Forgiving and Forgiveness

by Steve Bastin

“I forgive you, but I will never forget what you did!”  Sounds like someone is really angry.  And maybe not serious about forgiving.

“Forgive!  Forget it.  I’ve already forgiven you a zillion times and if you think you can keep on doing that and getting forgiveness, you’ve got to have a screw loose!”

Sounds like another angry person.  And who can blame someone who is obviously  suffering from continuous abuse.

What are we to make of Jesus teaching us, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  Or what are we to do with his statement, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Forgiveness is probably something with which everyone has struggled at one time or another.  Some people are easy to forgive.  But most are not.

It makes logical sense that if someone has committed a wrong, then it is necessary that they pay for that wrong.  Deeply ingrained in most people is a sense of justice.  Wrong demands payment.

We see it in demands that criminals “pay for their crimes.”  Someone who has served time is said to have “paid their debt to society.”

We see it again in the doctrine of penance.  If one has sinned, the priest will give you penance that must be performed.  Again, there is the idea that one must pay for mistakes that have been made.

Therefore, if I have been personally offended, I feel that the offender needs to pay for what they have done.  Forgiveness will be withheld until payment is forthcoming.

Yet forgiveness and payment are mutually exclusive.  If there is forgiveness there need not be payment.  Conversely, if there is payment, then what need is there for forgiveness?

Consider the matter of a mortgage on your house.  Money is owed the lending institution.  That money must be paid.

Yet, consider, for example, a case in which a friend or relative has put up the money for you to purchase a house.  That person has within their power the right to forgive the debt.  If the debt is forgiven, there is no need to pay.  Banks are generally unwilling to do such, but a friend or relative might.  Payment and forgiveness are two quite different ways of settling a debt.

If someone makes up for a wrong that has been committed, there is no need for forgiveness.  Likewise, if there is forgiveness, there is no need to make up for the wrong.  There only needs to be the acknowledgement that the debt has been paid.

Sometimes a situation exists where the offending party makes up over and over for the offense, but the person still insists on holding the debt against them.  That is simply unfair.  If the debt has been discharged only a dishonest person would continue to insist that it needs to be paid over and over again.  But our world is filled with such dishonest persons.

On the other hand, the one who will truly forgive is almost extinct today.  Such a person does not require repayment.  Such a person realizes that they owe a debt to God that they cannot pay yet God has forgiven them.

A problem enters the picture when many religious people contend that Jesus paid their sin debt by dying on the cross.  If that be entirely true, then they have no need for forgiveness and consequently they have no need to forgive others.  Perhaps that explains the lack of forgiveness in the Christian community.

Christians who understand that they stand daily in need of forgiveness are generally more willing to forgive others.  Those who think that Christ paid their debt for them will also think that those who have offended them must pay the debt before being forgiven by the Christian.

If Jesus death on the cross did not pay for our sins, then what did his death accomplish?  The Bible refers to his death as an atoning sacrifice.

Atonement in the Old Testament was a prelude to forgiveness.  Notice in Leviticus, chapters 4, 5 and 6 how atonement was made and then the person was forgiven.

Atonement is an admission of sin.  Accepting Jesus death on the cross is an admission that we are sinners in need of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is granted based on our clear understanding that we stand in need of such forgiveness.

God’s penalty for sin is much greater than physical death.  It is eternity in hell.  Jesus did not suffer that.  He did suffer in his death, a suffering that was both physical and emotional (thus his cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”).  Although it was an offering “for sin,” it did not pay the penalty for sin.  Forgiveness relieves us of the need to make payment for our sins.

Sometimes those who have offended us do something that indicates their sorrow for what they have done.  That does not make right what has been done.  It does indicate their desire for forgiveness.  When a peace offering is made, the person who understands God’s plan for forgiveness will understand that they need to offer forgiveness to the one who has offended them.

The flesh demands its pound of flesh.  The spirit leads us to forgiveness instead.

God is both a just god and a forgiving god.  We can choose which we want.  We can continue in sin and face His justice or we can accept the atonement of Jesus and seek His forgiveness.

But remember, His forgiveness is only available to those who forgive others.  Those who do not forgive, stand exposed to the justice of God.  And God will not disappoint in His administration of justice.

In Acts 2 we have an illustration of how God’s plan works.  Several thousand Jews had gathered to hear what Peter had to say.  His message was about Jesus and how God had raised him from the dead.

These Jews understood about atonement and forgiveness.  When Peter convicted them of sinning against God, they asked, “What shall we do?”  They knew the law, that sin demanded an animal sacrifice.  But the law made no provision for an atonement for murder and they were guilty of murdering the Christ.

Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized.”  Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for every sin.  Even murder could now be forgiven because of the death of Jesus.  In the same way, you can be forgiven for any sin you have committed.