Forgiveness
by Craig Manners
What a joy it is to work our way through the Apostle’s Creed. It really is a remarkable creed, the way it outlines the Christian faith so simply, yet in a way, comprehensively.
Here we are focusing on the part of the Apostle’s Creed which states, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.”
Forgiveness is of course a most magnificent topic, and one which is at the very heart of Christianity. This is basically what it is all about isn’t it, divine forgiveness.
As John Calvin said, “It is on the foundation of remission, (forgiveness) of sins that our salvation is built and stands”. (Truth for all Times, pg. 45).
I would like to the focus on the two aspects of forgiveness which touch our lives so deeply, namely divine forgiveness, which of course comes down from God to us, and person to person forgiveness, which flows, or should flow, out of each and every recipient of divine forgiveness for the wrongs committed by others against us.
Christians could easily take the idea of forgiveness for granted, as it is such a big part of their lives. However, there are many people for who the idea of being forgiven or forgiving others is unnatural, and they would in many ways be right. Our natural response is to harbour grudges and want to get even. Mercy is very much a divine attribute, and the fact that any human can have mercy on another human is solely because we are made in the image of our merciful God.
Divine forgiveness. Now, forgiveness logically implies that we have done something wrong, and are in need of being forgiven. That there is a problem to which we need a solution.
So what is the problem: The Apostle’s Creed refers to the forgiveness of sins, highlighting the problem as sin, and the solution as forgiveness. So what is sin? Well, the Westminster Confession describes it as: “disobeying or not conforming to God’s law in any way,” which obviously covers all of mankind. This is our problem, the reason for the brokenness and suffering and death in the world.
There are always consequences for breaking laws isn’t there! Try breaking the law of gravity for instance and jumping off a building. In fact I think nothing else makes any sense as a reasonable explanation for the suffering we see around us in the world, apart from that it entered the world when Adam first introduced law breaking. Adam messed things up big time for all of us who followed him, and then the only solution to this is found in the “Second Adam,” Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2, says we are by nature children of wrath, that we were born dead in trespasses. So this is the problem, we were born dead in our sin, and we are by nature rebellious toward God, wanting to do things our way rather than God’s way. This leads us to being alienated from God. “Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?” (Prov. 20:9). “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecc. 7:20). “There is no-one who does not sin” (I Kings 8:46). “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves.” (1 John 1:8).
The solution: Jesus explains the solution: In Matthew 26:28 He says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” The solution we need is forgiveness of sins, and it is only available through the blood of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross, so that we could be forgiven for our sin and be reconciled to God and have everlasting life.
In our fallen state, acknowledging that we have done something wrong is an incredibly difficult thing for us to do. We are very adept at blaming others, self-justifying or self-atoning for our sins, which of course doesn’t work. But thankfully God, through His Holy Spirit wakes up His people, he makes us conscious, of our sin and of our great need for God’s forgiveness.
It is a supernatural divine act which enables us to see that we are sinners, that things are just not right with us, and not only that but that we can do nothing ourselves to make things right.
Only then, brought to that point by our merciful loving Father God, can we get on our knees and confess our sin, confess our brokenness, and cry out to God to save us.
Having provided the solution to our problem, He leads us to receive this forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus and in His blood poured out on the cross for our forgiveness.
This solution is given to us freely by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is Christ’s blood alone which secures our forgiveness.
Divine forgiveness is fully that isn’t it, it is divine, from God and by God alone. We could never earn or deserve this. We are completely helpless and in desperate dependence upon our just but merciful Creator.
We should be very thankful for this too, after all if any of it was up to us we could never be sure we have done enough or done it well enough. So we praise God that we do not have to do anything, nor could we ever do anything, to earn this forgiveness of sins. The glory goes fully to God alone, none of it to man.
Many in the world do not know this. Of course there are and have been many professing Christian’s who think this divine forgiveness can be paid for by man’s good works, his own decency, money, sacrifices. The main reason for this misunderstanding has been reliance upon pride filled human, rather than divine, wisdom and knowledge. Trusting in priests, human gurus, institutional church, and false teachers, rather than in Scripture alone. Man’s word rather than God’s word alone.
Person to person forgiveness. When people receive this divine forgiveness of their sins, God enables them to then be able to forgive others when they do wrong against them. God wants us to be merciful toward others. Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Then Jesus says: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we were honest we would have to admit our failure in this area, and we should be very worried about not receiving the full benefits of divine forgiveness because of our failure to forgive others.
