GOD BEING BOUND TO FORGIVE US
BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Therefore, before the Lord Jesus came to the earth and was crucified on the cross, it would have been fine for God to refuse to save us. God could have left us unsaved. Had God not given us His Son, all that we could have said was that God did not love us. We could not say anything more. But because God has indeed given us His Son and put our sins upon Him that we might be redeemed from our sins, God can do nothing else but forgive our sins when we come to Him through the blood of the Lord Jesus and through His work. Hallelujah! God has to forgive our sins! Do you realize that God is bound to forgive our sins? If you come to God through Jesus Christ, God is bound to forgive your sins. It was love that brought His Son to the cross, but it was righteousness that caused God to forgive our sins.
John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Out of love God gave us His only begotten Son. But 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The work of the cross was accomplished for us through the love of God. But today when we come to God through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, God has to forgive us based on His faithfulness and righteousness.
Hence, if the Lord Jesus had not come, God would be free not to save us. But now that the Lord Jesus has died, even if God were unhappy about saving us, strictly speaking He still has to do it. If He received the money could He refuse to return the note? God cannot be unrighteous, because if He is unrighteous, He Himself becomes a sinner. Therefore, God is bound to forgive all those who come to Him through the blood of the Lord Jesus. Hallelujah! God cannot refuse to forgive them. I want to shout that this is the gospel. Since God has given us His Son, He is bound. Do you think that we can pay God back now? Today through the Lord Jesus, not only can we pay God back, but we have more than we need to pay Him back. We have an overflow. For where sin abounds, there grace much more abounds. Sin is abundant. But the grace in God’s Son is more abundant, even superabundant. For this reason, it is through the Lord Jesus alone that one can be saved.
Everyone has to admit that there is nothing unrighteous with God when we come to Him by the Lord Jesus and when He gives us life and forgives our sins. Our heart can never say that God, in forgiving our sins, saved us lawlessly when He passed over our sins, exercised forbearance toward us, and justified us who believe in Jesus. We can never say that God has dealt irresponsibly with our sins. On the contrary, we must say that God has saved us in the most righteous way. Our salvation is a proper and upright salvation. Our sins have been judged; hence, we are saved. No one can say that God has saved us by using unrighteous procedures. Rather, we must say that God has saved us by the most righteous procedures.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 5, by Watchman Nee)
