Psalm 32:1-5... 1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
We stumble in our lives and relationships. We make mistakes, sometimes very serious ones. So it’s not uncommon for Christians to have perplexing questions about forgiveness. Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us. Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured or think someone is attacking us. We don't naturally overflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we've been wronged. We also don’t easily seek forgiveness when we’ve sinned, which embodies the concept of discipline administered by shepherds of the flock as directed by God’s Word. Every one of us needs to understand and come to terms with the issues of forgiveness. Forgiveness is part of God's plan, when properly understood, it will not and does not contradict God's justice.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as ‘to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offense or debt.‘ Some questions come to mind... How does righteous indignation figure into the shortcomings of humanity? How can we have justice and forgiveness at the same time? How can we have accountability for violation of the laws of God along with application of the mercy of God? Tough questions, that in one form or another are on the minds of Christians today.
Before we go any further, we need to define forgiveness, but let's start with what forgiveness is not.
Forgiveness is not a compromise of morality. Don't think God would confuse moral clarity and moral responsibility with grace and forgiveness. God's justice ensures that a murderer will not get away with murder and a sex offender will not get away with molestation. Or, anyone in flagrant violation of God’s commandments for holy living will be let off the hook for sinful conduct.
Forgiveness is not a violation or compromise of God’s justice. Forgiveness is not merely the avoidance of conflict. Most of us who do not like conflict. We don't want to share hard feelings or harsh words with someone else, so we skirt around issues of conflict. Sometimes forbearance is the right thing to do, but simple avoidance [or ignoring] of conflict is not the same as forgiveness.
So, what really is the meaning of forgiveness? For a moment, try to forget everything you have heard or assumed about forgiveness. Let a single word impress itself on your mind: the biblical word, the new covenant word, in Greek it is aphesis, in English, release.
Now for a moment, don't make it any more complicated than that — release. Forgive means to choose to take someone whom you have been holding in your debt, holding in resentment and bitterness, and release him or her.
Forgiveness is not calling something that someone else did that was immoral or destructive OK. It is not turning a blind eye toward injustice. Forgiveness simply means you choose to release somebody from personal obligation to you, even though that person will have to face the justice of God at some point in their future.
In Matthew 18, Jesus' disciple Peter asked Jesus: "How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered with a parable in which a man owed a king 10,000 talents (around two billion dollars) and was on the brink of having to sell his wife and children into slavery to pay the debt, but the pleas of the man to the king were heard and his debt was cancelled. Forgiveness. Release.
However, the same man who was forgiven then demanded payment and could not forgive a man who owed him merely 100 denarii (about $20 bucks). When the king heard of this, he was incensed, saying, "You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant?" The king rescinded his forgiveness. Jesus' closing words are these: "This is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Release means letting “it” go for good; don’t recall the debt as a means of leverage over someone.
Forgiveness is release. Being released by God from a debt we could never pay through Jesus and his death for our sins on the cross, we are able to “release” other people who hurt us and sin against us.
We're not finished with this topic of "forgiveness". More to come next week.
