I received some greatly valued feedback on my devotion
about forgiveness yesterday. So much so,
that I decide to expand on my thinking about Biblical forgiveness.
Biblical
forgiveness has one goal. The goal is restoration of a broken
relationship. Mankind restored to
God, through Jesus and people restored to each other.
For
God so loved the world …. – John 3:16
Biblical
forgiveness has two parts. One
part has to do with the one who is offended and the other with the
offender. God towards man and man
towards man. The latter being a
reflection of the former.
Part
1: Mankind has offended, sinned against, a holy God.
All
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. –
Romans 3:23
Part
2: People offend, sin against, each other.
Most Christians don’t have a problem with embracing
the idea that God has forgiven them. The
problem they have is with forgiving each other.
The
cost of forgiveness is sacrifice.
Fact:
God sent His Son to pay the price for the sin of man in order to forgive man
for sin. A holy God requires a sacrifice
for sin in order that man might be restored to God.
And
according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without
shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness]. – Hebrews
9:22
The
consummation of forgiveness.
Fact: Although
forgiveness has been made possible through the Cross, forgiveness must be
sought out by the sinner. Otherwise, there would be no need for faith or confession.
Jesus died, He was resurrected, everyone is forgiven and is going to heaven.
If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1
John 1:9
But
what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that
is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. – Romans 10:8-9
Fact:
We are to forgive in the same manner that God has forgiven us.
The cycle of forgiveness is not completed; the goal of
forgiveness is not achieved until the offender is restored to the offended.
Most
Christians tend to focus on what it takes to be willing to forgive. The benefit of forgiving the debt. Much has been written, many sermons preached
about the benefit derived when the one offended resolves that they are willing
to forgive. There are often feelings of
anger, bitterness, or betrayal when the offense occurs. But, the peace that reigns in the heart of
the one offended when they are resolved to forgive is only the first part of forgiveness. Forgiveness can only be complete when the offender repents and seeks that forgiveness.
The eternal consummation of forgiveness with respect to
God and mankind is called being born again, salvation. There
are many people who will never experience that.
Even though God extended His offer of forgiveness to everyone, not
everyone will embrace it and seek it. It
is the same way with people forgiving other people.
“Be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave
you.” – Ephesians 4:32
Forgiving one another just like God forgave us in
Christ. So, yes, we must be willing to
forgive and we will derive benefit from releasing our right to justice and retribution
for the offense. But until the offender
is willing to embrace our offer of forgiveness, the purpose of forgiveness will
not be achieved.
God does not make excuses for our sin. He does not wink at our transgressions. He does not enable our sinful behavior. The conditions for being restored in relationship
never change. There must be repentance. Like the father of the prodigal son, like
God, we look to the hill hoping one day that the son will repent and return.
Until that time, we wait. The son may
never return. We must not go after him,
but be ready for the day of his return. And on that day, forgiveness will
be complete!
More to come ….
No comments:
Post a Comment