Now if we thought it difficult for us fallen humans to admit our guilt, how about for us fallen sinners to be able to forgive fellow fallen sinners! Well again, it is not something which comes naturally to us, it is really only possible by divine intervention, a supernatural working in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
In our fallen nature we have a sense that we must seek revenge and we find it difficult to let go of this desire for revenge and for punishment to be dealt out to those who hurt us. But God tells us, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
Now, in talking about forgiving each other I am not talking about overlooking or being soft on sin or crime. I am talking here more about personal wrongs committed nearly every day in human relationships, some more serious than others, but all requiring us to forgive, to stop holding grudges and stop wanting to get even. It has to become a daily activity and habit. God’s way is for us to just forgive each other, to leave revenge and punishment to Him.
In Ephesians 4:30-32 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” We learn from this passage that our bitterness, built up from us refusing to forgive each other grieves the Holy Spirit. This is not something that we should want to happen, especially if we can consciously try to avoid it.
God has given us these incredible things called memories! We remember every hurt committed against us and those we commit against others, and they stay with us for a long long time. We don’t forget them easily. They accumulate, causing such a build-up of bitterness. The only way out for us is to forgive, others and ourselves too.
I think one problem for Christians in not forgiving others more readily is that we say things like, well they’re not repentant for hurting me, and therefore I don’t have to forgive them. Many of us really believe this don’t we? And we then use this to justify our lack of forgiveness toward others. The problem with this is that the bitterness builds up, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and we’re alienated in our relationships, and many people even get sick from the bitterness.
Christ died for us while we were still sinners. He didn’t die for us because we became repentant and righteous by ourselves.
Think about Jesus on the cross, in all that pain, the insults, the taunting and mocking, from rulers, soldiers and others. These people were not on their knees in repentance seeking Jesus’ forgiveness were they? Yet Jesus said “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” By saying this, Jesus showed that He had forgiven them, he was not holding a grudge against them, He wasn’t seeking their destruction.
Likewise I would like to suggest that we do not need to wait for people to come to us in repentance before we forgive them. Let’s just remember that God has forgiven us, therefore this should soften our hearts to the point where we are willing and actively carrying out forgiveness of others.
Hopefully fellow Christians will of course be repentant, as we must be regarding our own sins, repentance being a work of God in our hearts. But we shouldn’t make it a condition of our forgiving others.
We don’t need to be reconciled to someone either to be able to forgive them. If this were so we would not be able to forgive someone who is now dead, yet we should, and we can with God’s help.
Many people will stubbornly refuse to acknowledge they have hurt someone else, or done something wrong, or they readily justify their actions, so most people will not be repentant anyway. But you will still need to forgive them.
As with all truth there is good fruit which is produced. It is interesting that the person who does the forgiving is the first person to gain from doing so. This is not surprising given that God’s way is always best for His people. We receive a sense of peace when we forgive, but when we don’t forgive, we are filled with resentment and seething bitterness, longing for them to be punished. So who is the real loser from not forgiving? “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
We can keep in mind the parable of the unmerciful servant, (Matt. 18) remembering how much we have been forgiven. With God’s help this should help us to be more forgiving of each other. We are told in Col 3:13 to, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” And, in Eph 4:32 to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Think about all the ways we have sinned against and hurt God, and yet He has forgiven us.
Think about Joseph. The way his brothers had betrayed him and caused him so much pain and yet he forgave them. He was only able to do this because he had a high view of God’s sovereignty. He eventually saw the big picture, that although his brothers meant it for harm, God meant it for good, so that Joseph could be used by God to provide food for most of the known world during that severe famine. We likewise need to have a high view of God’s sovereignty. Trust that He is fully in control of every situation. Why should we rebel against that by holding grudges and not forgiving. Let God be God.
Now of course it is easier said than done isn’t it, to fully forgive each other. So, firstly we need to ask God’s help, we need divine intervention to carry this out. When forgiving others we should also learn from God and “forget” the wrongs people have committed against us, don’t keep a record of it, don’t repeat it or share it with others, and never bring it up again. Fully forgiving others is a choice we can make, and with God’s help, over time it will hopefully become easier to carry out.
Our fallen efforts at trying to forgive each other fully should be a part of our effort to bring glory to God in our lives. We won’t be able to do it perfectly but any attempt is an attempt to please our Father God and that has to be a good thing.
