FORGIVENESS
a confession and instruction for my own soul and others' consideration
What is forgiveness? How does one give it and receive it? How far does it go? What should one's response to it be, both in forgiving and being forgiven? What is the result of it all?
I do not know what you think of forgiveness or how you accept it or delve it out. I do not know what forgiveness is in practical terms, as far as the receiving end is concerned. I can forgive others but have a hard time accepting or believing in forgiveness for myself, whether by God or man. A lot of the reason for that is because I do not feel worthy of forgiveness. (That is, of course, self-defeating since the very purpose of forgiveness is to restore relationships that are not worthy to be restored. All sins are acts of unfaithfulness, a disregarding of another's person and worth, including that of God Himself.) And I do not feel worthy of forgiveness because I am often asking for forgiveness for the same sins over and over again with no apparent end in sight. I assume I will fall again and even realize in myself a continued desire for that same sin. (I suppose at least a part of that problem is because I keep looking back at the sin I am trying to get away from instead of the Savior I am to get to. And so the temptation continues. We will go the direction we are looking and do what consumes our mind, even if we do not want to. We are not so much to try to stop sinning as to try to be righteous.)
I know the Bible says Christ died for our sins, removing them fully from us, this being evidenced by the resurrection, and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. But so many passages tell us one who will not turn from his sin cannot be forgiven. I cannot turn from my sin! I cannot even imagine living without it being a continual thorn in my side, a continual temptation that I cannot completely resist. I do not want my sin but I cannot get away from it either. It is a conundrum! I should not be surprised at this as it is the very thing the apostle Paul complains about himself in Romans 7:14-25. I am convinced this is a description of a true and mature Christian because of verse 24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" This is not the attitude of the ungodly or cheap professor of Christ, but of one who greatly desires sinlessness and an untarnished relationship with his Lord. He then goes on to answer his own question in verse 25, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord," with the conclusion of the whole matter for us to ponder and apply to ourselves, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." The answer to the conundrum is that it is sin, not myself, that desires to continue the sin. But it feels so like myself. I want it, but I don't. Apparently Augustine found this in himself also. He is reported to have said that he found two things in himself, a love for the good and a love for the evil. But he found a third thing also, a love for the love of the good but a hatred for the love of the evil. That is the description of a real Christian. There is the desire for the evil alongside the desire for the good, and in truth he wants to be and do the good and despise and refuse the evil for Christ's sake. No unsaved, unconverted, unredeemed person can honestly say that. The experience of Paul and Augustine is my own as well. (This conundrum is the reason for the hope expressed in Romans 8:1, 2.) So, am I on good ground for forgiveness?
What is the ground for forgiveness? What makes it possible? One might say repentance from sin and faith in Christ, but that is the means not the cause. The blood of Christ in His death along with His resurrection is the cause. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 tells the story most fully, while the revelation and explanation of it all is in the New Testament. "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1Corinthians 15:3-4); "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (referring to Jesus); that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21); "And he (Jesus) took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:27-28); "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28); "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7); "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17); "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23); "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." (Hebrews 7:25-27); "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:11-12)
I know the Bible says Christ died for our sins, removing them fully from us, this being evidenced by the resurrection, and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. But so many passages tell us one who will not turn from his sin cannot be forgiven. I cannot turn from my sin! I cannot even imagine living without it being a continual thorn in my side, a continual temptation that I cannot completely resist. I do not want my sin but I cannot get away from it either. It is a conundrum! I should not be surprised at this as it is the very thing the apostle Paul complains about himself in Romans 7:14-25. I am convinced this is a description of a true and mature Christian because of verse 24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" This is not the attitude of the ungodly or cheap professor of Christ, but of one who greatly desires sinlessness and an untarnished relationship with his Lord. He then goes on to answer his own question in verse 25, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord," with the conclusion of the whole matter for us to ponder and apply to ourselves, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." The answer to the conundrum is that it is sin, not myself, that desires to continue the sin. But it feels so like myself. I want it, but I don't. Apparently Augustine found this in himself also. He is reported to have said that he found two things in himself, a love for the good and a love for the evil. But he found a third thing also, a love for the love of the good but a hatred for the love of the evil. That is the description of a real Christian. There is the desire for the evil alongside the desire for the good, and in truth he wants to be and do the good and despise and refuse the evil for Christ's sake. No unsaved, unconverted, unredeemed person can honestly say that. The experience of Paul and Augustine is my own as well. (This conundrum is the reason for the hope expressed in Romans 8:1, 2.) So, am I on good ground for forgiveness?
