438. What Is God's Pardon and to What Should It Lead?
Pardon for our sins was promised to us (Is. 1 :18; Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12). There can be none without the shedding of blood and legal sacrifices and outward purifications are ineffectual as only through the blood of Christ is it efficacious (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 932; Heb. 104.; Jer. 222; Zee 13:1; I John 1:7). God alone can grant this pardon and does so by and through Christ and his blood (Dan. 9 19; Mark 2 7; Luke 7 48; Luke 1169,77; Matt. 26:28). He grants it for Christ's sake, freely, abundantly, readily to those who confess their sins, repent and believe (I John 2:12; Is. 4325; Neh. 9:17; Is. 55:7; I John 1:9; Acts 2:38; Acts 10 43). By so doing God shows his compassion, grace, mercy, forbearance, loving kindness, justice and faithfulness (Mic. 7:18, 19; Rom. 5:15; Ex. 34.7; II Chron. 30 :18; Rom. 3 35; Ps. 51 :1; I John 19). The result of such pardon is the forgiving, removing and blotting out of transgression, the covering of, and blotting out of sin and not mentioning or remembering transgressions any more (Ps. 32:1, 103:12; Is. 4422; Ps. 32:1; Acts 3:19; Eze. 18:22; Heb. 10:17). This great and free gift should lead us to return to God, love him, fear and praise him (Is. 44:22; Luke 747; Ps. 1304; Ps. 103:2, 3). It should also induce us to pray for it for ourselves and for others and to strive to become worthy of it as the unforgiving, unbelieving
and impenitent cannot share in it (Ps. 25 :11 ; Jas. 5:15; Mark 11:26; John 8:21, 24; Luke 133-5).