If Christ has already atoned for all possible sins, past, present, and future (except for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), and this "atonement" has resulted in a judicial act of pardon, the question may still linger, why do we need to confess our sins? We have already seen that there is no merit associated with the repentance of the sinner (see chapter 19), nor is there any merit associated with our faith in Christ. The faith and obedience of Christ alone is meritorious. In the view presented in the Spirit of Prophecy, what then is the significance of our repentance, and why do we need to confess our sins?
The common understanding of repentance views it as a switch which activates God's pardoning love making it applicable to a specific sinner. In other words, the concept seems to be that God stands back passively, perhaps wanting to forgive us, yet unable to act apart from the sinner's initiative. This is not how the Spirit of Prophecy represents the process.
It was taught by the Jews that before God's love is extended to the sinner, he must first repent. In their view, repentance is a work by which men earn the favor of Heaven. And it was this thought that led the Pharisees to exclaim in astonishment and anger. "This man receiveth sinners." According to their ideas He should permit none to approach Him but those who had repented. But in the parable of the lost sheep, Christ teaches that salvation does not come through our seeking after God but through God's seeking after us. "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way." Romans 3:11, 12. We do not repent in order that God may love us, but He reveals to us His love in order that we may repent.[1]
In this statement we find a different view of the process of salvation and the concept of repentance. Here is a view which is in harmony with the biblical idea that "The goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Romans 2:4, NKJV). God is pursuing us, and not the other way around. "He reveals to us His [pardoning] love in order that we may repent." How did God reveal His love?
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:8, 9, NKJV).
God fully revealed His pardoning love, when Christ died upon the cross. Now, please do not overlook the fact that when Christ died, we were "justified by His blood." We were granted a judicial pardon--we were forgiven. Thus, we see that we do not repent in order that God may forgive us. He has already forgiven us, "in order that we may repent."[2] In other words, God gave the gift of His only begotten Son in order to make us willing to receive more of His gifts.
When we realize how far He has come to save us, and we begin to understand something of the sacrifice involved in His pursuit, our hearts are melted, and we receive the gift of authentic repentance. Our confession and repentance has much more to do with cleansing than it has to do with pardon.
The more we truly understand of the wondrous love revealed in the plan of redemption, the more we want to be cleansed of all sin. We need to understand much more. In order to really appreciate the significance of genuine repentance, we need to understand in a much fuller sense just what Christ means to us now. The Spirit of Prophecy provides insight into what the plan of redemption means and why we should confess our sins and receive the gift of cleansing from all unrighteousness. Consider the following:
Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ's agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him.[3]
This statement reveals at least to some extent why John the Revelator repeatedly refers to the Lamb in the heavenly sanctuary, but he doesn't merely refer to a lamb. He describes it as a lamb "as though it had been slain."[4] This imagery reveals to our understanding the present reality of the cross. We often think of the cross as an event represented as a vertical line on the timeline of history. These quotations suggest that the cross should not be represented as a vertical line. It should rather be represented as a horizontal line on the timeline of history. This horizontal line extends from the inception of sin to at least the final restoration of this world. This understanding of reality should broaden our concept of the expedience of repentance.
Christ our Saviour came to the world to seek and save that which was lost. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." During every moment of Christ's life in our world, God was repeating His gift. Christ, the sinless One, was making an infinite sacrifice for sinners, that they might be saved. He came as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and those for whom He came looked upon Him as stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. The cup of suffering was placed in His hand, as if He were the guilty one, and He drained it to the dregs. He bore the sin of the world to the bitter end. And yet men continue to sin, and Christ continues to feel the consequences of their sin as if He Himself were the guilty one.[5]
These thoughts are beyond finite comprehension. We stand amazed before an incomprehensible mystery. Yet the truth appeals to our hearts. The heavenly sanctuary is the center of present truth for mankind today. Both of the preceding quotations speak of what Christ is doing, in the present continuous tense. Evidently, there are still "consequences", which are borne by Christ, every time we sin. As we consider these profound statements, we need to clearly recognize the distinction between the "penalty" for sin and the "consequences" of our sins.
Justice demands that sin be not merely pardoned, but the death penalty must be executed. God, in the gift of His only-begotten Son, met both these requirements. By dying in man's stead, Christ exhausted the penalty and provided a pardon.[6]
Since Calvary, there is no more a "penalty" to be paid. Christ's suffering and death has "exhausted the penalty."
Yet Jesus ascended to heaven as our High Priest, to offer both "gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Hebrews 5:1, 8:3). We must allow our hearts to realize and appreciate this idea. As our Intercessor, He continues to bear the consequences of our sins for us "as if He Himself were the guilty one." Because Christ intercedes, our quality of life is much better than we deserve.
Some of these thoughts are overwhelming, yet true. Jesus has risen in a glorified human body. He now has perfect recall regarding all that He endured as a man while on earth. We have all had experiences that we do not perfectly recall. In fact, most of us can barely recall our earliest memories. Jesus has perfect recall. In that light we should consider Ellen White's expression: "Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him."[7] The agony of Calvary is, in a sense, "immortalized,"[8] and this is why we should confess our sins and receive the gifts of repentance and cleansing from all unrighteousness.
Notes: