In
this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to
be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another. – 1 John 4:10-11
Propitiation is a big word that refers to the atonement of our sins – satisfying the wrath of God. It also is a reference to the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant onto which a blood offering made by the high priest on the day of atonement for the sins to Israel. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God – was our atonement – the blood offering for us.
(I must add that this is not the conventional teaching on forgiveness. Read the Bible to know if what I say is right. Like the Bereans did with Paul. Acts 17)
Why do we forgive? Because we are forgiven. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32
How can we forgive? It’s a supernatural act, not an act of our natural will to be benevolent. It is by the power of the Spirit that is in us. There is a difference between judgement and forgiveness. We do not have the spiritual authority to judge others. God is the judge. But we do have the spiritual mandate to forgive others.
Who do we forgive? We forgive the one who repents and seeks forgiveness. It is possible to be willing to forgive – harboring no bitterness or anger toward another person, but forgiveness happens at the point of repentance. Otherwise you do nothing more than enable sinful behavior.
When do we forgive? … as often as the repentant soul seeks forgiveness. Peter, I think wanting a reason to withhold forgiveness, asked Jesus about “repeat offenders” …
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22
Jesus followed that with the parable of the unmerciful or unforgiving servant. A man who had been forgiven but was unwilling to forgive others in the same way … even in the smallest matter. Jesus has paid the price for sin. Once for all. Think about it. Why would we think that the offense against us is somehow more significant than our offense against God? How can your reject one who has been forgiven by God .. who do you think you are? I’ll tell you. It goes back to the Garden. We want to be like God. How dare someone sin against me. In our humanness, we think that we have power to withhold forgiveness. Actually … in not forgiving, we are sinning.
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” – James 4:17
If you withhold forgiveness, then it is you who must repent of your unforgiveness and seek forgiveness yourself! There is a process that a sinner follows to find forgiveness … he sins .. he is convicted by the Spirit … he repents …. he confesses … he finds forgiveness from the one who has been offended. All sin is against God. So you must first go to God and then to the person you have offended. Confession means … to agree with. Those who have been offended by the sin know it already. The offender is admitting the wrong that was done. So how is that working in your life? Whether you are the offender or the offended?
Propitiation is a big word that refers to the atonement of our sins – satisfying the wrath of God. It also is a reference to the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant onto which a blood offering made by the high priest on the day of atonement for the sins to Israel. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God – was our atonement – the blood offering for us.
(I must add that this is not the conventional teaching on forgiveness. Read the Bible to know if what I say is right. Like the Bereans did with Paul. Acts 17)
Why do we forgive? Because we are forgiven. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32
How can we forgive? It’s a supernatural act, not an act of our natural will to be benevolent. It is by the power of the Spirit that is in us. There is a difference between judgement and forgiveness. We do not have the spiritual authority to judge others. God is the judge. But we do have the spiritual mandate to forgive others.
Who do we forgive? We forgive the one who repents and seeks forgiveness. It is possible to be willing to forgive – harboring no bitterness or anger toward another person, but forgiveness happens at the point of repentance. Otherwise you do nothing more than enable sinful behavior.
When do we forgive? … as often as the repentant soul seeks forgiveness. Peter, I think wanting a reason to withhold forgiveness, asked Jesus about “repeat offenders” …
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22
Jesus followed that with the parable of the unmerciful or unforgiving servant. A man who had been forgiven but was unwilling to forgive others in the same way … even in the smallest matter. Jesus has paid the price for sin. Once for all. Think about it. Why would we think that the offense against us is somehow more significant than our offense against God? How can your reject one who has been forgiven by God .. who do you think you are? I’ll tell you. It goes back to the Garden. We want to be like God. How dare someone sin against me. In our humanness, we think that we have power to withhold forgiveness. Actually … in not forgiving, we are sinning.
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” – James 4:17
If you withhold forgiveness, then it is you who must repent of your unforgiveness and seek forgiveness yourself! There is a process that a sinner follows to find forgiveness … he sins .. he is convicted by the Spirit … he repents …. he confesses … he finds forgiveness from the one who has been offended. All sin is against God. So you must first go to God and then to the person you have offended. Confession means … to agree with. Those who have been offended by the sin know it already. The offender is admitting the wrong that was done. So how is that working in your life? Whether you are the offender or the offended?
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