Biblical Forgiveness – Forgiving And Forgetting – Part 2

Our Spiritual Obligation To Forgive Others

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32

How God forgave us.

Let’s imagine that everyone has sinned and the relationship with their God, their Creator was broken.  That is not too far of a stretch of your imagination! But God loved them and wanted them to be restored to Himself.  

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9

The problem – He is holy and there is a penalty for sin and restoration was not possible unless a price was paid, a sacrifice made. Enter Jesus – that is the “in Christ” part of Ephesians 4:32. Jesus paid the price for everybody’s sin. So problem solved, right? Everyone goes to heaven, right? Wrong!  There was something else that must happen. Because of Jesus, for the sinner, there is no demand for restitution, nor is there a demand for retribution, there is only the hope of restoration.  Restoration happens when the prodigal repents, confesses and returns home. (read Luke 15:11-32)

Even though forgiveness in Christ is offered, each sinner must place their faith in Jesus.  They must confess, repent and believe which precedes their spiritual birth and restoration to the Father through the Son by faith. When they do, the forgiveness that God offers through Jesus can be appropriated or consummated. The hope of forgiveness, which is restoration becomes a reality.  The relationship between a holy God and a sinner saved by grace is restored.

How we forgive like God. When a Christian Sins against a Christian.

First, what we are talking about is spiritual not natural.  The natural man is not “in Christ.” It is impossible for them to forgive like God. They are spiritually dead.  So, I am addressing the question of Christians who are to forgive.

For the sake of this discussion, I will use Bob and Fred.  They are both Christians. Fred has sinned against Bob in some way. 

Let’s consider what happens when Fred sinned against Bob. Bob might have been hurt emotionally, physically, or relationally.  Because of Bob’s faith in Christ, when Bob resolves to forgive Fred, the bitterness and anger and hurt he feels toward Fred are replaced by love.  Bob no longer feels any animosity toward the Fred, but wants to be restored to him.  Bob knows it is because of God in him.

 “We love because God first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

Bob has forgiven Fred, but as with God, the forgiveness process is not yet complete.  Bob is at peace in his heart, but the relationship has not been restored. Fred must repent and confess just like with the restoration that happens between God and man. 

Just like many people reject God’s offer of forgiveness and restoration, Fred may not ever repent. That means that the relationship between Bob and Fred will not be restored and the forgiveness process will be interrupted - derailed.  But, that does not mean that Bob can’t or won’t be at peace.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” – Romans 12:18 

To Be Continued …..

Biblical Forgiveness – Forgiving And Forgetting – Part 1

I received more great feedback on my second devotion about forgiveness yesterday.  

I was asked the question about God forgiving and forgetting.  This will be in two parts. Today will be with respect to God forgiving and forgetting.  Tommorrow will be about us forgiving and forgetting. 

As a refresher recall that I said there is a forgiveness process.  God offers forgiveness and the forgiveness is only consummated when we confess our sin and repent.   

These are many verses in the Bible that refer to God’s forgiveness and a number of verses that allude to God not remembering our sins. 

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:11-12 

I [God], even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. – Isaiah 43:25  

For I [God] will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. – Hebrews 8:12  

With respect to forgetting our sins, it is important the we read and understand the Bible in its context – the whole counsel, if you will.  So let’s bring forgiveness and forgetting into context.  

What do we know about God’s nature? One thing, He never changes. Another, He is omniscient. (He knows everything.) 

Consider what it means to forget.  To forget means to “disregard intentionally : overlook” or “to lose the remembrance of : be unable to think of or recall.”  

If God knows everything, verses that say He forgets cannot mean that He loses remembrance or is unable to think or recall.  It must mean that He chooses to overlook the sins that He has forgiven and for which you have consummated the forgiveness process through confession and repentance by faith in Jesus. 

God won’t bring it up again, once it is forgiven. So the next time you do something - sin, God won’t say, “Hey, wait a minute! I remember the last time you did this. That is two strikes against you!” As if to say “You only get one more strike and you are out!”  Nope, He has declared that He will not bring it up again. 

How is it possible that a Holy God can treat us that way?  His name is Jesus.  “Jesus paid it all.  All to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” Jesus Paid It All, Elvina M. Hall (1865), Public Domain 

God does not hold our sins against us because of Jesus and our faith in Him.  

