One is the legal forgiveness of God who as the judge forgives us of all our sins when we first put our trust in Jesus Christ and become new creatures. We are no longer criminals with the expectation of condemnation hovering our heads, awaiting our death sentence to be carried out. But we have been set free, atoned for by the Blood, and adopted as God's children.
The other forgiveness is familial forgiveness - one that we ask to our Father as His dear children. Once we have entered into God's family, we have now a new relationship with God. It is no longer a judge-criminal relationship, but a Father-son relationship. When we committed sins against our parents, we were rebuked and chastised and corrected for our mistakes, but when we turned around and humbled ourselves before them, they took us into their loving arms. They never refused us. They forgave us freely. How much more our Heavenly Father in heaven!
There is therefore two kinds of forgiveness. We as Christians do well to remember that we have been legally forgiven by God and have been justified by the blood of Jesus. Yet we ask for forgiveness everyday, but this we ask to our Heavenly Father, not to a judge as a criminal awaiting death sentence. If we have believed in Christ, we are His children, and we must act as His children, even when we sin against Him. Let us run to the Father, and ask for His forgiveness, not trembling as a criminal expecting hell, but as a son who knows he has hurt his father. Father, draw us back to your loving arms!
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