October 22, 2025
Paul Washer, a strong Calvinist, said that God can’t forgive sin unless He pours out His wrath on His Son, Jesus. Someone has to pay the price and satisfy the wrath and justice of God for Him to forgive sinners. According to Paul Washer and many other Calvinists, someone must suffer and die as a result of our sins. This is part of his belief in the PSA theory of the atonement. R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, and many others hold to the same basic view of the atonement and God’s forgiveness.
But is this true? The short answer is, I don’t think so, at least not as these individuals believe. Regarding the death of Jesus Christ, God was already inclined to forgive sinners, as demonstrated in the parable of the one who borrowed ten thousand talents, found in Matthew 18. The servant could not repay the enormous debt and begged the Lord for mercy. The Lord canceled his debt, eliminating the obligation for repayment. The Lord suffered the loss because he had compassion for his servant. No one paid the debt on his behalf. It was forgiven and written off as uncollectible. The lord suffered the loss. Similarly, God forgives sinners who lack the means to repay their debt. No one needs to pay the debt. Therefore, Jesus did not die on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath or justice.
But there is a truth to the statement that ‘God can’t forgive.’ If sinners will not repent of their sins, God can’t and won’t forgive them. However, that is not what individuals like Paul Washer ever state, because they don’t believe it. And they are not alone in this. Most evangelicals believe that God forgives Christian sinners even when they do not repent of their sins and stop committing those sins. I think that the Bible makes it clear that God can’t forgive sinners who refuse to stop sinning. This should be obvious to everyone, but in the world of religion, common sense is passé. Husbands, will you forgive your wife for adultery that she refuses to stop? Wives, will you forgive your husband for his adultery if he refuses to stop it?
God wants to forgive sinners, and He has provided the way. And the way is through our personal repentance from sin and faith in Christ. Repenting and believing are actions we must take, and God will not do them for us. Nor will He forgive us if we refuse these conditions. How utterly ridiculous it is to assume that the great and holy Judge of the world will forgive sinners who refuse to stop their rebellion against the kingdom of God. But that will stop multitudes of professing Christians from believing it because that is what they want to believe. People prefer to believe what they want to be true. Not what is true but what they wish were true.
