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Introduction
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At the beginning of any
study, secular or
scriptural, two matters are
to be considered: |
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a) |
It is important to know
precisely what is being
spoken of or being under a
judicial microscope. In
this case it is vital to
understand what forgiveness
means. |
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i) |
The word forgiveness means
to “let go” as in the
forgoing a debt (Matt.
18:23-35), but it goes
deeper. It means
to “let go”
any first response of anger
or demands.
It does not keep an account
of the wrong committed for,
“Charity (love) suffereth
long, and is kind; charity
envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up, Doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not
her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil”
(1 Cor. 13:4, 5). |
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ii) |
Forgiveness is an attitude
of the offended individual
to the offender. It is an
act of love for, “love
covereth all sins” (Prov.
10:12). It is grace that
flows from the heart of God
through the offended, even
if the offender never
confesses or asks for it.
The parable of the Lord and
the two debtors is very
relevant concerning this
truth. We who by the grace
of God have been forgiven
unspeakably more than anyone
has done toward us, surely
it behooves us to be more
than willing and heartily
forgive those who offend us
(Matt. 18:21-34; Eph. 4:32;
Col. 2:13; 1 Jn. 2:12). |
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iii) |
An illustration: When John
wrote His gospel
it was to present the
evidence that Jesus
was the Christ the Son of
God (Jn. 20:30-31). This
automatically leads to
several fundamental
questions such as: |
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1. |
“What is the difference
between Jesus being the
Christ and being the Son of
God?” |
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2. |
“What is meant by these
terms” |
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3. |
“Why is it so important to
believe these truths?” In
other words, there must be a
clarification and
understanding of the terms |
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The same is now applied to
“Forgiveness”. |
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1. |
“What does it mean to be
forgiven?” |
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2. |
“Why does an individual need
forgiveness?” |
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3. |
“Who is the forgiver and on
what grounds does He
determine what is right or
wrong and so judge what
needs forgiveness and what
does not?” |
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b) |
What forgiveness does not
mean: |
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i) |
Forgives does not mean to
condone a wrong committed.
To do so is a wickedness
before God who caused it to
be written as a warning,
“Woe unto them that call
evil good, and good evil” (Isa.
5:20).
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ii) |
Neither does it mean to
pretend the offense never
occurred, for while sins are
forgiven, there is also a
governmental level to be
reckoned with. David was
forgiven his sins but it did
not stop the consequences (2
Sam. 12:9-13; Gal. 6:7). |
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iii) |
Most importantly, it does
not mean allowing
individuals to take
advantage of one’s kindly
disposition, and then allow
oneself to be taken in again
(Prov. 14:15; 22:3). |
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iv) |
Having a forgiving spirit
does not mean one glories in
such an attitude for love
(charity) vaunteth not
itself (1 Cor. 13:4). |
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A word of caution: |
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a) |
Before there can be
forgiveness there ought to
be introspection, which
simply means to look
inwardly and “with a cool
head” and ask oneself, “Are
there any grounds for being
offended?” I recall an
incident where an individual
for several years held an
offense against me which I
knew nothing about.
Apparently I had walked past
him to go to speak to
someone I needed to
communicate with. I did not
even see the individual.
Did he have a right to be
offended? Had he put out
his hand to ask me a
question and then I ignored
him, he would have been
right in a certain way to be
offended, but that never
happened. The scriptures
teach, “Be not hasty in thy
spirit to be angry; for
anger resteth in the bosom
of fools” (Ecc. 7:9). |
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If the offense is of little
consequence, do as when in a
family situation,
“Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if
any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye”
(Col. 3:13). Deal with the
matter righteously. |
Forgiveness in the scriptures
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The word forgive and its
associates is found 98 times
in the scriptures. In the
Old Testament the first
reference is when the
messenger was sent by
Joseph’s brethren to remind
him of the petition of his
father Jacob, who when dying
said to Joseph (the offended
and very wronged one), “So
shall ye say unto Joseph,
Forgive, I pray thee now,
the trespass of thy
brethren, and their sin; for
they did unto thee evil: and
now, we pray thee, forgive
the trespass of the servants
of the God of thy father”
(Gen. 50:17). Then note the
response of Joseph, this was
forgiveness manifested, “And
Joseph wept when they spake
unto him” (Gen. 50:17). The
last Old Testament reference
is, “And it came to pass,
that when they had made an
end of eating the grass of
the land, then I said, O
Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech
thee: by whom shall Jacob
arise? for he is small”
(Amos 7:2). |
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a) |
“Forgiveness” in the Old
Testament occurs once (Psa.
