" Some confound things that are separate and dif- ferent— the act of forgiving with the act of loving with approbation. Repentance and confession are in- dispensable, when one has intentionally injured us in any way, to restore him to our fellowship and appro- bation. But what is a necessary condition of this is not a necessary condition of forgiving. Blending these two things together, and thinking of them as if they were one and inseparable, has doubtless caused some to differ in opinion from others who clearly discern the proper distinctions. It is a mistaken idea that in the matter of forgiveness we are strictly to imitate God the Father, and not forgive those who trespass against us until they repent and ask our pardon. God is clotlied with the responsibilities of moral government over his creatures, while we arc not. If he had made it our duty to revenge our own wrongs, and administer just punishment to the doers of tlie wrong, tlieu it would be right and wise to follow his example in that particular. But the case is far otherwise. The Lord not only relieves us of that responsibility, but has com- manded us not to usurp his prerogatives : ' Avenge not yourselves.' No doubt there are certain cases in
FORGIVENESS OF SIN
622
FORM
civil and fiimily governments in whicli the outward acts of forj^iveness should be held in abeyance until forgiveness is duly sought. The offender in liimself has no riglit to forgiveness until he seeks it in the true spirit of repentance. In the outward expressions of this, parents should often wait for the outward signs of penitence in their children. The same may be true sometimes in other relations, as between brothers and sisters, and other domestic and civil relations. Hence there is an objective and a suhjective view to be taken of the dutv of forgiveness — an act in tiie heart, and an appropri;ite outward and formal expression of it. The former sliould lie performed at once, to prevent greater evil to ourselves, while the latter may wiselj^ be de- laved until the proper occasion for it arrives. One mav sav he forgives, when in reality he does not for- give from the heart ; so wc may forgive from the heart long before we proclaim it to the parties concerned" (_Ziun's Herald, January 2, 18(37).
FOKGIVENESS OF SIN is that act of God's free grace by which, in virtue of the merits of Christ's atonement, appropriated Vty faith, he frees the sinner, who accepts Christ by sucli f lith, from the guilt and penalty of his sins. " By the atonement of Christ, which is God's own provision, his law is vindicated, and the penalty of sin is paid. To all who will be- lieve in Christ with the heart, God offers a free, full, and present forgiveness (Acts v, 31 ; xiii, 38, 39 ; 1 John ii, 1"2). ' Being justified freely b}' his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,' etc. (Hom. iii, 24, et seq.). By a careful consideration of this language, we see, 1. That every believer in Christ Jesus is justified or 2) ur dotted, for justification is called, in verse 25, 'remission of sins.' Yet it is not simph- forgiveness: the tcnns justification. :.nd justify, when applied to a guilty person, do not import his being morally just, but just with respect to law and the law- giver; thit is, placed in the position of a person who has not broken the law, both in respect to exemption from punishment, and the favor and kindnees of the judge. Justification is pardon administered consist- entl}' with the requirements of justice and law. 2. That such believers are forgiven y/'ff//y, as a. free gift, not of right, not meritorioush/ and of desert. It is to grace, and not to justice, that the appeal for pardon is made ; and wc could ourselves liave done nothing which could have legally cancelled our sins. The whole scheme is of grace, the result of the pure love of C;od, who compassionated our misery, himself pro- vided the means of our deliverance, by sending his only-begotten Son iuto the world, who voluntaril}' sub- mitted to die on the cross, that he might reconcile us to God. The whole was completed without our inter- vention, and the faith which is the condition of our .s:ilvation is by grace" (Farrar, Biblical Di-tionary, s. v.). See Justification.
The "forgiveness of sins" is one of tlie articles of the (so-called) Apostles' Creed, as well as of the Ni- cene. According to the so-called sacramental theolo- gy (Acts ii, ."8), "forgiveness of sins" is conveyed to tlie ])cnitent by the act of the priest pronouncing the al)solution, making the priest the sole ordinary chan- nel through wliicli remission is to be olitained. But sin against God can onl\' be forgiven hy God, on the condition he ])rescribcs, of re])entance, and of this no man can infallilily judge. See Pearson, On the Creed, art. ix; FAcn, Churchman's Dictionary, s. v. See Ab- solution; Justification.
Form (Lat. forma, bj' transpos. from iLiopffj) is de- fined by Aristotle as Xoyog r/)c ovainq, the doctrine of the substance or essence of a thing. "A trumpet may be said to consist of two parts, the matter or brass of which it is made, and the form wliich the maker gives to it. The latter is essential, but not the former ; since, although the matter were silver, it would still be a trumpet, but without the form it would not. Now,