What does it mean when God says he will by no means clear the guilty?

In my previous post on the encouraging topic of God’s forgiveness, we read one verse that is both important and puzzling:

Exodus 34:6–7 says, “The LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (ESV).

On the one hand, God emphasizes that it is his nature to forgive. And then he immediately follows that by saying he “will by no means clear the guilty.” Hmmm…which is it? Does God forgive, or does he refuse to clear the guilty? This verse has puzzled me for a long time, and I’ve prayed for understanding. I believe God has at long last given me the interpretation.

I will explain the verse with a paraphrase. God is saying: I forgive the iniquity and transgression and sin of those who come to me in faith and repentance. But, toward those who refuse to repent and continue stubbornly in their sin, I will be perfectly just and will by no means clear them of guilt. In fact my justice is so thorough that I will visit the iniquity of stubborn, unrepentant sinners not only on them but also on their descendants who walk in the ways of their sinful fathers and likewise stubbornly disobey me.

Scripture interprets Scripture

What leads me to that interpretation?

First, one important principle of properly interpreting the Bible is that Scripture interprets Scripture. In other words, the best commentary on any one Scripture is the rest of the Scriptures. The Bible is unified truth that is ultimately from one author—God himself—and he does not contradict himself. His revelation of his will unfolds and develops over time as a story, and within the context of that story he does not contradict himself (that is, God dealt differently with people at different points in the story of redemption).

The principle that Scripture interprets Scripture is a corollary to the other crucial principle of interpreting the Bible, which is that we must read Scripture in context. We interpret a verse within the context of its biblical book, such as in this case Exodus; then within the wider context of all that the human author of the book has written in the Bible, such as in this case all the writings of Moses; then within the context of the Old or New Testament story of redemption, such as in this case the Old Testament; then within the context of the entire Bible, with the New Testament being God’s final revelation of his will and ways.

Two groups: the forgiven and the guilty

So, what does the rest of the Bible teach about forgiveness? As we have already seen, verse 7 itself unmistakably teaches that God forgives sinners and emphasizes that by saying he forgives “iniquity and transgression and sin.” That is, he forgives everything that needs forgiving!

And God repeatedly promises forgiveness of sins under the Old Covenant to those who fulfill its obligations by confessing their sins and offering blood sacrifices at the tabernacle/temple, as taught by Moses in the Book of Leviticus. David writes in Psalm 103:2–3, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity.”

And then of course the New Testament promises forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus offered the cup to the disciples and said, “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

From beginning to end in the Bible, God forgives the sins of those who confess and repent and put their faith in the shed blood offered in sacrifice, the blood of animals prior to the revelation of Jesus, and then the blood of Jesus after his sacrifice on the cross.

So, when Exodus 34:7 says, “he will by no means clear the guilty,” it cannot possibly mean that he forgives sinners but doesn’t “clear” them. Rather, it must mean that “the guilty” are a different group of people who have not been forgiven of “iniquity and transgression and sin.” They are “guilty” because they have not done what is necessary to be forgiven.

Not clearing the guilty

This interpretation agrees with how the word/phrase “clear the guilty” (these three words translate the one Hebrew word naqah) is used in another Old Testament passage. Nahum 1:3 says, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet” (ESV).

The Old Testament Book of Nahum is a prophecy against the Assyrian capital of Ninevah. God had used the wicked nation of Assyria to punish his people Judah for their long-term disobedience. Assyria had conquered Judah and taken its people into exile. But soon God would deal with idolatrous Assyria differently than those in Judah who remained faithful to him. God would forgive those in Judah who returned to him in repentance, but he would by no means clear the guilty nation of Assyria, for they followed idols and cruelly oppressed other nations.

This contrast between how God would deal with Judah versus how he would deal with Assyria illustrates the meaning of Exodus 34:7—“forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.”

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen people presume that God will overlook their sins, and they will escape judgment. They do not think God will really condemn people for even one sin.

God’s way: God is perfectly just. He punishes all sin. We have the choice of whether our sins are punished by the death of Jesus on the Cross or by our eternal condemnation. Those who do not have their guilt removed through the blood of Jesus Christ will not be cleared by God of condemnation.

Life principle: God will be perfectly just with you and your sins. He will either condemn you for your sins or punish Jesus for your sins. Your choice. Repent and follow Jesus and receive forgiveness; or reject Christ, die in your sins, and stand at the Judgment someday to give account for every wrong you have ever committed.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Under what conditions will God forgive your wrongs?

Have you ever had a relationship with someone you care about end because the person was not willing to forgive a wrong? It’s painful. You want the relationship. You reach out and apologize and ask forgiveness, but the person holds on to the grudge, and the relationship dies.

