A change in God, John? No, of course not. But God must forgive in a way coherent with Himself.
As to sin, it obviously is not merely our problem. Sin is God's problem, for He is the Sovereign of the universe and sin transcends earth.
God obviously does not have a need to kill, but He does have a need to demonstrate that He does not excuse sin.

Ikan,

Sin is the reason why the sinner is destroyed, not the means by which he is destroyed.

His point was that sin is lethal:

quote:

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Thus it is that sin, if not destroyed, will destroy the sinner, just as Satan designed it should."

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I think you agree with this, Rosangela, as you have stated as much. Something along the lines that if God did not intervene, then eventually sin would wind up in destruction.

As I see it, the big difference in how things are being viewed here is whether God actively works to prevent sin from resulting in destruction. If He does, then destruction takes place when He ceases this activity. If, OTOH, sin is not utterly destructive in its essense, then God must do something to cause those who sin to be destroyed.

How we view this impacts our view of God. Or so it seems to me. The one view seems to me to be legalistic and arbitrary. I suppose you see some flaw in the other view; perhaps it would make God unjust or weak in your view, I'm not sure.

Rosangela, when you forgive others who sin against you; is your forgiveness just or unjust? Do you have to go through killing yourself in order to be able to forgive? Remember you have to do that no matter how small the offence is; it is all sin.

God asks us to forgive as he forgives. So whatever he had to do to forgive, so must you; or you will never see heaven.

Who can forgive sins but God?

"Forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us." This, and other places in Scripture, make it clear that as we forgive, we are forgiven (early posts make it clear that this is not cause and effect).

No one but God can forgive sins against God, but we can, and must, if we would be citizens of heaven, forgive those who sin against us.

Tom,

I think my reply to John explains my view in more detail.

John,

I'm not the Ruler of the universe, therefore when I forgive others, my forgiveness is of a personal nature; besides, I am as much a transgressor of the law as the person whom I'm forgiving. But when God forgives, He is an authority granting forgiveness for a crime, which is something completely different. God must forgive the transgression of His law without diminishing the authority of His law. How could He forgive sin but at the same time vindicate His law, showing that its transgression is something utterly grave?

"Christ has made a sacrifice to satisfy the demands of Justice. What a price for heaven to pay to ransom the transgressor of the law of Jehovah. Yet that holy law could not be maintained with any smaller price. ...
"Sin is disloyalty to God, and deserving of punishment. ... Sin is the transgression of the law. ... The law of God stands vindicated by the suffering and death of the only begotten Son of the infinite God.
"The transgression of God's law in a single instance, in the smallest particular, is sin. And the non-execution of the penalty of that sin would be a crime in the divine administration. God is a judge, the avenger of justice, which is the habitation and foundation of His throne. He cannot dispense with His law, He cannot do away with its smallest item in order to meet and pardon sin. The rectitude and justice and moral excellence of the law must be maintained and vindicated before the heavenly universe and the worlds unfallen.
"What is the justice of God? It is the holiness of God in relation to sin. Christ bore the sins of the world in man's behalf that the sinner might have another trial, with all the divine opportunities and advantages which God has provided in man's behalf. ...
"There are no saving properties in the law. It cannot pardon the transgressor. The penalty must be exacted. The Lord does not save sinners by abolishing His law, the foundation of His government in heaven and in earth. The punishment has been endured by the sinner's substitute.
"Not that God is cruel and merciless, and Christ so merciful that He died on Calvary's cross to abolish a law so arbitrary that it needed to be extinguished, crucified between two thieves. The throne of God must not bear one stain of crime, one taint of sin. In the councils of heaven, before the world was created, the Father and the Son covenanted together that if man proved disloyal to God, Christ, one with the Father, would take the place of the transgressor, and suffer the penalty of justice that must fall upon him." {21MR 194, 195}