What is the ground for forgiveness? What makes it possible? One might say repentance from sin and faith in Christ, but that is the means not the cause. The blood of Christ in His death along with His resurrection is the cause. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 tells the story most fully, while the revelation and explanation of it all is in the New Testament. "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1Corinthians 15:3-4); "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (referring to Jesus); that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21); "And he (Jesus) took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:27-28); "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28); "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7); "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17); "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23); "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." (Hebrews 7:25-27); "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:11-12)
In theological terms the cause of forgiveness is the substitutionary atonement of Christ when He died on the cross. The God-man paid the price of death in our place to reconcile or restore us in good favor with God, against Whom alone, in reality (Psalm 51:4), we truly sin. All sins are against His laws and His person, not our own. And if Christ paid the penalty in full then "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:33-35)
Forgiveness is the removing of any animosity or hard feelings of any type against someone who has sinned against us. It is a full restoration of relationship to the person who did us wrong, seeing and treating him as if he had never sinned against us. (Sometimes someone might hurt us not knowing it. That is not a sin. That is just our letting our emotions and sensitivities get in the way.) To forgive does not mean to forget the occasion, but not to bring it up against the person, even in our own mind. If we remember the occasion often, dwell on it or feel ill toward the person for it we have not forgiven. The ball then is in our court. We need to deal with our own attitudes. Not to do so is to sin against that person and sport an attitude of bitterness.
Sometimes we will hear how God forgives and forgets our sins when we confess them with a true heart. One might wonder how he can forget something like God does since the occasion will not necessarily be erased from his mind. But the scriptures do not depict God as forgetting the event, but simply not holding it against the person and restoring the relationship as it had been before. Consider 1 Kings 15:5, "Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." I am forced by the 1 Kings passage to reject the idea that God forgets the commission of the sin as if it never happened. God obviously remembers the occasion. The remembrance of David's sin against Uriah is many years after David's death, let alone the pronouncement of his forgiveness by God. So also are we to forgive others. Forgiveness is to not hold any grudge against a person who has made right with us. The attitude of forgiveness is to want to restore the relationship fully even before or if they refuse to make right with us. That is God's attitude toward us (consider the father in the parable of the prodigal son). "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." (Psalm 103:13, 14)
When someone has come to you to ask forgiveness or, similarly, to tell the story of his failure against you, do you lay the sin aside so that it does not interfere with your relationship to that person? And do you hold him close to your heart with great love and concern for him in his spiritual and emotional need instead of thinking of how he disregarded you, determining never to let him get that close to you again? To love another is to concern oneself about him not ourselves. So to refuse full forgiveness, which includes and is, in reality, all about loving them, is an act of self-centeredness and self-righteousness. To refuse full forgiveness and restoration is to consider oneself to be too good to be treated that way instead of realizing you are just as sinful as he is and have disregarded others' persons and worth as well. What the action of the sin was is irrelevant. One is not any less a sinner or more worthy of respect, etc., because he has not sinned "that" sin. To think so is pure self-righteousness—a sin as bad as any other sin whatsoever! The only people Christ scoured were the self-righteous. He did not come to die for or call the righteous (self-righteous) but sinners. Knowing that, how can anyone refuse full forgiveness and restoration to another, no matter what he did?
Forgiveness is the removing of any animosity or hard feelings of any type against someone who has sinned against us. It is a full restoration of relationship to the person who did us wrong, seeing and treating him as if he had never sinned against us. (Sometimes someone might hurt us not knowing it. That is not a sin. That is just our letting our emotions and sensitivities get in the way.) To forgive does not mean to forget the occasion, but not to bring it up against the person, even in our own mind. If we remember the occasion often, dwell on it or feel ill toward the person for it we have not forgiven. The ball then is in our court. We need to deal with our own attitudes. Not to do so is to sin against that person and sport an attitude of bitterness.
