What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?
It is not uncommon for Christians to have questions about forgiveness.
Forgiveness does not always come easy for most of us.
We don't naturally overflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we've been wronged.
What is forgiveness, is it a conscious choice, a physical act involving the will, or is it a feeling,
an emotional state of being?
The Bible offers insight and answers to these and many more common questions about forgiveness.
Is forgiveness a conscious choice, or an emotional state?
I believe forgiveness is a choice we make through a decision of our will,
motivated by obedience to God and His command to forgive.
The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us:
"Forbearing one another (exhibiting patience), and forgiving one another,
if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you."
Colossians 3:13 (Expositor's Study Bible KJV)
How do we forgive when we don't feel like it?
How do we translate the decision to forgive into a change of heart?
We forgive by faith out of obedience.
Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith, whether we feel like it or not.
We must trust God to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness will be complete.
I believe God honors our commitment to obey Him and our desire to please Him when we choose to forgive.
He completes the work in His time.
We must continue to forgive (do our part), by faith, until the work of forgiveness (the Lord's part), is done
in our hearts.
"And I am convinced and sure 0f this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue
until the day of Jesus Christ---right up to the time of His return---developing (that good work) and
perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."
Philippians 1:6 (Amplified Bible)
How will we know if we have truly forgiven someone?
Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, said,
"Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you."
We will know the forgiveness is complete when we experience the freedom that comes as a result.
We are the ones who end up suffering most when we choose not to forgive, but when we do forgive,
the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment and hurt that previously imprisoned us.
Sometimes. . . forgiveness can be a slow process.
"Then came peter to Him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
till seven times? (One of the most important questions asked by any Disciple.) "Jesus said unto him, I say
not unto you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (there must be unlimited forgiveness
(Lk. 17:4)."
Matthew 18:21-22 (Expositor's Study Bible KJV)
This answer by Jesus makes it clear that forgiveness is not always easy for us.
It is not a one- time choice and then we automatically live in a state of forgiveness.
We must continue forgiving until the matter is settled in our heart.
What if the person we need to forgive is not a believer?
I have found that prayer is the best way to break down the wall of unforgiveness in my heart.
When I begin to pray for the person (who I feel has wronged me), God began to give me new insight to see,
and a heart to care for that person. As I continued to pray, I begin to see that person as God sees them, and
I realize that this person is as precious to the Lord, as I am and like me is in need of forgiveness too.
If God did not withhold His forgiveness from me, why should I withold my forgiveness from another?
Is it okay to feel anger and want justice for the person we need to forgive?
This question presents another reason to pray for the person we need to forgive.
We can pray for God to deal with the injustices, for God to judge the person's life,
and then we can leave that prayer at the altar.
We no longer have to carry the anger. Although it is normal for us to feel anger toward sin and injustice,
it is not our place to judge the other person in their sin.
"Judge not (do not judge one's motives), and you shall not be judged
(implying that you will be judged by the Lord, if you do not obey this admonition):
condemn not (do not pass sentence), and you shall not be condemned (meaning
conversely, that if you pass sentence on others, the Lord will ultimately pass sentence on you):
forgive, and you shall be forgiven (implying that if you do not Forgive, God will not forgive you,
which puts a person in a terrible dilemma):"
Luke 6:37 (Expositor's Study Bible KJV)
Why must we forgive?
The best reason to forgive is because Jesus commanded us to forgive.
We learn from Scripture, if we don't forgive, neither will we be forgiven:
"For if you forgive men (it must be the God kind of forgiveness) their trepasses (large sins),
your Heavenly Father will also forgive you (forgiveness rests totally on the atoning Work of Christ;
it is an act of sheer Grace): But if you forgive not men their trepasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trepasses (if we want God to forgive us, we must at the same time forgive others; if not, His
forgiveness for us is withheld; consequently, such a person is in jeopardy of losing their soul)."
Matthew 6:14-15 (Expositor's Study Bible KJV
We also forgive so that our prayers will not be hindered:
"And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any (implying,
that the above Promises will not be honored, if we harbor unforgiveness)
: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trepasses
(forgiveness from the Lord on our part, is predicated on us forgiving others)."
Mark 11:25 (Expositor's Study Bible KJV)
In summary and in closing, we forgive out of obedience to the Lord.
It is a choice, a decision we make. However, as we do this "forgiving"
we discover the command is in place for our own good, and we recieve
the reward of our forgiveness which is freedom.