Scripture and Forgiveness

1. Scripture and the Power of Forgiveness –17th
August 2016
“You,Lord, are forgivingandgood,aboundinginloveto all who call to you” (Psalm86:5).
A lotof usunderstandforgiveness asanunalienable right –a rightthat cannot be takenaway - of the
offender, stemmingfromJesusteaching "turningthe othercheek".We canread from Matthew 5:39,
“But I tell you,do not resist an evil person. If anyoneslapsyou on the right cheek, turn to them the
other cheek also”. But we must clearlyreadwhatwassaid,rather thantake onlya part of the message
givenbyJesus. Whenwe readverse 38 it says “Youhaveheard that it was said,‘Eye for eye, andtooth
for tooth…, But JesusChristwhomthe world believes asthe originatorof the conceptof “LOVE”,
apposedthis.He said“turn to them the other cheek”. Evenas Christianswe findthisextremelydifficult
to comply!Thisisbecause forgivenessisnotinherentinourheartsbecause ourinherentresponse is to
retaliate…‘Eye foreye,andtoothfortooth…!
In contrast, the Bibletreats forgiveness as an actof mercy and grace that should be readily given… but that also
holds the offender accountable. We can learn from the parableof the ungrateful servant found in Matthew 18:21-
35 that illustrates whatproper forgiveness really is,and why refusal to forgive is a sin in God's eyes. We can learn
from same: “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of
yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.35 “This
is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
First,a servantpleadsforthe kingto forgive himof a fairlylarge debt,sothe kinghas compassionon
himand forgiveshimof it.Butthenthissame servantturns around,goeslookingfora fellow servant
whooweshima mere fractionof what the kingwas owed,andrefusestohave compassiononhimeven
thoughthisfellowservantlikewise pleadsforforgiveness.He evenhashisfellow servantthrowninjail.
The kinglearnsof thisgrosshypocrisyandthentakesback hisownforgivenessof the firstservant.
Notice here thatbothservantsaskedforforgivenessfirst. Thisisanimportantpoint,because somany
Christiansare in difficulty aboutforgivingpeople.ButScripture drawsadistinctline between readiness
to forgive and actualforgiveness.
Whenwe read the above passage we can understandthatwe are not commandedor expectedto
forgive “nomatter what”.Rather, as Christianswe mustbe “ready to forgive” no matter what!. We
needtoactuallyforgive –not a simple wordplaybutmeaningfullyinourhearts - once the offender
makeshimself accountable.Butwe mustalsoknow thatevenif the offenderrepeatedlyoffendsand
repeatedlyrepents,we needto be readytoforgive astoldby JesusinMatthew 18:21-22, “Then Peter
came to Jesus andasked, “Lord,how many timesshall I forgive my brother or sister who sinsagainst
me? Up to seven times?” 22
Jesusanswered, “I tell you, not seven times,but seventy-seven times”.
Therefore, we canlearnthatthe victimdoesn'thave towaitforhis or heroffendertoacknowledge
accountability of the deed andrepent.Butit shouldbe ourvolitionto forgive.
In fact,Jesusactuallyinstructsusin Luke 17:3-4, “So watchyourselves. “If yourbrotheror sistersins
againstyou,rebuke them;andif theyrepent,forgive them.4 Evenif theysinagainstyouseventimesin
a day and seventimescome backtoyou saying‘Irepent,’youmustforgive them”.Emphasis added:‘If
your brothertrespassagainstyou,rebuke him’.Mostpeopledon'ttalkaboutthat "rebuke"part, which
meansto speakinan angry or critical wayto another.But themJesus says:“… and if theyrepent,forgive
them.Those whoinsistthatforgivenessshouldbe unconditionalandautomatic,or otherswhosay that
onlyGod can expectrepentance first:they seemtohave overlookedthe factthat the "if theyrepent"

2. the condition toforgive.Itisan instructionforuson how we are to forgive!. AndHe doesn'tstopthere:
“…and if he trespassesagainstyouseventimesinaday,and seventimesinaday turnagain to you
saying,"Irepent…,"youmust forgivethem”.
Clearly,God whoisFair expectsoffenderstobe accountable fortheirwrong before He expectstheir
victimstoforgive them.Offendersare inno positiontodemandanythingandinsteadshouldpleadtheir
case witha trulyremorseful heart. We canalsoreadin Matthew 5:23-24, oftenmisquoted,makesclear
the offender'saccountability. “Therefore,ifyouare offeringyourgift at the altar and there remember
that your brother or sister has somethingagainstyou, 24
leaveyour gift there in front ofthe altar.First
go andbe reconciledto them; then come andoffer your gift”. There are twoteachingswe can note.
While inLuke 17 passage,appliestothe Christianwhoisavictim, Matthew 5 passage appliestothe
Christianwhoisthe offender.Itis notthe victimbutthe offenderwhoisreferredthere inMatthew5.
The offenderistold notto waitto be confronted buthe is advised togoand try to reconcile withhis
victim…before he offers giftsatthe altarof God.
We see howboththese instructionsinLuke andMatthew are dramatizedinthe parable of the
ungrateful servant.Inbothinstances,eachoffenderfirstbeggedforforgivenessandpromisedtorepent
— thatis, theyacknowledgedtheiraccountability.The firstservantwasthenforgiven.Butwhenhis
fellowservantlikewise made himself accountable, butthe firstservantrefusedtoforgive.The king
therefore removedhisforgivenessof the firstservantbecausethatservantclearlyhadnotrepented.If
the servanthad pleadedwiththe kingfromatrulyremorseful heart,thenhe wouldhave beenequally
movedtocompassionbyhisfellowservant'sremorseful pleadings. Butfirstservantdidnot…Therefore
as Christianswe mustclearlyunderstandthatwe will NOTreceive forgivenessfrom
God, if we are unwillingordontforgive others.
We can hastento say,forgiveness in responseto true repentance isabsolutelyimperative.If youwon't
forgive otherswhentheygenuinelyrepentof theirsinsagainstyou,God'snotgoingto forgive youwhen
yousay you wantto repentof yoursinsagainstHim. AsChristianswe know that God isready to forgive
anyone whocallsuponHim as we readfrom Psalm 86:5,“You,Lord, are forgivingandgood,abounding
in loveto all who call to you”. He actually forgivesusonce we holdourselvesaccountable to
Him…Repentand pleadforHiscompassionwithpure hearts.We can learnfrom Psalm32:5-6, “Then I
acknowledgedmy sinto you and didnot cover up my iniquity.I said,“Iwill confessmy transgressions
to the LORD.” Andyou forgave the guiltof my sin”.
Christisour example forall ourattitudesandconductin life. Hisexample andHiscommandmentsgo
handin hand.That is whywe are commanded both toseekforgivenessandtoforgive.Foritis justas
much a sinfor the offendernottorepentasit isfor the offendednottoforgive once accountabilityand
repentance have beenreceived.We canunderstandthis furtherwhenwe refertothe mostwidelyused
prayerof all time - the Lord's Prayer:“Andforgiveus our debts, aswe alsohave forgivenour
debtors…”(Matthew6:12).