Sometimes we will hear how God forgives and forgets our sins when we confess them with a true heart. One might wonder how he can forget something like God does since the occasion will not necessarily be erased from his mind. But the scriptures do not depict God as forgetting the event, but simply not holding it against the person and restoring the relationship as it had been before. Consider 1 Kings 15:5, "Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." I am forced by the 1 Kings passage to reject the idea that God forgets the commission of the sin as if it never happened. God obviously remembers the occasion. The remembrance of David's sin against Uriah is many years after David's death, let alone the pronouncement of his forgiveness by God. So also are we to forgive others. Forgiveness is to not hold any grudge against a person who has made right with us. The attitude of forgiveness is to want to restore the relationship fully even before or if they refuse to make right with us. That is God's attitude toward us (consider the father in the parable of the prodigal son). "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." (Psalm 103:13, 14)
When someone has come to you to ask forgiveness or, similarly, to tell the story of his failure against you, do you lay the sin aside so that it does not interfere with your relationship to that person? And do you hold him close to your heart with great love and concern for him in his spiritual and emotional need instead of thinking of how he disregarded you, determining never to let him get that close to you again? To love another is to concern oneself about him not ourselves. So to refuse full forgiveness, which includes and is, in reality, all about loving them, is an act of self-centeredness and self-righteousness. To refuse full forgiveness and restoration is to consider oneself to be too good to be treated that way instead of realizing you are just as sinful as he is and have disregarded others' persons and worth as well. What the action of the sin was is irrelevant. One is not any less a sinner or more worthy of respect, etc., because he has not sinned "that" sin. To think so is pure self-righteousness—a sin as bad as any other sin whatsoever! The only people Christ scoured were the self-righteous. He did not come to die for or call the righteous (self-righteous) but sinners. Knowing that, how can anyone refuse full forgiveness and restoration to another, no matter what he did?
What is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is the removing of any animosity, enmity or hard feelings of any type against someone who has sinned against us. It is to consider and treat him as guiltless.
"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." (Psalm 103:8-14)
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12)
Forgiveness is the removing of any animosity, enmity or hard feelings of any type against someone who has sinned against us. It is to consider and treat him as guiltless.
"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." (Psalm 103:8-14)
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12)
"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17)
How does one give it and receive it?
We are to love others without regard to their faults and sins, including their sins against us, and be merciful to them in their weaknesses, knowing we are just as faulty and sinful as they are. In humility we are to desire a right relationship with them and seek to restore any broken one, putting their sin against us away from our minds, desiring the best for them without regard to ourselves. And when we are the sinner we are to humbly own up to our sin, confess it to whom we failed and seek restoration whatever the cost, believing in and accepting their forgiveness, both of man and God. (It is a matter of pride if one will not give or accept forgiveness, whatever his excuse may be.)
"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." (Proverbs 10:12)
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:6-8)
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:6-8)
How far does it go?
To forgive is to forget, to refuse to bring up the sin again—forever! To accept forgiveness is to do the same, except on the receiving side. As many times as it is needed keep forgiving and being forgiven. The process never ends in this life.
"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children." (Psalm 103:17)
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21, 22)
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21, 22)
What should one's response to it be, both in forgiving and being forgiven?
The sin is put away. Now go on as if it had never happened, determining never to bring up the sin against us and determined not to sin again against man or God (but understanding we will both sin and need to forgive other's sins until we are perfected in death). Be submissive and humble in it all, every time, honoring God and man for His sake. Rejoice in both giving and receiving forgiveness. Both are a blessing of God!
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (2 Samuel 12:13)
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (2 Samuel 12:13)
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." (Psalm 32:1, 2)
"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." (Psalm 103:3, 4)
"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression." (Proverbs 19:11)
"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression." (Proverbs 19:11)
What is the result of it all?
Restoration of our joys in our relationships in this life with God and man, bolstered by hope for freedom from sin in ourselves and others and the indescribable, perfect joy and blessing we will share with each other in the very presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Whom we love and so desperately desire to please!
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11)
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