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Forgiveness

Considerable confusion exists among Christians when it comes to forgiveness. One says there is no need to ask God for forgiveness, because God has already forgiven all sin, even future sins. “Just thank Him.” Another insists that we should not forgive another unless that person repents. Does that mean that I will not be forgiven since I am choosing not to forgive? How can I forgive someone who is continuing to sin against me? These important questions require a comprehensive consideration of Holy Scripture. Picking and choosing only certain texts will prove inadequate.

I. Definition: Forgive

A. A second Greek verb, charizomai, is translated forgiveness. Its literal meaning is to “bestow favor”.

II. God’s Forgiveness of Humans/The Grounds of Forgiveness/God's Mercy

A. “In accordance with your great love, forgive…” Numbers 14:19.

B. “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness,” Ps. 130:3f.

C. “We do not make request of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy…O Lord, forgive!” Dan. 9:18f.; cf. 9:9

D. “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf…” Neh. 9:17.

E. A blood sacrifice (over 150 references to blood in the Torah).

  1. “The priests shall bring the blood…” Lev. 1:5.
  2. Leviticus 4 and 5 state the necessity of blood for the sin and guilt offerings. The same was implied of the burnt offerings. Lev. 1.
  3. “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” Matt.26:28.
  4. “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood,” Rom. 3:25 (cf. 5:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:20).
  5. “Only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance…He (Christ) entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption…How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences…In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness,” Heb. 9:7, 12, 22.
  6. “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 2:1.

F. The resurrection and ascension of Christ.

  1. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,” 1 Cor. 15:17.
  2. “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven,” Heb. 1:3.
  3. “God exalted him (Christ) to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel,” Acts 5:31.
  4. “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God thorough him, because he always lives to intercede for them,” Heb. 7:24f.

III. The Conditions of Forgiveness

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land,” 2 Chron. 7:14.

A. Humble one’s self. (i.e., personal, sincere acknowledgement of sin).

  1. David humbled himself before God, “Have mercy upon me, O God…For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me,” Ps. 51:1-3.
  2. Solomon notes God’s knowledge of the sincerity of each worshipper, “When a prayer or plea is made by any…each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart…since you know his heart (for you know the heart of all men). 1 Kings 8:38f.

B. Seek God’s face. (i.e., Petition/Confession to God).

  1. David seeks God, “Look upon my afflictions and my distress, and take away all my sins,” Ps. 25:17.
  2. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:9.
  3. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin,” Ps. 32:5.

C. Turn from sin. (i.e., Repentance).

  1. “When they turn back and confess your name…then hear from heaven and forgive their sin…if they turn back…” 2 Chron. 6:24, 39.
  2. “Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin,” Jer. 36:3.
  3. “And so John came,…preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” Mark 1:4.
  4. “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,” Acts 2:38.
  5. “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you…” Peter to Simon, Acts 8:22.
  6. “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light…so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me,” Christ to Paul, Acts 26:17-18.

D. Belief is implied in the above and stated explicitly in Acts 10:43. “All the prophets testify about him (Christ) that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

E. Forgiveness of others was made a requirement by our Lord Jesus. He rightfully noted that if the above conditions were truly met this would follow.

  1. Stated: Matthew 6: 14-15. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins,” Cf. Mk. 11:25; Lk. 6:37; 11:4.
  2. Illustrated: The parable of the unmerciful servant, Mt. 18:21-35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

IV. Human Forgiveness of Others

A. Proverbs 17:9 is one of the few O.T. passages that exhorts forgiving others. “He who overcome (i.e. forgives) an offense promotes love.” While the O.T. provides little teaching of this, there is nevertheless much illustration of it: Esau’s forgiveness of Jacob, Gen. 33.

  1. Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Gen. 45:4ff.; 50:15ff.
  2. Moses’ forgiveness of Miriam, his sister, Numb. 12.
  3. Samuel’s forgiveness of the people of Israel, 1 Sam. 12.
  4. David’s forgiveness of Saul, 1 Sam. 24; 2 Sam. 9.
  5. Abigail’s plea for David to forgive the foolishness of her husband, 1 Sam. 25.

V. The Necessity of Forgiving Others.

A. Jesus said it was necessary.

  1. Mt. 6:14-15; Cf. Mk. 11:25; Lk. 6:37; 11:4 (above).
  2. Mt. 18:21ff (above).

B. Paul said it was necessary.

  1. “Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him…” 2 Cor. 2:6f.
  2. “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another,” Col. 3:13.

VI. The Sin Forgiven in Others.

A. Sin is essentially an “offense”.

  1. I may offend God without offending others and I may also offend others without sinning against God. I may offend both at the same time.
  2. Only the offended party may grant forgiveness to the offender. You or I cannot forgive an offense against God (John 20:23 will be dealt with later), nor can God forgive an offense against me.
  3. An offense against God incurs His wrath; an offense against me is not nearly so serious.

