· Therefore is the kingdom of
heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten
thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to
be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be
made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was
moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same
servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying,
Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And
he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came
and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had
called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had
compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was
wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due
unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from
your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.
Matt: 18:23-35.
If
a man is not forgiven he has to be charged and he stands absolutely insolvent
and this means man’s forgiveness has to come from a Holy God Who is infinite in
His mercy and His grace is new every morning. What God did through His Son Jesus
Christ is man’s Justice is changed to tremendous Mercy because when we are
sinners we are indeed infinitely debted to Justice.
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness
means not to dwell on the sin that was forgiven to the offender. It is a
promise not to raise the issue again to the offender, or to others or himself
or herself. Even ‘brooding on the issue’ is a violation of the promise made in
granting forgiveness to the offender.
A definition for forgiveness
could be -- giving up my right to hurt you, for hurting me. It is impossible to
live on this fallen planet without getting hurt, offended, misunderstood, lied
to, and rejected. Learning how to respond properly is one of the basics of the
Christian life1.
The word “forgive” means to wipe
the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. When we wrong someone, we seek
his or her forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. It is
important to remember that forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves
to be forgiven. Instead, it is an act of love, mercy, and grace2.
Reconciliation is a complete
change of relationships between persons; God and man; and man and man and this
involves three basic elements.
a.) Confessing our sins to God,
and to any other offended party;
b.) Forgiveness by God and by the
offended party;
c.) Establishing a new
relationship between God and the offender; and the offender and the offended
party. Confession, forgiveness and reconciliation are very much related and in
reconciliation, the enmity and alienation are replaced by peace and
fellowship.
How do we describe God’s Mercy? “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.” Jesus Christ taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer for forgiveness,
and we stand before God’s mercy and grace every day for the sins of commission
and omission.
Let
us briefly look at the difference between debt and trespasses.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses; Matt: 6:12-15.
(Debt vs. Trespasses) Several Greek words are used
to describe sin, and the Gospel of Matthew uses the word, ophelema, 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,
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.
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 ...
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 ...
God will forgive us only as much
as we forgive those who have injured us, and in the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to
be merciful and forgive our sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 Jn
1:9.
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.
When God forgives a sinner, He
marks a new beginning, and the old has gone. He wanted that the matters which
the repentance concerned must be cleared up, and bear fruit which is
appropriate to ‘true repentance’. This leads to change in relationships, which
leads to the abandonment of old ways (putting off) and the establishment of new
ways (putting on).
In some difficult cases, for
example if the offended party refuses to give forgiveness, then the Scriptures
in Matthew 18, comes into effect. The first step is the repentant party
approaches the person regarding the issue and if that fails, he takes one or
two witnesses. When w e begin to explore Mat: 18:15-17; we observe that Jesus
established a procedure to be followed in the event a brother commit an offense
against another believer. Very often we ignore these steps and when we are
caught up in a spiral of unforgiveness this leads to confusion and eventually
spiral of bitterness. In Luk 17; Jesus Christ makes the forgiveness of the
repentant brother very mandatory.
·
It is important to resolve the
misunderstandings,
·
Maintain peace in the body of
Christ; Eph:4:13.
·
Not to give foothold to Satan
over the body of Christ; 2 Cori 2:10-11.
·
The offender should be
responsible for their actions; Mat:18:6
·
It is important to restore the
fallen brother; Gal:6:1
It is
very understandable that the offended person is somewhat wary for a period
especially when the offense is adultery, homosexuality, or incest. There may be
a fear that the same transgression may be committed again. Forgiveness is not a
shock treatment which instantly wipes away the hurtful memories of the recent
past. The Biblical concept of forgiving and reconciling is a process and
building a new relationship with the offender poses the following 2 questions.
a) Has there been genuine
repentance?
b) Has real forgiveness actually
been granted?
Very often the Biblical concept
of forgiving and forgetting is misinterpreted; and the Scriptures speak of
“fruit appropriate to repentance”. When one forgives the offender, forgetting
is not possible immediately instead, the one, who forgives, remembers the
offense and looks for the fruit or the results that accompany the ‘true
repentance’.
Let us look at the following
illustration;
P -------à F1
---------àF2
-------àF3
P is the problem
F1 is forgiveness
F2 is fruit
F3 is forgetting
When the fruit is fully
discerned, then forgetting becomes possible slowly and it is a process, and the
desire and the willingness of the ‘forgiven offender’ to build a new
relationship with the one who has forgiven becomes very evident.
While God in His providence,
sometimes may wish to bring about the consequences of sin in the life of the
offender, for His purposes; Psa 99:8, the forgiver has no right to take the
providence in to their hands. However, when the consequence of sin becomes
evident in the life of the offender, God does not intend to make the forgiven
sinner suffer. Christ suffered for the sinner, and neither man nor God may
require further atonement3.
God reconciles us to Himself
through Christ and counts our sins against us no more. “And all things are of
God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Cori 5:18-19.
This
condition of forgiving
our neighbour, though it cannot possibly merit anything, yet it
is that condition without which God will pardon no man4.- Adam Clarke
See Mt 6:14, 15.
our neighbour, though it cannot possibly merit anything, yet it
is that condition without which God will pardon no man4.- Adam Clarke
See Mt 6:14, 15.
