J T Mawson

To all those who have believed in Jesus, the beloved Son of God, is this blessing given. The basis of it is the blood, and it is for Christ's sake. "God for Christ's sake has forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32); "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake" (1 John 2:12). It is an eternal forgiveness, for it is the act of the eternal God; it is an eternal forgiveness, for it is bestowed for the sake of Him who has brought eternal glory and gives eternal delight to the heart of God. When we understand that it is for Christ's sake that we are forgiven, for the glory of His Name and the joy of His heart, it makes the blessing unspeakably blessed. We are forgiven for Christ's sake. Was there any reluctance then on God's part to forgive us, and was it necessary that the desire and glory of Christ should be brought to bear on this matter before the blessing could be bestowed? By no means. The welcome given to the prodigal shows what delight God has in forgiving; the kiss, the robe, and the merriment all show that to forgive is a necessity to Divine love; but the desire of the heart of Christ and the glory of His great and precious Name are added motives which give God a greater joy in doing that in which His heart delights. Wonderful grace! Wonderful blessing! Wonderful work and precious blood which has made it all possible! which has provided a meeting-place for a just and pardoning God and ungodly but repentant sinners. And what God is in this blessed character can never change. His very nature finds expression in His pardoning grace, in the riches of His grace. He has set us in His own favour for ever, and everything that could mar our happiness in that place or His delight in having us there has been dealt with according to His own justice, and all for Christ's sake. Now we can sing with David, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom. 4:7-8).