Just think; it could have been that way with God. He could have said, “Sorry, you’ve sinned against me. You’ve ignored me. You’ve disobeyed my commands. I’ve had it with you. I will never forgive you.” And when Judgment Day comes, as it surely will, you could stand before him guilty. He would hold you accountable for every way that you have fallen short of loving him and other people, and you would be condemned forever.

But thankfully, that is not the way it is with God. If we meet his conditions, he is willing to forgive. Psalm 86:5 says, “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.”

The prophet Micah asks, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?” (Micah 7:18) The answer to Micah’s question is, there is no other God who forgives like the Lord. J. K. Grider writes in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: “No book of religion except the Bible teaches that God completely forgives sin.”

Obstacles to complete forgiveness

That’s why the Bible is good news, why it is gospel. We need complete, not partial, forgiveness. When one person in a relationship wrongs the other, it can harm the relationship in many ways:

1. Emotions: The person who is wronged can feel ongoing resentment, anger, and bitterness.

2. Punishment: The person who is wronged will often want to retaliate, to exact vengeance.

3. Recompense: The person who is wronged may have a legitimate claim that the wrongdoer should make things right by correcting the harm done. If the resident of a college dorm, for example, broke or stole something from a roommate, the offender obviously ought to pay it back.

4. Favor: The person who is wronged not only needs to let go of negative emotions, but also to return to positive feelings of favor and enjoyment of the relationship.

5. Remembrance: People who are wronged need to let go of the desire to remember the wrong. If it comes to mind, they must choose to turn away from the memory. They must refuse to talk about it ever again or to use it against the other as a weapon in arguments.

With all these potential obstacles, it is no wonder that broken relationships do not mend easily. All these factors come into play when we want to mend our relationship with God.

Desperately needed forgiveness

The forgiveness that God offers to us through faith in Jesus Christ extends to all these obstacles and more. For, there is more to fix between God and us than a broken relationship. There is also the matter of divine justice. God, as creator and sustainer of every living thing, and as the owner of the universe, is the righteous judge of every person. He will hold court someday and dispense to every person what they deserve for how they have lived on his earth, based on whether they have followed or ignored his righteous commands. As is obvious by looking into our own souls and looking at the lives of all around us, no one has fully kept these commands (Romans 3:23). Because God’s standard is perfect justice, every person deserves to be condemned (Revelation 20:11–15).

But, because God is love, he has made a way to forgive us. He wants to restore the relationship. He does not want to condemn us. And so, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to the earth to become a man, to live a perfectly righteous life and then to die as a substitute for our sins, thus making a way for us to receive his forgiveness.

“In him [that is, in Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). God made a way to forgive us because he loves us (John 3:16).

Complete forgiveness in Christ

When God—in love—forgives you because of your faith in Jesus Christ, he solves each of the five problems noted above that come with broken relationships and laws:

1. Emotions

Romans 5:1, 8–10 says: “¹ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. … ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

2. Punishment

Romans 8:1, 31–34 says: “¹ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…. ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

3. Recompense

Colossians 2:13–14 says: “¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

4. Favor

Romans 8:31–32 says: “³¹ If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

5. Remembrance

In Isaiah 43:25 God says: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Psalm 103:12 says: “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 10:14 says: “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Ready to forgive, or reluctant?

One sweet truth about God’s forgiveness is that he is not reluctant to forgive. He does not forgive us grudgingly. When we meet his conditions, it is his nature to forgive gladly.

In the verse that I turn to again and again because it is God’s self-definition, we read: “ ⁶ The LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:6–7).

(I’ll talk about the last half of verse 7 in my next post, for it seems to cancel the first half of verse 7 and much of what I’ve written in this post.)

Jesus perfectly portrays God’s readiness to forgive in his portrayal of the gracious father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son:

“¹⁷ But when [the prodigal son] came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:17–24 ESV)

Your Father in heaven is not reluctant to forgive you, but ready, willing, and able through Jesus to joyfully welcome you home.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Pride makes fallen people slow or unwilling to forgive others who wrong them. We may think God is equally unwilling to forgive.

God’s way: Because of his great love, God wants to forgive sinners. Because of his perfect justice, he cannot forgive sinners—unless they come to him through faith in the substitutionary death on the Cross of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Life principle: The condition that God requires you to meet to receive his gladly offered forgiveness is simple but earth-shaking. The apostle Paul summarized it this way: he preached “of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). If you will repent of straying from God and ignoring his commands, and if you will have faith in Jesus Christ and the saving power of his death for you on the cross and the reality of his resurrection from the grave and the authority he has been given as Lord of God’s creation, God will forgive you of every sin you have ever committed—every single sin, no matter how heinous.