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Introduction
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1) |
What is forgiveness? The following
are true experiences of others: |
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a) |
I
lit a candle for him this morning. I
have forgiven him already
the words of a nun who was attacked
and robbed by a man in a convent
raid in west Belfast in October
2013. |
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b) |
'I don't know the man or the
circumstances, but from my heart I
forgive him' the words of retired
chief constable Robin Oake when
responding to a journalists
question,
Mr
Oake, what do you think about the
man who killed your son?'
[Mr Oakes
policeman son, Stephen, was stabbed
to death while on duty in Manchester
on 14 January 2003.] |
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c) |
She was a great wee lassie. She was
a pet, and she's dead. But I bear no
ill-will, I bear no grudge
the words of Gordon Wilson who lost
his daughter Marie in the 1987
Enniskillen Cenotaph explosion.
Regarding her killers, he
subsequently confirmed,
I
did not forgive them, their crime
was so heinous that only God can
forgive them, provided they repent.
But I still pray for them every
night. |
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2) |
These interesting statements which
must be examined in light of
Scripture. |
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a) |
Firstly, lets
deal with the quote of Gordon
Wilson. His is in keeping with the
words of the Lord Jesus in the
Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapter
5). However, bearing no ill-will or
grudge, whilst a necessary
ingredient, is not in itself
forgiveness. |
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b) |
Does God ever forgive where there is
no repentance? No, for scripture
declares, "If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness" (1st John 1:9).
One thing more, if one has injured
me and repented not, while I can
forgive him or her, the individual
cannot be treated as though they had
not offended. God never demanded
that we ask for forgiveness, but for
to confess our sins. Confession is
taking sides with God in that which
has been done is contrary to His
character, degraded His honour and
tempted Him. In the sin offering
(Lev. 4), there are no references to
the priest sinning through ignorance
as with the others, and no reference
to him being forgiven as in verses
20, 26, 31, 35. He, being the
teacher of the law, ought to have
known what sin was and knowing the
heart of God, never needed to be
told he was forgiven. However, if
an individual offends me, I can
forgive but until he repents that
forgiveness can never be enjoyed by
him. I can hold no malice in my
heart against him, but I must also
pray for him. Here is the value of
Christs
perfect example. If we cannot
forgive, we can pray for God to
forgive him. |
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What is the Biblical criteria for
forgiveness?
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1) |
As with so many other subjects, the
doctrine of forgiveness is not built
on the thoughts of any man, nor any
single verse of Scripture. It is
best to look first at forgiveness by
God. |
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a) |
God's forgiveness is associated with
the two distinct, yet related
matters of (1) Salvation, and (2)
Fellowship with the Godhead. In both
instances it is conditional upon
repentance. The first, salvation, is
judicial, the second, fellowship
with God is
parental. |
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i) |
Forgiveness following the precedent
of God. |
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1. |
It is reasonable, therefore, to
assume that God would not require
man to forgive on lesser grounds
than what He himself is prepared to
do. But there is stronger evidence
in support. |
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ii) |
Forgiveness based on the teaching of
the Lord |
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1. |
In Luke 17:3-4 the Lord Jesus said,
Take heed to yourselves: If thy
brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent,
forgive him. And if he trespass
against thee seven times in a day,
and seven times in a day turn again
to thee, saying, I repent; thou
shalt forgive him. |
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2. |
If repentance was not a
prerequisite, surely the Lord would
have made no reference to such!
