[diakonos]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Well, I'm not sure any synonyms are "identical" 100%. There is a reason for the existence of different words. But both remission and forgiveness are suitable translations of the Greek aphesis. Remission because it is a release or sending back of a debt, and forgiveness because to remit a debt is to forgive it. So I'm not seeing any reason to think that remission and forgiveness aren't the same thing being looked at from slightly different perspectives. There certainly is no basis for the UPC (and copycat ALJC) idea that forgiveness occurs as a wholly separate event distinct from remission.

Agree with you on this.

My first pastor taught that forgiveness and remission were not the same- his reasoning for people receiving the Holy Ghost before baptism.

By taught, I mean preached.