“But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord Yahweh; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live? But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, house of Israel: Is my way not equal? Aren’t your ways unequal? When the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies therein; in his iniquity that he has done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” House of Israel, aren’t my ways fair? Aren’t your ways unfair? Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways, says the Lord Yahweh. Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord Yahweh: therefore turn yourselves, and live.” Ezekiel 18:21-32 (WEB)
Biblically speaking, the requirement for unconditional forgiveness has always been a change of heart and mind about one's behavior. It has always been about turning your behavior around, stopping the harmful behaviors, and doing the merciful, loving, obedient, and helpful things towards others. This can be seen throughout the Old Testament where God clearly disdains and rejects the sacrifices and rituals offered where the person offering them is harming others, being unjust, cheating others, and so on. In Isaiah 1, in Ezekiel 18, in Psalm 51, in Hosea 6, God spells out that he wants mercy, kindness, and obedience rather than the blood of bulls and goats. Even in the New Testament, in the Gospel accounts of John the Baptist, the baptism he came offering was for a change of heart and mind for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Himself was explicit in several places in the Gospels that those who do not forgive will themselves not be forgiven, thus you have "and forgive us our trespasses like we forgive those who trespass against us." And as Jesus responded when asked how many times we should forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven, because God forgives every time we come to our senses, turn it around, and ask for forgiveness.
The forgiveness of God is illustrated in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, who goes off and squanders everything, finding himself destitute, starving, and alone in a kind of personal hell. all he had to do was come to his senses, change his heart and mind about his behavior, and come home, and his father ran to him with forgiveness and compassion.
Confession and this change of mind and heart is about agreeing that the path you were on was the wrong one, and the things you were doing were selfish and hurting people. It's about turning away from this and doing what God asked you to do in the first place, loving Him, loving your neighbor as yourself, and loving your enemies as Christ taught, being merciful, compassionate, forgiving, and without judgment, reflecting and voluntarily channeling Jesus Christ through you. Will we struggle with our own flesh? Of course. But it's always about recognizing when we've started walking in the darkness and turning back to the light where God can be trusted to forgive us our mistakes and making us clean from all wrong.
But when we do not turn around, when we choose to stay in the darkness, we cannot expect to be forgiven regardless of the theology we profess or hold because we have not come to our senses, and have not sought forgiveness or the right path. The longer we stay in the darkness, the darker that darkness gets. This is the prodigal son who chooses to stay wallowing with the pigs and coveting their pea pods because he prefers that to going home. That is not the Father's choice for him or for us; that would be his choice.
The Pharisees and Judeans in the New Testament thought they got a free pass because they were descended from Abraham. Too many today believe they get a free pass because of the church they attend or the theology they hold, and thus believe they can do whatever they want and get away with it. But as Paul wrote, God is not mocked. What you sow, you harvest.
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