Christian people are not good people, it is nothing of ourselves that saves us, it is Jesus’ blood which was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. But with God’s grace in our lives we can try to live God’s way rather than man’s way.
by Craig Manners
What a joy it is to work our way through the Apostle’s Creed. It really is a remarkable creed, the way it outlines the Christian faith so simply, yet in a way, comprehensively.
Here we are focusing on the part of the Apostle’s Creed which states, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.”
Forgiveness is of course a most magnificent topic, and one which is at the very heart of Christianity. This is basically what it is all about isn’t it, divine forgiveness.
As John Calvin said, “It is on the foundation of remission, (forgiveness) of sins that our salvation is built and stands”. (Truth for all Times, pg. 45).
I would like to the focus on the two aspects of forgiveness which touch our lives so deeply, namely divine forgiveness, which of course comes down from God to us, and person to person forgiveness, which flows, or should flow, out of each and every recipient of divine forgiveness for the wrongs committed by others against us.
Christians could easily take the idea of forgiveness for granted, as it is such a big part of their lives. However, there are many people for who the idea of being forgiven or forgiving others is unnatural, and they would in many ways be right. Our natural response is to harbour grudges and want to get even. Mercy is very much a divine attribute, and the fact that any human can have mercy on another human is solely because we are made in the image of our merciful God.
Divine forgiveness. Now, forgiveness logically implies that we have done something wrong, and are in need of being forgiven. That there is a problem to which we need a solution.
So what is the problem: The Apostle’s Creed refers to the forgiveness of sins, highlighting the problem as sin, and the solution as forgiveness. So what is sin? Well, the Westminster Confession describes it as: “disobeying or not conforming to God’s law in any way,” which obviously covers all of mankind. This is our problem, the reason for the brokenness and suffering and death in the world.
There are always consequences for breaking laws isn’t there! Try breaking the law of gravity for instance and jumping off a building. In fact I think nothing else makes any sense as a reasonable explanation for the suffering we see around us in the world, apart from that it entered the world when Adam first introduced law breaking. Adam messed things up big time for all of us who followed him, and then the only solution to this is found in the “Second Adam,” Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2, says we are by nature children of wrath, that we were born dead in trespasses. So this is the problem, we were born dead in our sin, and we are by nature rebellious toward God, wanting to do things our way rather than God’s way. This leads us to being alienated from God. “Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?” (Prov. 20:9). “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecc. 7:20). “There is no-one who does not sin” (I Kings 8:46). “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves.” (1 John 1:8).
The solution: Jesus explains the solution: In Matthew 26:28 He says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” The solution we need is forgiveness of sins, and it is only available through the blood of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross, so that we could be forgiven for our sin and be reconciled to God and have everlasting life.
In our fallen state, acknowledging that we have done something wrong is an incredibly difficult thing for us to do. We are very adept at blaming others, self-justifying or self-atoning for our sins, which of course doesn’t work. But thankfully God, through His Holy Spirit wakes up His people, he makes us conscious, of our sin and of our great need for God’s forgiveness.
It is a supernatural divine act which enables us to see that we are sinners, that things are just not right with us, and not only that but that we can do nothing ourselves to make things right.
Only then, brought to that point by our merciful loving Father God, can we get on our knees and confess our sin, confess our brokenness, and cry out to God to save us.
Having provided the solution to our problem, He leads us to receive this forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus and in His blood poured out on the cross for our forgiveness.
This solution is given to us freely by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is Christ’s blood alone which secures our forgiveness.
Divine forgiveness is fully that isn’t it, it is divine, from God and by God alone. We could never earn or deserve this. We are completely helpless and in desperate dependence upon our just but merciful Creator.
We should be very thankful for this too, after all if any of it was up to us we could never be sure we have done enough or done it well enough. So we praise God that we do not have to do anything, nor could we ever do anything, to earn this forgiveness of sins. The glory goes fully to God alone, none of it to man.
Many in the world do not know this. Of course there are and have been many professing Christian’s who think this divine forgiveness can be paid for by man’s good works, his own decency, money, sacrifices. The main reason for this misunderstanding has been reliance upon pride filled human, rather than divine, wisdom and knowledge. Trusting in priests, human gurus, institutional church, and false teachers, rather than in Scripture alone. Man’s word rather than God’s word alone.
Person to person forgiveness. When people receive this divine forgiveness of their sins, God enables them to then be able to forgive others when they do wrong against them. God wants us to be merciful toward others. Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Then Jesus says: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we were honest we would have to admit our failure in this area, and we should be very worried about not receiving the full benefits of divine forgiveness because of our failure to forgive others.
