Father will not forgive you.
All of these teachings came from Jesus.
The teachings in Matthew were from Jesus before he went to the cross, and the teachings about forgiveness in Ephesians, which Jesus taught Paul and Paul taught to others, were after Jesus went to the cross.
So why the difference?
Jesus’ teachings about forgiveness before the cross were just that - before the cross. However, the cross changed the message about forgiveness, which we see when Jesus was with his disciples in the upper room just prior to his death on the cross when he states he will shed his blood to establish the new testament for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28-28; Luke 22:20).
Then after the cross, Jesus states that forgiveness is received by faith.
So why the difference in the teachings of Jesus concerning forgiveness?
His teachings in Matthew are before the cross and before the new testament was established in his blood for the forgiveness of sins (this is what the book of Hebrews is about).
His teachings through Paul about forgiveness are after the cross and his ascension and after the new testament was established in his blood for the forgiveness of sins.
This seems very clear and easy to understand. So why do some teach two types of forgiveness: Judicial and Relational?
Some who teach two types of forgiveness simply do not understand the difference in Jesus’ teachings before and after the cross.
Others who do see the contrast in the teaching, before and after the cross say that Jesus is speaking about relational forgiveness in Matthew and Paul is teaching about judicial forgiveness in Ephesians and Colossians.
They say that Jesus is addressing a believer’s fellowship with the Father in Matthew, which is different than the judicial forgiveness Paul is teaching.
But is this true?
Does God relate to us in two different ways when it comes to forgiveness…one way as judge where there is complete forgiveness of sins that secures our salvation and the other way as Father, where forgiveness of sins is continual based upon daily confession of sins so fellowship with him can be restored and maintained?
In Part 3, we will examine the Scriptures to determine if God relates to us in two ways: as judge where all of our sins are forgiven eternally for salvation and as Father where we must seek his forgiveness daily to maintain closeness with him.
