Navigation: Index >> Previous >> Next

Scripture Reading s : Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you  . . . bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

The subject of forgiveness is everywhere in the Bible. The forgiveness of the sins of sinners is one of the great themes of Holy Scripture, and closely following is God's forgiveness of His own failing children. The admonition that Christians should forgive one another also has a large place in the Word of God. Both of the verses quoted above tell the Christian how important it is to forgive others, and both use the Lord as an example of forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 speaks of God forgiving for Christ's sake, while Colossians 3:13 pictures Christ as forgiver. Both suggest that since we have been forgiven so much, we surely should be ready to forgive the little wrongs sometimes done to us.

God has forgiven us

When we were born again our vast load of sin was readily forgiven. We do not all sin in exactly the same way or to the same extent, but we all had sins that needed to be forgiven. We may have been the lying type, or thieves, or evil speakers, or even blasphemers. Or perhaps we were drunkards, gamblers, or possessed of low morals. Whatever we were, the moment we were born again, all our sins were forgiven. Paul persecuted the Christians, and was one of the leaders in the stoning of Stephen. All was changed when he met Christ on the Damascus Road . The greatest crime ever to happen in this scene was when wicked men crucified the Lord of glory. Yet we hear Him say while hanging on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). What an example of forgiveness. The dying words of Stephen are similar, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7:60).

It cost God much to forgive us

For us to forgive Christians costs little, but before God could forgive us He had to permit His Son to die on the cross to make atonement for our sins. Being a righteous, holy judge, God could not just wink at sin. He could forgive only on a righteous basis. His righteousness demanded that the sinner be punished. But He loved the sinner, too, and this caused Him to send His holy, sinless Son into the world in the form of man to bear the punishment for our sins upon the cross. This was not easy for the Father to do, nor was it easy for the Son to bear. If He was willing to go to such an extreme in order to be able to forgive us, surely we should be ready to forgive one another.

God’s children and forgiveness

The moment we put our confidence and faith in the Lord Jesus and are born again, our status before the Lord is completely changed. Before we are born again the righteous judge puts down every sin against us and we are chargeable for each one. But as soon as we are born again all our sins are forgiven, and God is no longer our judge, but our Father. We are no longer looked at as criminals before the bar of justice, but have become children in the family of God. Now when we do wrong we are dealt with not as criminals, but as children in a family. Many have wondered about the difference between the words of our verse and the words in the so-called Lord's Prayer; "And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). Notice this prayer begins with the word "Father," indicating the new relationship. It is not a sinner being forgiven here, but the Father's erring child. As children of God we constantly need our Father's forgiveness, and if we except His forgiveness then we must show a forgiving spirit toward those who do things against us.

The unforgiving servant

We must not be like the servant we read of in Matthew 18:23-35, who was forgiven a great debt by his master. Another servant owed him a small amount, and he took him by the throat saying, "Pay me what you owe," giving no attention to the plea for pardon. You will notice that the master was grieved and put him in jail for the original debt. As children, we should not expect the Lord to forgive us if we do not show a forgiving spirit toward others.

Examples of forgiveness

We have many fine examples in the Scriptures of forgiving one another. David forgave Shimei for cursing him. Joseph's forgiveness of his brethren is classic. We read in Genesis 50:17-21, that they begged for forgiveness and that Joseph wept and spoke kindly to them, and said, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive" (Gen. 50:20).

Quarrels will come

It should not be so, but quarrels do at times arise between Christians. Paul and Barnabas had sharp contention about taking John Mark with them (Acts 15:36-39). It was so sharp that from that time on, these two great men never again worked together. Peter and Paul also had quite a spat about the matter of the Jews eating with the Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-14). Peter evidently held no ill-will about this, as we notice in his epistle (2 Pet. 3:15, 16). When troubles come let us seek to quickly remove the difficulty and be ready to forgive. Let us be sure not to nurse wrath. We may have to forgive many times, as we learn from the Lord Himself in Matthew 18:21, 22; "Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Remember, no one in the world ever wronged us as much as we have wronged the Lord. All of us have some things that need to be dealt with and forgiven.

An unforgiving spirit

Sometimes Christians hold an unforgiving spirit for a long time. The story is told of a brother who was making bitter comments about the new preacher to people in the foyer of the church building after each service. After this happened a couple of times, the newly hired preacher spoke to the brother. When that did not stop the problem, the preacher went to one of the elders about it, asking him to please talk to the brother as soon as possible because it appeared there were bad feelings about something. The elder promised he would do so right away. In a few days, the preacher received a bitter letter from the brother, clearly showing that not only did he not forgive the preacher, but he now had bad feelings toward the elder. This went on by mail for a few weeks, making it increasingly difficult for the preacher to preach the Gospel. This brother was certainly not swift to forgive the elder or the preacher. The brother was brought before all the elders and the problems were worked out and everything was eventually forgiven, but much harm had been done in the community. Let us forgive sincerely, heartily, cheerfully, and forever.