B. It is clear that offense against another can be called “sin” (Mt. 18:21 for Peter’s words; cf. Lk. 17:4 for Jesus’ words; and James 5:16). This is not, however the same as an offense against God, since sin against God carries much greater ramifications than sin against others. This is likely what the Pharisees had in mind when they stated, “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Mk. 2:7; cf. Lk. 5:21; Mt. 9:3.

  1. “Forgive whatever grievances you may have…” Col. 3:13.
  2. “Forgive me this wrong!” 2 Cor. 12:13.

C. Human forgiveness, while not settling any offense against God, is a resolution to “send away” the offense so that no root of bitterness grows up within you (Heb. 12:15); and that no “record of wrongs” is maintained by you which is antithetical to love. 1 Cor. 13:5; cf. Ps. 130:3-4.

D. We are told to “forgive as the Lord forgave you”, Col. 3:13. While we cannot apply all the grounds and conditions of divine forgiveness here, still surely the following seem reasonable comparisons.

  1. God forgives only when there is repentance (above). While we need to let go of an offense to prevent bitterness and resentment, it may not be advisable to announce that forgiveness to another unless there are signs of repentance. Lk. 17:4
  2. God forgives over and over, as long as the repentance is genuine. In Mt. 18:21 Jesus says we should forgive 70 times 7. In Hebrew thought this is an infinite number. Many rabbis taught that it was one’s obligation to forgive 7 times, but after that one was no longer obligated to forgive, with more than a suspicion that the repentance was insincere (cf. Lk17:4).
  3. God forgives and forgets. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more,” Is. 43:25. While we may not be able to forget another’s injury against us, once it is forgiven we should not bring it up against him again.

VII. Further Questions about Forgiveness

A. Does the N.T. teach that future sins are already forgiven believers?

No. This thought is culled from a bit of Scripture and set afloat by wishful thinking. The Scripture is Col. 2:13 “He forgave us all our sins…” (cf. Ps. 103:3). I dare say not a single Jew, including Paul himself, would have considered any sins here other than those already committed. So many references to forgiveness specify past sins (Ps. 51; Jer. 33:8; etc.) and none spell out future sins that it justifies such an interpretation. To apply this passage to future sins is to engage in proof-texting of the worst sort. There must be corroboration of other texts, which simply does not exist. Further, to suggest this is to deny all the conditions of divine forgiveness noted above.

B. Do I need to ask for forgiveness or just thank God for it?

You need to ask. If not this would be akin to me telling my sons that they need not say, “I’m sorry” but only thank me for my generous, forgiving spirit. This errant notion comes from the same slice of Scripture as above, and is also interpreted in isolation from the rest of Scripture. Jesus taught us to ask forgiveness in the Lord’s prayer (Mt. 6 :12), Paul asked for forgiveness, albeit “tongue in cheek” (2 Cor. 12:13) and John affirmed the same with slightly different language, “If we confess our sins…” 1 John 1:9 With this said, we all acknowledge that the request may well be non-verbal, words of the heart. God looks on the heart as well as He listens to the mouth. (1 Sam. 16:7) He knows your heart attitude.

C. Can others ask God for forgiveness for you?

Sure. The reality, however is that only the heart that is truly repentant will be forgiven. This is sometimes incorporated in a prayer by a representative of a group of people such as David (Ps. 79:9), Solomon (1 Kings 8), Daniel (9:19) and Amos (7:2), however Solomon notes what is implicit in all such petitions. Namely that each heart must be sincerely repentant (1 Kings 8:38f.)

D. Is there any sin that cannot or will not be forgiven by God?

Yes. The “blasphemy against the Spirit” (Mt. 12:31ff.; cf. Lk. 12:10). It is an “eternal sin” (Mk. 3:29). The text suggests that this sin is the blasphemy of attributing the work of Jesus to the devil. “He (Jesus) said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.” (Mk. 3:30). It is not clear whether that would apply only to Jesus’ ministry while on the earth or if it might apply today. Either way, it would be advisable not to do it.

E. Can Christians forgive offenses against God on behalf of others?

No. Only one Scripture comes close to suggesting this(Jn. 20:23) and since it is nowhere else corroborated, we are pushed toward an interpretation more consistent with the rest of the revealed Word of God. It is possible for us to misunderstand Jesus’ words. The disciples did so often. (Mk. 4:13; Lk. 18:34; etc.) and Peter says that somethings that Paul says are hard to understand. (2 Pt. 3:16) John 20:23 says “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” If only God can forgive sins against God (Is. 43:25; Mk. 2:7), then either Jesus is referring to a declaration of the forgiveness or to the general, forgiving work of the gospel as it was heralded by the church. Interestingly, a literal translation of the verse would be rendered, “Those whose sins you forgive, have already been forgiven; those whose sins you do not forgive have not been forgiven.” This would suggest the declarative ministry of announcing forgiveness to all who repent and believe in Jesus.

VIII. Conclusion:

Because of God’s mercy and the sacrificial blood of Christ, we may be forgiven if we humbly seek God’s face and turn from our sin. God intends that we will also seek to demonstrate the same mercy to others as He extends toward us.

Copyright © Donald Reigstad, 2004