103:3). |
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b) |
“Forgiven” occurs 27 times,
the first and last
references are Lev. 4:20 and
Isa. 33:24. |
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c) |
“Forgiving” occurs twice,
the first and last
references are Ex. 34:7 and
Num. 14:18. |
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d) |
“Forgive” is found 20 times,
the first and last
references are Matt. 6:12
and 1 Jn. 1:9. |
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e) |
“Forgiveness” in the New
Testament is mentioned 6
times, the first and last
references are Mk. 3:29 and
Col. 1:14. |
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f) |
“Forgiven” occurs 21 times,
the first and last
references are Matt. 9:2 and
1 Jn. 2:12. |
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g) |
“Forgiving” occurs twice,
the first and last
references are Eph. 4:32 and
Col. 3:13. |
Together:
In the entire Bible: |
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a) |
Forgive is mentioned 39
times |
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b) |
Forgiveness is mentioned 7
times |
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c) |
Forgiven is mentioned 48
times |
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d) |
Forgiving is mentioned 4
times |
It is perfectly clear that any theme
which God speaks of, reiterates, and
emphasizes, as much as a total of 78
times, it
is not without significance. This
is put into a very great sharpness
when it is realized that to convey
this truth God uses some four
different Hebrew and five different
Greek words.
One of the hardest “things to
forgive” in a believers life
One of the hardest things to do is
to forgive ones self. Indeed, it is
easier to accept God’s forgiveness
than to forgive myself for doing
what I did. The individual ought
not to be surprised at what they
have done for the old nature is
still in us. It has neither been
removed or modified but until the
moment we die or the Lord comes and
changes us, we are capable of any
sin in the book. Of course some
would say, “I would never commit
such and such a sin that is contrary
to the scriptures”. We need to be
careful for the scriptures say,
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall” (1
Cor. 10:12). We have no true
awareness of how depraved the flesh
is.
The foundation for Forgiveness,
whither human or divine
When dealing with the sin and
trespass offerings there is the
repeated phrase, “It shall be
forgiven him” (Lev. 4:26, 31, 5:10,
13, 16, 18; 6:7; Num. 15:28). In
all the scriptures the only sin
which is unpardonable is blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit (Matt.
12:31; Lk. 12:10).
This raises the question, “On what
grounds did God forgive?” It is of
great importance to observe that God
forgave sins in such a way that He
lost nothing. This is shown in the
practical lives of the Children of
Israel. When someone took something
which was not theirs etc., then not
only had they to restore the item or
its value, but a fifth
part was to be added to it (Lev.
5:16; 6:5; 27:13, 15, 31; Num.
5:7). The damaged one must never be
the loser. Thus, for God to forgive
sins, neither He or the Lord must
lose anything, but indeed be better
off. God’s fulness of forgiveness
can only be known because of the
complete restoration of all that God
had lost, the righteous removal of
sin and all condemnation due to sin,
and the way to full fellowship to
God restored.
Thankfully God is a merciful God who
shows grace in forgiving love, and
even with those who are under
discipline as seen clearly in
Esther. The Jews at the time of
Esther were far from God, being
disciplined by God. But wonder of
wonders, He even then bestowed His
tender mercies toward them. The
governmental powers had set a date
to eradicate the Jews but they left
God out of the equation. For an
unknown time God had been letting
the wicked Haman set his plans in
motion and then at the morning which
was to be the morning of his
greatest triumph, God destroyed
every vestige of his plans (Esther
3:5-15; 5:1; 6:1-12). How merciful
of God.
To be continued. . . .
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