Terminology. There
are several Hebrew terms equivalent to the English "to forgive, " as
defined below. The three most common are verbs (used transitively): salah [j;l's], kapar [r;p'K], and nasa [a'f"n]. The New Testament most commonly expresses the act of forgiving by
aphiemi [ajfivhmi] (noun form: aphesis [a
[fesi"] ). The verbs
charizomai [carivzomai] (e.g., 2 Col 2:7 ) and apoluo [ajpoluvw] (e.g., Luke 6:37 ) express the same idea5.
Jesus when He
proclaimed the Kingdom of God in Matt 9:3-6; Mk: 2:7-12; Luk 5:21-25; He
offered entrance into the Kingdom on the basis of repentance. Jesus Christ is
the only mediator for the eschatological salvation, which extensively includes
forgiveness, and the process of entering the Kingdom is to become like a little
child, by accepting the forgiveness of God. In the Lord’s Prayer, receiving
forgiveness from God is very much associated to forgiving others; Matt 6:12;
Luk: 11:14. Jesus’s parable about the unmerciful servant in Matt 18:23-35,
makes the most important point that human beings are called to forgive because
God has already paid the price in full for all humanity on the cross. It is
emotionally and mentally exhaustive to understand that God’s forgiveness is
said to be conditional upon forgiving others; Matt 6:14; Mk 11:25-26. The
reminder of Jesus is that there should not be any limit on the number of times
one should forgive another as long as the offender repents and ask for
forgiveness; Matt 18:21-22; Lk: 17:3-4.
In my understanding
of Scriptures forgiveness is not an option. We are called to forgive our
offenders even in very difficult circumstances and situations. Forgiving
someone in a very extreme situation may not be possible with human effort, but
forgiving that offender is the work of the Holy Spirit in the offended person.
We are called to forgive and keep a clear conscience between man and God, and
this does not necessarily mean resuming a good relationship with the offender.
‘Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man,
and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God6.’...
John Wesley
End notes and Websites References
1,2Definition for Forgiveness
www.allaboutgod.com
› Forgiving Others - Learn More! - Cached
Definition
for Forgiveness - Read a definition of forgiveness and thoughts about when to
... The Bible gives us much instruction when it comes to forgiveness. ...
3The
Definition for Forgiveness Should Include Both Sides of the ...
www.jesus-resurrection.info/definition-for-forgiveness.html
- Cached
The
definition for forgiveness includes that God forgives us. ... happening on the
side of each party involved in the forgiveness transaction and see what the
Bible ...
www.lords-prayer-words.com/commentary/lead_us_not_into_temptation.html
Adam Clarke on "Lead us not
into temption" Verse 13. And lead us not into temptation] That is, bring us not in to sore trial. PEIRASMON,
which may be here rendered so
www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/forgiveness
Forgiveness Definition
and meaning from Bible
Dictionary. FORGIVENESS
for-giv'-nes (kaphar, nasa', calach; apoluein charizesthai, aphesis paresis): 1.
www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/quotes-about-triune-god.asp
Quotes about triune god, Sermon Illustration Quotes on ... captured the mystery of triune life using the ... a man that can comprehend the triune God ...
https://bible.org/article/self-giving-triune-god-iimago-deii-and...
The Self-Giving Triune God,
The Imago Dei And The Nature Of
The Local Church: An Ontology Of Mission Related Media
►Book References:
1.The
Matthew Henry Study Bible, ‘King James version’ The best of Matthew Henry’s
Notes in a Handy One Volume Reference Bible, World Bible Publishers, Inc; 1994,
Iowa Falls, U.S.A.
2. David
Seeking A Heart Like His, ‘Beth Moore’ Life Way Christian resources, Nashville,
Tennessee, 2010, pgs: 206-210.
3. Jay E.
Adams, ‘Critical Stages of Biblical Counseling’ Finishing Well, Breaking
Through, Getting Started, (New Jersey: Zondervan, 2002, p.6-7)
4. Jay E.
Adams, ‘How to Help People Change’ The Four-step Biblical Process, (Grand
rapids: Zondervan, 1986, p. 20-28)
5. John
F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty,
‘Introduction To Biblical Counseling’, “A Basic Guide To The Principles And
Practice Of Counseling”(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,1994, P. 76-77)
6. Jay E.
Adams, ‘The Christian Counselor’s Manual, The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling’
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973, p. 15-16, 21-23; 61-703; 92-97)
7. Jay E.
Adams, ‘Lectures on Counseling’ (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203)
8.The
Holy Bible, New King James version, Women of Destiny Bible, “Women Mentoring
women Through the Scriptures” A Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson
Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, Copyright 1982.
9. H.
Michael Brewer, ‘Lessons from the Carpenter’ An Apprentice Learns from Jesus,
Published by Water Brook Press, Colorado, 2006; pgs 50-59.
10.
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Know God’s Power and Forgiveness
Through the Seven Petitions’ Rose Publishing, California.
11. Living
Truth, Experiencing Christ in You, ‘Journey into the Heart of God’ Charles
Price, Toronto.
