Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
FORGIVE'NESS is an act of God toward man, and of man toward his fellow. To forgive sin is the exclusive prerogative of God, of whose law sin is the transgression. Ps 130:4. Our Lord, by virtue of his divine nature, assumed the prerogative and exercised the power of forgiving sins, which the scribes and Pharisees, viewing him merely as a man, made the occasion of a charge of blasphemy, Mark 2:5. The gospel makes known not only that there is
forgiveness with God, but also how such forgiveness is made compatible with the divine justice. Forgiveness, full, free, and everlasting, is offered to all who will believe and obey the gospel. Acts 13:38-39; 1 John 2:12. The duty of mutual forgiveness is urged upon man with the most solemn sanctions. Matt 6:14-15; Josh 18:22; Luke 17:3-4.