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1 

But – that forgiveness is not consummated until we repent and put our faith is Jesus – until we are born again by the Spirit. Just as Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again.” 

Jesus said “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” – John 14:6 

To consummate the forgiveness process with God, you must be born again.  After that, you will continue to sin, and you must repent and seek forgiveness each time.  (1 John 1:9) Otherwise you will disrupt you relationship with the Father – but you will never terminate it. You are covered by the blood of Jesus. (Yes, I am a once saved, always saved guy) “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” What Can Wash Away My Sin, Robert Lowry (1876), Public Domain. 

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 

God loved us but there had to be a sacrifice to atone for our sins before there could be any hope of restoration.  That was Jesus. 

“who Himself [Jesus] bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” – 1 Peter 2:24-25 

Do people who have not been born again have any other way to be restored to the Father and find forgiveness for their sins? That would be a No!  

So to summarize: God loves all of us.  He offers forgiveness to everyone, but restoration to the Father can only happen through repentance and faith in Jesus.  Only because of Jesus, God does not fail to remember but overlooks our sins when we confess and repent. All of those who reject Jesus, in spite of the fact that God has offered forgiveness through Jesus, are bound for hell.  Without Jesus, it doesn’t matter how sorry they might be.  

Tomorrow, we will address our side of forgiveness – man toward God and the forgiveness process of man toward man.

Biblical Forgiveness – What It Is And What It Isn’t

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 ….

Understanding Forgiveness – Why, How, Who and When?

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?

You Are A Reflection Of Your Father. The Way You Live Will Shout Out Which One

Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…" — Matthew 16:24 

With respect to the life we live, there are two sides to the coin, the natural and the supernatural.  I am sure you have heard the saying “The apple does not fall too far from the tree.”  Or how about “He is just like his dad.” I remember that one. Before I type what I am going to type, let me preface it by saying my mom was a godly woman who led many to Jesus.  Before her rebirth .. well she was just like every other person who needs Jesus.  My parents were divorced when I was 2 years old.  I was one of four, the youngest, from my parents’ marriage.  We lived with my mom.  Years later, my mom admitted she got married for the wrong reason .. one of 15 children she wanted out of the house.  Many people make choices like that.  The consequences of those “flesh” choices  reverberate through their lives and the lives of their children and maybe even their children.  OK, so one day I did something she didn’t like and she said to me “Stop doing that you remind me of your father!” I can remember thinking, “Don’t be like your father or you will lose the love of your mother.”  It proved to be a deterrent from my wanting to be like him in any way.  Well that is the natural.  

On the other hand, as a teenager, I worked in my stepdad’s family business.  When I would talk to customers, they would often say, I can see the family resemblance.  It was not because I shared their physical characteristics, but that my behavior, humor, demeanor was like theirs.  The way I acted was a reflection of his family. I would just smile. 

Today, there is a significant interest in people discovering their genetic roots.  Ancestry.com advertises a lot on television.  People want to know and are willing to pay to know.  Ancestry.com is connected to – sponsored by the Mormons church by the way.  Family trees are very important to their faith.  Knowing where they came from is an important part of their belief system.  With respect to the natural side of the coin, the Bible tells us  that we came from Adam.  We are a reflection of Adam.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23  

In other words, when we are born naturally, we are not like God.  People think they can find meaning and perhaps comfort in knowing about their natural ancestry.  What they need to know is what Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again … by the Spirit” – John 3:3-8

So with respect to the supernatural side of the coin. God’s intent is that we be a reflection of the God of heaven, or more correctly, His Son, Jesus.  Paul wrote,  “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” – Romans 8:29 

But to do that you must be born again and walking after the Spirit and not the flesh. Jesus said, “If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.” –  John 14:9  Jesus was and is a reflection of the Father.  They are indistinguishable.  Jesus prayed “that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” – John 17:21 

When we reflect Jesus, we reflect the Father. There is no room for our old nature or its individuality.  Our identity is in Christ.  “..old things are passed away .. everything is becoming new.”  –  2 Corinthians 5:17 

Be on your guard because your flesh will surely rise up and demand its place in your life.  It is possible to be born again and not reflect the One who has made your new birth possible.  But it is also possible that if you don’t reflect Jesus that you are not born again at all, merely religious.  Only God can see your heart, all the world can see is the family resemblance. 

