"Forgiveness" is the grand theme of the Bible. God's willingness to forgive our sins should cause us all to rejoice. The apostle Paul expressed such joy in 1 Timothy 1:12-16, "I thank him that enabled me, (even) Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to (his) service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life." Forgiveness of sins is available to all. While God is abundantly willing to forgive, let us not make the mistake of thinking that forgiveness is a cheap, easy thing. It is costly and conditional.
Forgiveness is conditional. If God granted forgiveness unconditionally, it would minimize sin and encourage men to persist therein. God, Himself, made forgiveness conditional. To be completely just, He gave His Son, the only perfect sacrifice possible, to be a propitiation for our sins.
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:24-26)
Neither is forgiveness unconditional on our part. We must obey God's commands (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9). Even those for whom Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), had to meet the Father's conditions before they could be forgiven. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told them to "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins." (Acts 2:38) God is willing to forgive us, but we must comply with the conditions He gave.
Just as God is willing to forgive us, our Lord taught us to forgive one another. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphatically taught that our Father's forgiveness depends on our willingness to forgive others. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)
Just as God does not forgive us unconditionally, neither does He demand that we forgive unconditionally those who sin against us. If one sins against his fellowman, and he wishes to make correction, he is to repent, make his repentance known, and seek reconciliation. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:23-24, "If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Indeed, there will be occasions of offense and stumbling. "It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were well for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble."
But what must we do when such occasions of stumbling come. Jesus continued, "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." (Luke 17:1-4) However, one who is too stubborn to repent of his sins, and too proud to acknowledge them, is due no forgiveness. God does not forgive such people; neither does He demand that we forgive them. To do so, would be an injustice to the one who sinned. It would serve to encourage him to persist in his sin.
However, when those who sin against us repent and seek our forgiveness, we must forgive them. Our salvation depends on it! When we extend forgiveness, it must be genuine and "from the heart." Jesus taught about forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35 and concluded, "So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not everyone his brother FROM YOUR HEARTS." If we do not forgive "from the heart," it is the rankest hypocrisy. When God forgives, he no longer holds that sin against us. We are to forgive in the same way. Paul taught, "and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) Let us read again the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 18:21-25, and remember that no man will ever need as much forgiveness from us as we need from God!
Let us remember also, that even when we fail to seek His forgiveness, God is willing to forgive. So must we be willing. The Christian is not to carry malice in his heart. The wisdom writer said, "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to the man according to his work." (Proverbs 24:29) This would prevent our forgiving him, even if he asked. This is the opposite of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:12: "All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets." We must pray for those who seek our harm. Jesus again said, "Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you, that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45) We sin when we fail to pray for those who have done wrong (1 Samuel 12:23). It would be impossible to not love one for whom we sincerely pray. It would be impossible to refuse to forgive such a one when he seeks our forgiveness.
"Lord, increase our faith." (Luke 17:5)
Brother Galloway has dealt with a subject to which many of God's people need to give careful and prayerful attention. Allow me to explain.
We don't need to be told of the wonder and graciousness of God's forgiveness toward us. We could not possibly have done anything to merit the love God has so bountifully granted to us through His forgiveness. Please understand what I'm saying. Nothing we could do, or even think of doing, would place us in a position to deserve this blessing.
Then why is it so difficult for us to forgive others? We make mistakes? We say things we wish we had given more thought before we spoke. When we ask others for forgiveness, we expect them to forgive us. Right? Have you ever let God down? When we seek His forgiveness, we expect Him to FORGIVE US!
The next time one of your brethren comes to you to repent and ask that you forgive his thoughtless conduct, FORGIVE HIM!! God is watching!!! (KMG)