Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35 (NKJV)

Forgiveness

April 14, 2024

Forgiveness is the act of excusing or pardoning another in spite of his slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God's pardon of the sins of human beings.

Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of God's holy character (Gen 2:17; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Peter 1:16), but His pardon is gracious (Ps 130:4; Rom 5:6-8). In order for God to forgive sin, two conditions are necessary. A life must be taken as a substitute for that of the sinner (Lev 17:11,14; Heb 9:22), and the sinner must come to God's sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith (Mark 1:4; Acts 10:43; James 5:15).

Forgiveness in the New Testament is directly linked to Christ (Acts 5:31; Col 1:14), His sacrificial death on the cross (Rom 4:24), and His resurrection (2 Cor 5:15). He was the morally perfect sacrifice (Rom 8:3), the final and ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament sacrifices (Heb 9:11-10:18). Since He bore the law's death penalty against sinners (Gal 3:10-13), those who trust in His sacrifice are freed from that penalty. By faith sinners are forgiven-"justified" in Paul's terminology (Rom 3:28; Gal 3:8-9). Those who are forgiven sin's penalty also die to its controlling power in their lives (Rom 6).

Christ's resurrection was more than proof of His deity or innocence; it was related in a special way to His forgiveness. Christ's resurrection was an act by which God wiped out the false charges against Him; it was God's declaration of the perfect righteousness of His Son, the Second Adam, and of His acceptance of Christ's sacrifice (1 Tim 3:16). Because He has been acquitted and declared righteous, this is also true for those whom He represents. Thus, Christ's resurrection was a necessary condition for the forgiveness of man's sins (1 Cor 15:12-28). To be forgiven is to be identified with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.

Christ has the authority to forgive sins (Matt 1:21; Heb 9:11-10:18). This forgiveness is an essential part of the gospel message (Acts 2:38; 5:31). But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (attributing to Satan a deed done by Jesus through the power of God's Spirit) is an unpardonable sin (Mark 3:28-29) - not because God cannot or will not forgive such a sin but because such a hard-hearted person has put himself beyond the possibility of repentance and faith.

God's forgiveness of us demands that we forgive others, because grace brings responsibility and obligation (Matt 18:23-35; Luke 6:37). Jesus placed no limits on the extent to which Christians are to forgive their fellowmen (Matt 18:22,35; Luke 17:4). A forgiving spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ (Matt 5:43-48; Mark 11:25). (NELSON)

And yet forgiveness is one of the most widely misunderstood doctrines of Scripture. It is not to be confused with human forgiveness that merely remits a penalty or charge. Divine forgiveness is one of the most complicated and costly undertakings, demanding complete satisfaction to meet the demands of God's outraged holiness.

In the Old Testament. "The priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven" (Lev 4:20). However, OT sacrifices had only a typical significance and served as a covering (Heb. ?kapar?, "to cover, to aid," Deut 21:8; Gen 50:17; etc.) from sin until the appointed time when God should deal finally with sin through the death of Christ. It is thus obvious that the transaction was to some extent incomplete on the divine side. Of necessity sin was let pass. However, the offender received full forgiveness (cf. Rom 3:25; Acts 17:30).

For the Believer Who Sins. The great foundational truth respecting the believer in relationship to his sins is the fact that his salvation comprehends the forgiveness of all his trespasses past, present, and future so far as condemnation is concerned (Rom 8:1; Col 2:13; John 3:18; 5:24). Since Christ has vicariously borne all sin and since the believer's standing in Christ is complete, he is perfected forever in Christ. When a believer sins, he is subject to chastisement from the Father but never to condemnation with the world (1 Cor 11:31-32). By confession the Christian is forgiven and restored to fellowship (1 John 1:9). It needs to be remembered that were it not for Christ's finished work on the cross and His present intercession in heaven, the least sin would result in the sinner's banishment from God's presence and eternal ruin.

As an Obligation Among Men. The believer who belongs to this age is exhorted to be kind to believers and unbelievers, tenderhearted and forgiving to one another "as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Eph 4:32). The basis of the plea for such forgiveness is that one has been himself so graciously forgiven. (UNGER)

The Petition

Has the Church seriously faced and courageously preached the assertion of Jesus that Divine forgiveness and human willingness to forgive are joined together? What can a reverent mind say of a pardon so indiscriminate as to require only that a man walk down a sawdust trail and shake hands with a preacher? If forgiveness is so cheap, wrong-doing cannot be so costly! If pardon is by "wave of hand," sin cannot be heinous! Should we not study the conditions of forgiveness, among which the will to forgive is always and necessarily included?