Incidentally, there is nothing in
these verses, or in similar verses
in Matthew 18:21-22, to suggest that
the trespasses/ sins (both terms
interchangeable in the NT except
Eph. 2:1) are repeatedly of the same
nature. On the contrary, they are
most likely different, otherwise the
repentance
is unlikely to have been genuine. |
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2) |
Is forgiveness unconditional? |
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a) |
The fact that the so-called Lords
Prayer (Matthew 6:9-14) and
Ephesians 4:32 are silent on the
point of repentance/confession, is
not grounds for the view that
forgiveness must be unconditional. |
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b) |
Proponents of unconditional
forgiveness often quote the words of
the Lord Jesus on the Cross, Father,
forgive them, for they know not what
they do. (Luke 23:34) They go a
stage further by suggesting that the
Lord Jesus himself must have had
already forgiven them! However,
there is nothing to suggest this was
the case, and this first cry of the
Saviour should be regarded as a
prayer, rather than a declaration of
unconditional forgiveness. |
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3) |
Commenting upon the words,
Father,
forgive them, for they know not what
they do,
A W Pink, in his book, The Seven
Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross,
stresses the same point about the
need for repentance. However, he
goes a stage further and rightly
gives the complementary teaching of
Scripture regarding the aggrieved
partys
attitude towards the offender. He
writes: Christ did not personally
forgive his enemies. So in Matthew
5:44 he did not exhort his disciples
to forgive their enemies, but he
does exhort them to "pray" for them.
But are we not to forgive those who
wrong us? This leads us to a point
concerning which there is much need
for instruction today. |
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4) |
Does scripture teach that under all
circumstances we must always
forgive? I answer emphatically, it
does not. The word of God says, "If
thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent,
forgive him. And if he trespass
against thee seven times a day, and
seven times in a day turn again to
thee saying, I repent, thou shalt
forgive him" (Luke 17:3,4). Here we
are plainly taught that a condition
must be met by the offender before
we may pronounce forgiveness. The
one who has wronged us must first
"repent", that is, judge himself for
his wrong and give evidence of his
sorrow over it. But suppose the
offender does not repent? Then I am
not to forgive him. |
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5) |
But let there be no misunderstanding
of our meaning here. Even though the
one who has wronged me does not
repent, nevertheless, I must not
harbour ill-feelings against him.
There must be no hatred or malice
cherished in the heart. Yet, on the
other hand, I must not treat the
offender as if he had done no wrong. |
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Returning briefly to the so-called
Lords
Prayer, since the request,
Lord
teach us to pray
came from his followers, and with
the resultant instruction given
them, it is clear, as alluded to
earlier, that the forgiveness
element concerns fellowship with the
Godhead, and not salvation (in the
past tense). The apostle John deals
with this more comprehensively in
his first epistle (1st John Ch.
1). |
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It is also worth noting that after
the teaching of
The
Lords
Prayer
in Matthew 6, the Lord Jesus
immediately returns to the
forgiveness aspect For if ye
forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive
you: But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses (v.14,15).
This shows how important this
subject is! |
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It might be that people sometimes
use words such as
forgiven
and
forgave
to describe a condition of heart
which is nothing more than the
absence of ill-will or grudge. That
said, it would be presumptuous to
suggest that some claims of
forgiveness in the absence of
repentance are not genuine. However,
as already made clear overleaf, God,
who is righteous, demands confession
cum repentance for both salvation
and fellowship, and it is therefore
not unreasonable to assume that this
should be the norm. |
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Having clarified that Scripture does
not demand forgiveness where there
is no repentance, it is equally
clear, as also previously stated,
that Scripture demands that we do
forgive in those situations where
there has been genuine repentance. |
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Two final things must be said about
sin, repentance and forgiveness.
Forgiveness by man, and indeed by
God, does not necessarily mean the
absence of serious consequences of
the sin. Secondly, often allied,
but, again not the subject this
pamphlet, is the matter of
discipline where the offender is a
member of a church fellowship.
Church elders have a clear
obligation to investigate all
reports of sin, and to take any
action that may be required in
accordance with Scripture. |
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In conclusion
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1) |
Forgiveness is not unconditional. |
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2) |
Christians must be ready to forgive
upon certain conditions being met,
namely repentance. |
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3) |
Forgiveness in these circumstances
must be full, not partial. |
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Adapted from the pamphlet,
Forgiveness Full, Partial,
Conditional or Unconditional |
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by Alan McIlwaine, N.
Ireland
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