Staying In Step With Jesus - It's A Supernatural Ability

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:14 

I was walking down the hall with a friend the other day, but his pace was much faster than mine.  I soon found myself a few yards behind him.  I thought, “I guess my age is catching up with me.”  Then it dawned on me that I might be out of shape!  We can get out of shape spiritually too.  Keeping in step with Jesus requires that we be in-shape spiritually. 

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

This new life we live requires the discipline of an athlete.  Without proper spiritual conditioning, we will find ourselves falling behind, getting spiritually winded. That is a kinder way of saying that we will struggle with sin and obedience.  

There are two qualities that are important both in manufacturing processes and in the Christian life.  Validity and Reliability.  Validity means that whatever it is, is made and functions according to the designer’s plan.  Reliability means that it continues to function in the same valid way every time.  Have you ever said of someone that they are unreliable?  That they can’t be counted on? Well, perhaps that could be said of us as well with respect to our walk with the Lord.  

We all have feet of clay, but we also all have the Spirit of God and the capacity to live a super-natural life.  A life dependent upon the One who saved us and not ourselves. And so my friend, I think we need to look to Jesus and pick up the pace! Don’t let yourself fall behind.  Maybe it is not you, maybe it is someone you know that is struggling. I just had a memory flash across my mind.  I was a second lieutenant attending the lieutenant’s course in Armor (tanks).  We had to take physical fitness tests and pass them to be successful in the course.  One of the events was the two mile run around a quarter mile track.  That is 8 laps for those of you who like math.  A friend fell off of the pace needed to pass and stopped running.  I passed him, and then went back to encourage him.  He wanted to quit.  I encouraged him not to quit.  The evaluators told me to leave him and finish lest I too failed.  I didn’t and he didn’t – fail that is.  My point is that if you want to encourage someone in their faith, it will cost you something.  It requires time and effort and perhaps emotion.  

"Therefore comfort each other and encourage one another, just as you also are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

Encouraging others in the faith is one of the fundamental responsibilities we have toward other Christians.  But – you must be in shape yourself in order to fulfill that responsibility.  Whoever’s name just flashed across your mind – pray for them and encourage them.  Maybe a phone call – an email or Facebook message – maybe even meeting for lunch or coffee.  You are going to have to stop running to do it. But, do it …. today.

Doing Is Not Being – And Being Results In The Fruit Of Faith – Good Works

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10 

If those who are born again are committed to following Jesus, then they have a devotion to Jesus and therefore to the Father, that is evidenced in how they live and how they treat others.  There is one aspect of our new life that is invisible to the people around us and is only visible to God.  That is the condition of our hearts.  Our hearts are to be wholly devoted to the Father.  As you may well know, it is possible to attend church, put on your happy face, listen to sermons, and sing worship songs and all the while have a divided heart.  The Bible warns us about such people. 

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” – Matthew 15:8-9 

“Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” – 2 Timothy 3:5-7 

Many people who go to church and are involved in church activities are convinced that “doing” is the same as “being”.  They practice the Christian religion, embrace the teachings but lack the devotion to the Cornerstone of the Church.  They may go to the altar every Sunday morning and still be spiritually ignorant and far from God.  They lack understanding and they lack commitment to their faith … that is , if they even have a saving faith.  The demons know who Jesus is, but they don’t serve Him.  They have another master.  

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” – James 2:19 

For many Christians, their hearts that were once alive toward God have become hardened toward spiritual things in favor of those things that satisfy the flesh.  They go through the motions .. say the right things .. but serve themselves and not the risen Lord.  Sound harsh?  The truth often does because truth brings conviction and conviction brings discomfort and brings us to the point of decision.  Will I respond to the Truth or will I ignore it and choose to continue on the vain journey I am pursuing? 

What am I saying?  Friends, we need to be on our guard or before we know it .. those people .. will become “we the people”.  I must examine myself and my devotion every day.  I have to keep my flesh in check.  The only way that we can glorify the Father is by being spiritually “right” and devoted to His will in every aspect of our lives.  You must be careful that you do not relegate your spirituality to Sunday morning.  We are Christians 24x7 into eternity. 

Your works will not result in faith.  Our old nature believes that.  But, it is faith that produces works.  The fruit of faith is good works.