In Contrast with Israel … Forgiveness Under Paul’s Grace Gospel for today’s age of “the grace of God” is WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS.

Under today’s “the dispensation [age] of the grace of God” Israel’s Old requirements for forgiveness have changed. “… old things are passed away; behold, all things are become New.” 2 Cor. 5:17b (KJV)

Since the meaning and scope of Christ’s substitutionary death of the Cross was kept secret, hid in a “mystery [as the secret plan of God],” the revelation of the “mystery” CHANGED HOW FORGIVENESS IS NOW GRANTED BY GOD.

Forgiveness before today’s “the dispensation of the grace of God” was conditioned upon performance under its requirements requiring men to perform per God’s instructions under “the law.” But Paul tells us today, we “are NOT under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14). God’s forgiveness today is granted according to God’s Unconditional grace.

According to “the mystery [secret] of Christ,” salvation today is offered FREELY through the finished Cross-work of Jesus Christ to all who BELIEVE His death was for them.

“Even [that is] the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and UPON ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE: for there is no difference: ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴ Being justified [declared righteous] FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ²⁵ Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [the sacrificial payment] through faith in his [shed] blood, to declare His Righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” Romans 3:22-25 (KJV)

FREE Salvation includes FREE Forgiveness by God’s grace through faith alone … without any precondition for us to perform (Eph 1:7; Rom 4:5). This is “the mystery [secret]” of the “gospel of the grace of God” for all men today... if they will simply believe [trust in Christ].

“For by Grace are ye Saved through Faith; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: ⁹ NOT of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

God’s justice does require performance to forgive, but NOT of us. God’s Grace Required The Performance Of Jesus Christ At The Cross in order to justly forgive those who will believe. (Rom 5:8).

God did NOT require our performance in order to give us forgiveness, nor do we require the performance of others to grant forgiveness to them.

“… forgiving one another, even as [in the same manner as ] God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” – Eph. 4:32

Our motivation to forgive under grace is for Christ’s sake, who died and forgave us freely. This motivation is one of genuine love that is completely without condition. Forgiving others was not a precondition for our own forgiveness.

Both the Israel’s law and Paul’s grace gospel offer forgiveness and instruct God’s people to forgive …with a difference.

• According to Israel’s law, forgiveness is granted upon performance.
• According to Paul’s grace gospel for the Gentile “body of Christ,” forgiveness is freely offered and freely received through ‘faith in Christ,’ totally apart from us ‘doing’ anything.

Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” for today is simply as seen below.

³¹ … Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and [this offer applies to] thy house. Acts 16:31 (KJV)

This is based upon Paul’s defined gospel as being;

³ For I [Paul] delivered unto you first of all that which I also received [from the ascended Lord Jesus], how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (KJV)

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

Yet, there are two major items that keep people from coming to know the truth of God’s Free Gift of Salvation.

1. Many people wrongly depend upon their own assumed self-ability to offer forgiveness or kindness toward others in order to receive God’s forgiveness for their own sins. This is a misplaced hope and a vain faith. Our faith should be in Christ’s Cross-work and not our own feeble capacities.
2. Then also there’s ‘man’s unbiblical religions of Christendom with their rituals, creeds, prayers, confessions, and rites, and liturgies, all of which conflicts with and gets in the way of the ‘truth’ of the Bible “rightly divided.” Christendom’s contradictory teachings largely blur what actually applies to us today when it draws its dogma and tradition from what applies only to Israel only.

Thus, man’s religion gets in the way of men hearing and receiving the simple truth of Pau’s gospel of the grace of God that includes ‘God’s Free Gift Salvation.’ It is through ‘faith alone’ in ‘Christ alone that every genuine believer can come to rest in God’s salvation and forgiveness that is based solely upon God ‘s ‘pure grace’.’

Marvin L. Fieldhouse (1927 - 2001) wrote this titled ‘No Biblical Reason’

“Search as we may, there is no Biblical reason for the existence of any denomination.

God needs no voice and no interest in this world except His Own Son living in hearts, zealously affected by Heaven’s interests.

God needs no standard in this world but His Own living Epistles, known and read of all men.

God has no program in this world, but that one which is propagating the Man Christ Jesus in the lives of individuals. Anything less, anything more, or anything else than this one cause, while appearing to be aiding this cause, is actually enemy to the cause.

Before we will do the right thing, we are going to have to understand God’s view of all this man-made duplicity in which we are caught.”

We can praise God, that according to His grace, Jesus Christ died for our sins, and His Forgiveness is now given ‘FREELY by grace’ to as many as will receive it - Without Condition.

(Note: Emphasis has been added to many of the KJV Bible verses above for clarity.)