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Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Biblical Concept of Forgiveness - Part 2

The completion of our study from Part 1...

What does Forgiveness Entail?

Now that we see that we must be willing to forgive endlessly and why we should be motivated to do so we need to look at what that actually is. It can almost certainly be said that it is not merely an empty proclamation of “I forgive you” without any meaning or thought behind such words. Certainly a starting point must come from the heart as was mentioned above by multiple men when dealing with the motivation for forgiveness. As a bare minimum we must not be holding a grudge or hate or ill will of any kind in whatever the offense was.

¨      […] there are two ways in which offenses are forgiven. If a man shall do me an injury, and I, laying aside the desire for revenge, do not cease to love him, but even repay kindness in place of injury, though I entertain an unfavorable opinion of him, as he deserves, still I am said to forgive him. For when God commands us to wish well to our enemies, He does not therefore demand that we approve in them what He condemns, but only desires that our minds shall be purified from all hatred. In this kind of pardon, so far are we from having any right to wait till he who has offended shall return of his own accord to be reconciled to us, that we ought to love those who deliberately provoke us, who spurn reconciliation, and add to the load of former offenses. A second kind of forgiving is, when we receive a brother into favor, so as to think favorably respecting him, and to be convinced that the remembrance of his offense is blotted out in the sight of God. […] Christ does not speak only of injuries which have been done to us, but of every kind of offenses; for He desires that, by our compassion, we shall raise up those who have fallen. This doctrine is very necessary, because naturally almost all of us are peevish beyond measure; and Satan, under the pretense of severity, drives us to cruel rigor, so that wretched men, to whom pardon is refused, are swallowed up by grief and despair… We must add… that Christ does not deprive believers of the exercise of judgment, so as to yield foolish readiness of belief to every slight expression [of repentance], but only desires us to be so candid and merciful, as to stretch out the hand to offenders, provided there be evidence that they are sincerely dissatisfied with their sins. For repentance is a sacred thing, and therefore needs careful examination; but as soon as the offender gives probable evidence of conversion, Christ desires that he shall be admitted to reconciliation, lest, on being punished, he lose courage and fall back… It must be observed that, when any man, through his light and unsteady behavior, has exposed himself to suspicion, we may grant pardon when he asks it, and yet may do so in such a manner as to watch over his conduct for the future, that our forbearance and meekness, which proceed from the Spirit of Christ, may not become the subject of his ridicule. John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, vol. XVI, pp 364-366
¨      […] we ought from our hearts to forgive men their trespasses; that is, so as not to hate them, bear them any grudge or malice, seek any private revenge upon them, or public satisfaction, beyond what they are able to give, but be ready to do them what common offices of kindness in their straits are in our power. Matthew Poole, Commentary on the Holy Bible, vol. 3, pg 87
¨      […] we must from our hearts forgive… We do not forgive our offending brother aright, nor acceptably, if we do not forgive from the heart; for that is it that God looks at. No malice must be harbored there, nor ill will to any person… no projects of revenge must be hatched there, nor desires of it, as there are in many who outwardly appear peaceable and reconciled. Yet this is not enough; we must from the heart desire and seek the welfare of those that have offended us. Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, pg 1358

So we see that true forgiveness is from the heart and must be utterly sincere. It does not mean that we lose our sense of reason in dealing with individuals, but it does mean that the issue at hand is put away and we honestly are seeking their well being and to reconcile with them to the best of our ability. 

How Does God View an Unforgiving Spirit?

We see that we are commanded to be ready to forgive a countless number of times, what the ultimate motivation is in doing so, and what forgiveness is. So what if we should still refuse forgiveness and the general mark of our character is an unforgiving spirit? Certainly there are ramifications to such a man or at the very least serious implications that should inspire some serious introspection. Upon doing so should we be found guilty there must be a casting of ourselves before the Lord to beg for forgiveness and then an immediate willingness to change in dependence on the Spirit to effect that change. This passage addresses this issue well in verse 18:35.

¨      The parable embodies a simple and clear truth: When a man professes to have been forgiven an incalculable debt of sin, but is utterly unwilling in turn to forgive the minor offense of another, his profession is a mockery and void of reality. God’s forgiveness precedes and provides the basis for the forgiveness of brother with brother, and it is such forgiveness that must characterize Christian fellowship. George E. Ladd, The Biblical Expositor, vol. 3,  Commentary on Matthew, pg. 56
¨      […] it is our duty, especially theirs who have received forgiveness from God, to forgive their brethren… [But] if they do not, they may justly question whether God hath forgiven them, and expect the same severity from him which they show unto their brethren…; the not doing of [God’s will in this matter] will be an ill evidence to our souls, that God hath not indeed forgiven us, as well as a bar against such forgiveness; and an ill omen, that some punishment from God expecteth us in this life, to bring us to a temper more conformable to the gospel, and if not in this life, yet in the life which is to come. Matthew Poole, Commentary on the Holy Bible, vol. 3, pg 87
¨      This is not intended to teach us that God reverses His pardons to any, But that He denies them to those that are unqualified for them… Intimations enough we have in Scripture of the forfeiture of pardons, for caution to the presumptuous; and yet we have security enough of the continuance of them, for comfort to those that are sincere, but timorous; that the one may fear, and the other may hope. Those that do not forgive their brother’s trespasses, did never truly repent of their own, nor ever truly believe the gospel; and therefore that which is taken away is only what they seemed to have (Lu. 8:18). This is intended to teach us, that they shall have judgment without mercy, that have showed no mercy, Jas. 2:13. It is indispensably necessary to pardon and peace, that we not only do justly, but love mercy.  Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, pg 1358
¨      God will deal with each of us upon the principle which sways our own life, and if we adopt a stern and severe mode of action, we must expect the same rule to be carried out in our case. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible, pg. 542

