The Forbearance of God

[eternomade]

What is God's forbearance?

I believe forbearance is an allotted time for a debt to be paid. It is similar to being longsuffering. God's forbearance was from the time of Adam until Christ. He was forbearing with their sin until the death of the testator.

What does "for the remission of sins that are past" mean?

I believe this is all the sin committed under the first covenant. All the sin of being in our representative Adam. By Christ's one offering, all of God's people were justified, or saved from their sin. The elect were represented by Adam, fallen, but made righteous in Christ.

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 3:25 KJV


And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15 KJV

 

[squirrelyguy]

What is God's forbearance?

I believe forbearance is an allotted time for a debt to be paid. It is similar to being longsuffering. God's forbearance was from the time of Adam until Christ. He was forbearing with their sin until the death of the testator.

What does "for the remission of sins that are past" mean?

I believe this is all the sin committed under the first covenant. All the sin of being in our representative Adam. By Christ's one offering, all of God's people were justified, or saved from their sin. The elect were represented by Adam, fallen, but made righteous in Christ.

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 3:25 KJV


And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15 KJV

There is also a case to be made that God forgives sins on a probationary basis. See Matthew 18:21-35.

 

[eternomade]

There is also a case to be made that God forgives sins on a probationary basis. See Matthew 18:21-35.

Can you explain the relevance to this OP? Do you believe forgiveness of sin happens outside the cross?

 

[squirrelyguy]

Can you explain the relevance to this OP? Do you believe forgiveness of sin happens outside the cross?

My instinct is to say that forgiveness and propitiation are not the same thing, and they aren't the same in the Bible. If God forgives someone, then He hasn't satisfied His wrath. That's what it means to forgive. But propitiation is an act of satisfying God's wrath. The cross is certainly a means of achieving propitiation; I am uncertain to what extent it achieves forgiveness. It's not that I don't believe the cross has anything to do with the forgiveness of sins, it's just that I don't yet understand what the Bible is trying to say about it.

 

[eternomade]

My instinct is to say that forgiveness and propitiation are not the same thing, and they aren't the same in the Bible. If God forgives someone, then He hasn't satisfied His wrath. That's what it means to forgive. But propitiation is an act of satisfying God's wrath. The cross is certainly a means of achieving propitiation; I am uncertain to what extent it achieves forgiveness. It's not that I don't believe the cross has anything to do with the forgiveness of sins, it's just that I don't yet understand what the Bible is trying to say about it.

I agree, they are not the same thing.