Jesus the Light 12 Forgiveness
Judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy -James 2:13
Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, In the same way that I had mercy on you? -Mt.18:33
Bitterness in the heart blocks forgiveness from heaven. Malice against man means mercy is missing. Holding grudge against others withholds pardon from the Father above. Seeking vengeance upon people brings God’s wrath upon ourselves.
You cannot be forgiven by God if you do not forgive men. Mt.6:15: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” This is the uncompromising decree of heaven.
The word “forgive” means to send away, a dismissal/release. Nothing is kept in the heart against another; it is released and sent away. No bitterness abides.
Malice, that vicious character wishing harm to others, is absent. Envy with its displeasure at others’ blessings along with the smoldering desire to see them deprived of it, has vanished.
You have forgiven; you are holding nothing in your heart for harm against another, because you have sent that away. That is forgiveness. The memory of a misdeed done may remain, but it is not remembered against them in anger, bitterness, and grudge.
In forgiveness there is freedom from an agitated heart, stirred by anger and fueled by resentment. If we have released our desire to see evil come upon one who has wronged us, then we have forgiven. We are free.
But the person who retains anger, resentment, bitterness, malice, and grudge is never free; he is a prisoner of his own disturbed heart and the sin lurking therein. And every time the bars of his cage are rattled by a memory, a mention, or an appearance of the offender, his chain tightens.
The eyes will narrow; the smile flees, darkness clouds his brow, lips curl in contempt, the neck stiffens, and the tongue is let loose with flames. One moment he may be blessing God above, the next he is cursing men who have been made in God’s image. My brethren, these things ought not to be [Jas.3:9,10].
And why is it so? Because he has not forgiven. The wound is fresh and bleeding still, and he wishes the other to bleed as well. And thus he forfeits forgiveness from heaven.
Mk.11:25,26: “When you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.”
Lack of forgiveness keeps us prisoners still and shows that we are yet captives who have not known the freedom of Christ’s glad gospel. Do not deceive yourself; in the final day, this will determine the verdict of the King against each one.
Mt.18:33-35: “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you? And his Lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.”
Forgiveness is not optional if you wish to be forgiven. Our one new man in Christ Jesus is not characterized by “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul abusive speech” -Col.3:8. No, these are the things that we have laid aside having been joined to Christ.
Those are the old things that have gone. Tit.3:2,3: “Slander no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
Yes, once we were so, but not now. A wonderful change has taken place in the heart of every true believer joined to Christ. Things are different when forgiveness has come.
Col.3:12,13: “Therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
These are the things that characterize every true believer in Christ Jesus. They are like that because Christ is that way. He does not hold grudge. He is not seeking revenge against us for our misdeeds. He does not retain anger against us for our sins against Him. He is not wishing evil to befall us. Jesus has forgiven us and so all those things have been sent away. Christ retains no wrath and condemnation against His own.
And so it is also with those within whom He dwells. Since Christ is living in the hearts of His people, they also have put away evil thoughts and desires against others. They forgive because Christ forgives.
And they forgive in the same way He forgives. Heb.10:17: “And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He knows what evils we have committed, but He has sent away all thoughts of punishment or wishes of harm against us because of them. This is forgiveness.
Col.2:13: “God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” This is the wonderful forgiveness all real Christians have received and experienced. It is the same type of forgiveness that we are to extend to others.
Eph.4:31,32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and quarreling and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
How? How are we to forgive even as God has forgiven us? Ps.103:10-12: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities…As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
He has removed/sent away our sins; this is forgiveness, to send away thoughts of punishment and revenge so they are never seen or brought to mind again. It is what we are to do towards those who have offended us.
“You have cast all my sins behind Your back” [Isa.38:17]. Our sins are not before His face or kept in His heart against us; they are cast behind Him. There they cannot be seen or called to remembrance in vexation. Let us then forgive in this same way.
Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?” Yes, He passes over them, not rising up in wrath and rage, punishment and harm.
We must forgive as He has forgiven us; this is the repeated message of the Scriptures. How like our God are we in this? In what ways does our forgiveness resemble His own?
Prov.10:12: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Prov.17:9: “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.” Prov.19:11: “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” 1 Pet.4:8: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
Love does not stir up sin and evil; it does not keep digging it up to avenge wrongs done. Love and forgiveness send away offenses. Love releases thoughts of punishment and harm against the offender. Forgiveness is freedom indeed.
Copyright Steve Phillips 2019