Conclusion

I confess that this has not been an easy study for me, which is what I expected and why I started it in the first place. I would venture a reasonable guess that there are others out there exactly like me. My reaction to hurt or disloyalty is to emotionally disconnect and in so doing there is an utter abandonment of that person mentally and most often in my heart as well. Most of the time I have justified that permanent disconnection because very few repent of their sins against another brother, at least not to the person they have offended. Thus I have been blissfully willing to abandon others with Peter-like motives that I had reached the limit of what my patience could possibly be expected to bear and I would do no more.

But that isn’t what is presented to us here in this passage. In modern times much is made of Matt. 18 as a means of discipline, which it is, but the greater thrust of the passage is not punishment but forgiveness and restoration. Yet so many, like me, struggle mightily with the act of forgiveness. I like how Calvin put it earlier when he said, “[…] naturally almost all of us are peevish beyond measure.” I don’t think many of us like the thought of being classified as peevish; perhaps we’re slightly eccentric, but certainly not peevish! Peevish is defined by Mr. Webster as being “hard to please; irritable; fretful; cross; showing ill humor or impatience.” I am sure we all cringe when we see how many of those individual qualities fit an honest description of ourselves. The implication is then that not only are we slow to forgive when we feel wronged or hurt but that it is highly likely that a great many of the things we find ourselves angry over are probably pretty stupid in the first place. Such small things can be blown up to giant problems through our peevish natures.

We have to recognize this deficiency in ourselves, both that we are slow to forgive and that we are peevish folks. I think many of us walk around oblivious to these faults and then when they briefly show themselves with undeniable clarity we are willing to forgive ourselves what we would never forgive in others. I am convinced that the lack of recognition in these areas is at the root of much of this issue. Introspection seems to me to have, in general, died within the modern Church. But the example of our Bibles and history prove that this is a necessary component of our walks. The Puritans were renowned for their insistence on introspection, especially in preparation for the Sacrament of Communion, but as a general principle that ruled their lives as well (see for example Horton Davies, The Worship of the American Puritans, pg. 200-201). Introspection is a vital part of the Christian’s walk. Does not Paul tell us, “[…] if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Cor. 11:31)? Does Christ not tell us in Matt. 7:3-5 that before we take offenses to another brother we should have examined ourselves first? Yet, increasingly this is a lost aspect of the Christian faith. I believe that in this matter specifically humble introspection will have a profound effect on how willing we are to forgive others. Not only will we see that we are as peevish as Calvin has assumed us to be but we will see the vast depths of our own sin that has been forgiven by God.

As we saw in the study this is the driving motivation for forgiving others, the entire concept of forgiveness rests on this. We are guilty wicked sinners that were deserving of a full measure of God’s wrath and yet he sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins and forgave us. Perhaps there would be some cause to be unforgiving if His forgiveness for us ended at the moment of salvation and then we were left to fend for ourselves. But His love for us knows no bounds and though we continue to sin throughout our lives up until the very moment He takes us home, He still continues to forgive us all our sins.

Now, Calvin goes out of his way to say that this “discourse relates here to daily faults, in which every man, even the best, needs forgiveness.” He goes on to declare what I have quoted before which is that we are not robbed of judgment in dealing with those that have caused us offense either. I think we have to be careful that we do not use such a statement to find loopholes to the command for forgiveness. In fact, I would say that a fairly safe bet is that you will never have anything to repent of before the Lord if you forgive your brother his trespasses against you, whatever they are. Yet, we are not called on to be the repeated punching bags of insincere men who use this as a means to ridicule the people of God either. We have both the commands to forgive and restore as well as the command to reject divisive wicked men that harm the people of God. If our hearts are thoroughly saturated in the word of God and are being led by the Spirit in a close walk with our Lord then prudence and wisdom will rule the day. If we are only using these things as a means to justify lack of love and forgiveness for others then we should heed the warnings of the men that I cited beforehand that we may need to question whether or not we are even forgiven ourselves.

It is sure that if we are saved we have been forgiven a great debt by God. If we are saved we are also being sanctified, if we are being sanctified we are being conformed to the image of Christ Himself, and if we are being conformed to His image we must forgive others their trespasses just as He has forgiven ours. May the Lord grow us all that we may have amiable spirits that are always at the ready to discard another’s offense against us and a willingness to encourage them daily to walk with the Lord with our help, love, and support always. May we prostrate ourselves before the Lord in this matter and discipline ourselves so that as Matthew Henry said, “we… make it our constant practice to forgive injuries, and… accustom ourselves to it till it becomes habitual.” Soli deo gloria!

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