Forgiveness

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. [Psalm 130.3-4]

Wait a minute... I thought forgiveness didn't come until Jesus' Advent?

No, that is apparently not true. Forgiveness is an attribute that God has been known for long before He sent the Messiah, Jesus.

I [Yahweh] lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations. [Exodus 34.7 - underscore mine]

Here we see God defining Himself to Moses (at least a portion of His defining Himself). God Himself says, "I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin..." However, God's next statement is intriguing, "But I do not excuse the guilty..."

There is something different between "forgiving" and "excusing." We really need to understand this.

Father, help me to understand the difference between being forgiven and being excused.