Now if we thought it difficult for us fallen humans to admit our guilt, how about for us fallen sinners to be able to forgive fellow fallen sinners! Well again, it is not something which comes naturally to us, it is really only possible by divine intervention, a supernatural working in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
In our fallen nature we have a sense that we must seek revenge and we find it difficult to let go of this desire for revenge and for punishment to be dealt out to those who hurt us. But God tells us, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
Now, in talking about forgiving each other I am not talking about overlooking or being soft on sin or crime. I am talking here more about personal wrongs committed nearly every day in human relationships, some more serious than others, but all requiring us to forgive, to stop holding grudges and stop wanting to get even. It has to become a daily activity and habit. God’s way is for us to just forgive each other, to leave revenge and punishment to Him.
In Ephesians 4:30-32 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” We learn from this passage that our bitterness, built up from us refusing to forgive each other grieves the Holy Spirit. This is not something that we should want to happen, especially if we can consciously try to avoid it.
God has given us these incredible things called memories! We remember every hurt committed against us and those we commit against others, and they stay with us for a long long time. We don’t forget them easily. They accumulate, causing such a build-up of bitterness. The only way out for us is to forgive, others and ourselves too.
I think one problem for Christians in not forgiving others more readily is that we say things like, well they’re not repentant for hurting me, and therefore I don’t have to forgive them. Many of us really believe this don’t we? And we then use this to justify our lack of forgiveness toward others. The problem with this is that the bitterness builds up, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and we’re alienated in our relationships, and many people even get sick from the bitterness.
Christ died for us while we were still sinners. He didn’t die for us because we became repentant and righteous by ourselves.
Think about Jesus on the cross, in all that pain, the insults, the taunting and mocking, from rulers, soldiers and others. These people were not on their knees in repentance seeking Jesus’ forgiveness were they? Yet Jesus said “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” By saying this, Jesus showed that He had forgiven them, he was not holding a grudge against them, He wasn’t seeking their destruction.
Likewise I would like to suggest that we do not need to wait for people to come to us in repentance before we forgive them. Let’s just remember that God has forgiven us, therefore this should soften our hearts to the point where we are willing and actively carrying out forgiveness of others.
Hopefully fellow Christians will of course be repentant, as we must be regarding our own sins, repentance being a work of God in our hearts. But we shouldn’t make it a condition of our forgiving others.
We don’t need to be reconciled to someone either to be able to forgive them. If this were so we would not be able to forgive someone who is now dead, yet we should, and we can with God’s help.
Many people will stubbornly refuse to acknowledge they have hurt someone else, or done something wrong, or they readily justify their actions, so most people will not be repentant anyway. But you will still need to forgive them.
As with all truth there is good fruit which is produced. It is interesting that the person who does the forgiving is the first person to gain from doing so. This is not surprising given that God’s way is always best for His people. We receive a sense of peace when we forgive, but when we don’t forgive, we are filled with resentment and seething bitterness, longing for them to be punished. So who is the real loser from not forgiving? “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
We can keep in mind the parable of the unmerciful servant, (Matt. 18) remembering how much we have been forgiven. With God’s help this should help us to be more forgiving of each other. We are told in Col 3:13 to, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” And, in Eph 4:32 to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Think about all the ways we have sinned against and hurt God, and yet He has forgiven us.
Think about Joseph. The way his brothers had betrayed him and caused him so much pain and yet he forgave them. He was only able to do this because he had a high view of God’s sovereignty. He eventually saw the big picture, that although his brothers meant it for harm, God meant it for good, so that Joseph could be used by God to provide food for most of the known world during that severe famine. We likewise need to have a high view of God’s sovereignty. Trust that He is fully in control of every situation. Why should we rebel against that by holding grudges and not forgiving. Let God be God.
Now of course it is easier said than done isn’t it, to fully forgive each other. So, firstly we need to ask God’s help, we need divine intervention to carry this out. When forgiving others we should also learn from God and “forget” the wrongs people have committed against us, don’t keep a record of it, don’t repeat it or share it with others, and never bring it up again. Fully forgiving others is a choice we can make, and with God’s help, over time it will hopefully become easier to carry out.
Our fallen efforts at trying to forgive each other fully should be a part of our effort to bring glory to God in our lives. We won’t be able to do it perfectly but any attempt is an attempt to please our Father God and that has to be a good thing.
Christian people are not good people, it is nothing of ourselves that saves us, it is Jesus’ blood which was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. But with God’s grace in our lives we can try to live God’s way rather than man’s way.