Paul wrote about our reconciliation in Romans 5. That reconciliation is accomplished through the grace extended by God as a demonstration of His love for man. It was that love that compelled God to send His son to die for us. In order for reconciliation to come, it was necessary for us to be justified through His blood, and forgiven by God. “And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (5:11).
Love can and should be expressed in a myriad of ways. One such expression (in reflecting God Himself) is through forgiveness. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Forgiveness is an action (deed) that comes naturally toward those we love. Less naturally, to strangers or enemies. This difference is explained through that link between forgiveness and love. As God is our supreme example, the Christian should be more gracious and expansive in his willingness to forgive. “We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (1 John 4:19-21).
What is forgiveness? The Greek work literally means “to send away.” For example, a debt is forgiven if the requirement to repay is “sent away.” This is demonstrated by Jesus’ parable of the Unforgiving Servant, where Jesus said, “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27). This forgiveness of the debt was complete. What the master intended was to release the servant from any obligation to repay what was an enormous amount of money.
The parable was taught by Jesus in response to His conversation with Peter. Peter asked the Lord how often was forgiveness necessary, up to seven times? (21). Jesus responded, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (22). This indicates clearly the part that love plays in forgiveness. No matter how frequently, love brings the obligation of forgiveness to the truly repentant. As the parable showed, the Master does so for us. Therefore, we should do the same for one another. Forgiveness, as a definite sign of our love for another, has a wonderful penchant toward repairing our relationships with one another. “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8).
Consider the following instructions from our Lord regarding forgiveness:
Forgiveness is a command of God. “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).
God’s forgiveness of us is linked to our forgiveness of others. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Like love, forgiveness is to be from the heart. In Jesus parable of the Unforgiving Servant, the master threw the servant into prison for his unwillingness to forgive as he had been forgiven. Jesus then said, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matthew 18:35).
Forgiveness is conditional. Conditioned upon a godly sorrow that brings forth the confession of wrong and true repentance. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10). “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).
If we are offended by the sin of another, like God we should be eager to forgive! This truth is beautifully expressed in the Parable of the Two Sons. The younger son, after sinning against his father in prodigal living, was received back with joy by his father. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:22-24).
All of us are desperately in need of the forgiveness of God. Thankfully, God loves us, and offers His forgiveness generously and without fail. The same attitude needs to be present among us. Are you emulating Him with a tender heart willing to forgive? “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
