Thoughts: Debt vs. Trespasses
Forgiveness is the corner stone of Christian faith. This was very profoundly taught by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in the Lord’s prayer. He said; forgive us our debts, as also have forgiven our debtors; Matt. 6:12. He wanted us to embrace the heart with a posture of mercy, humility, freedom from bitterness, anger and resentment.
Forgiveness does not mean condoning
or endorsing anything that was done that caused harm to the individual. It does
not involve trying to reconcile or resume any kind of meaningful social
connection with someone who has wronged you. It is actively letting go of the
painful association, as well as forgiving the offender. This way the
person who forgives the other, is free.
Several Greek words are used
to describe sin, and the Gospel of Matthew uses the word, ophelema,[ii]
which is rendered ‘debt’ as in Matt 6:12; which is described as ‘that
which is legally owed; that which is justly or legally due, a debt.
Now, the Greek word paraptoma[iii], which is rendered ‘trespasses’ as in Matt 6:14 means, to fall beside or near something, a lapse or deviation from the truth and uprightness, a sin, or a misdeed.
Praying for forgiveness requires listening quietly in God’s presence so that He may reveal to us our own acts of disobedience, our resentments, and our unresolved issues in our hearts and even with our neighbors. As Christians we inevitably continue to sin, but our lives need to be characterized by a reducing frequency of sin with an increasing sensitivity to sin.
How do we describe God’s Mercy?
For forgiveness, and we stand before God’s mercy and grace every day for the sins of commission and omission.
Just as your soul prospers: John here made an analogy between the condition of our health and the condition of our soul. Many Christians would be desperately ill if their physical health was instantly in the same state as their spiritual health.[iv]
Goodness of Forgiveness
Emlet, Michael, writes, Ultimately our bodies do not have “the final say” when it comes to whether or not we live in faith or idolatry. At most, the body can only influence our hearts to make that righteous or sinful choice. The Scriptures affirm the active, responsive-to-God heart, while not ignoring the powerful influences of the body on the heart.[v]
Nueroscientifically, the structures and
pathways in the brain that it exercises to forgive others have other advantages
to our mental and emotional well-being. When one holds a grudge or just
passively waiting for hurt the other, or waiting to subside those feelings of
unforgiveness, the strength-building processes that come with forgiveness does
not happen.
Forgiveness, reappraisal, emotional regulation: Forgiveness is a cognitive and emotional process that eradicates chronic hostility, rumination, and their adverse effects. forgiving is a healthy resolution of the problems caused by injuries suggests that this process might have evolved as a favorable response that promotes human survival.[vi]
Forgiveness is a complex, spiralled procedure, but also why one might want to consider it. One cannot do it on their own strength. For we also forgive; and this is we assume that the forgiven one will show forgiveness to others. Just like bread and water are needed for the body, forgiveness on a daily basis needed for the nourishment of our souls.
Jesus represented sins with
the idea of being indebted. The sinner owes a debt to God. “Sin is represented here
under the notion of a debt, and as our
sins are many, they are called here debts.”
[ii] Opheilema -
New Testament Greek Lexicon - New American Standard
www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/opheilema.html
Definition. that which is owed. that which is justly or legally
due, a debt. metaph. offence, sin. NAS Word Usage - Total: 2.
debts 1, what is due 1 ...
[iii] Paraptoma -
New Testament Greek Lexicon - New American Standard
www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/paraptoma.html
Definition.
to fall beside or near something; a lapse or deviation from truth and
uprightness. a sin, misdeed. NAS Word Usage - Total: 20.
transgression 7 ...
[iv] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/3-john-1/
[v] Emlet, Michael, R. 2002. Understanding the influences on the human heart. Journal of Biblical Counseling, 20:47-52.
[vi] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3856773/
How the brain heals emotional wounds: the functional …
Specifically, trait forgiveness (i.e., a constant
attitude to forgive) is associated with a diminished recourse to medications
and alcohol, and state forgiveness (i.e., a situation-contingent
No comments:
Post a Comment