Forgiveness I. Introduction A. Let us consider an important aspect of the faith B. Forgiveness 1. Without forgiveness from God, we would be without God, without Christ, without hope, and entirely in our sins 2. Without forgiving one another, we cannot receive forgiveness from God! C. Let us consider the subject today II. The Meaning and Nature of Forgiveness A. What is forgiveness? 1. Greek aphesis: release from bondage or imprisonment; forgiveness or pardon, of sins, remission of the penalty (Thayer's) 2. English: the act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty; the pardon or remission of an offense or crime; as the forgiveness of sin or of injuries; disposition to pardon; willingness to forgive; remission of a debt, fine or penalty (Webster's) B. Forgiveness, therefore, involves a release from an obligation 1. We understand debt forgiveness: if you owe $1,000, and that debt is forgiven, you are not obligated to pay it: the loss is taken on by someone else 2. This is the operative principle regarding forgiveness! 3. Thus, when someone is forgiven, the "loss" or the "offense" is suffered by the one forgiving, and the one who is forgiven receives a release and a deliverance from the obligation or the consequences of the offense C. In terms of sin, therefore, forgiveness is to clear the sinner's offense(s) and no longer hold the sin against him D. Forgive and forget? 1. Many people speak simply regarding forgiveness and say that proper forgiveness involves "forgiving" and then "forgetting" 2. The Scriptures never speak in this way! 3. The view is defended by an appeal to Jeremiah 31:31-33 (Hebrews 10:16-17), that God will remember sin "no more" 4. Must it follow that if God remembers sin no more that He has completely forgotten about the sin? 5. Or are Jeremiah and the Hebrew author indicating that when God forgives a man of sin, He no longer brings the sin to His conscious mind against that person? 6. Matthew 18:21-22, 32-34: how can one know that a brother has sinned seven times against him if he has forgotten each sin after it happens? How can the Master call to mind the forgiven debt if that debt was forgotten? 7. Forgiveness need not require forgetting, but forgiveness does demand that the sin no longer be held against the person in any way, shape, or form! E. Forgiveness, therefore, involves releasing a person from an accrued debt or from consequences as a result from an offense III. Forgiveness: God and Man A. Why Man Needs Forgiveness 1. We speak many times of God being willing to forgive mankind 2. But why does mankind need forgiveness? 3. God has established holy and righteous laws, for He is just (1 John 2:3, Ezra 9:15) 4. All people transgress some of those laws and thus incur sin (Romans 3:23, 1 John 3:4) 5. That sin is offensive to God and causes a separation between man and God (Isaiah 59:1-2, Habakkuk 1:13) 6. God would be just to condemn all humanity on the basis of these affronts against His righteousness (Romans 6:23) 7. There is nothing that man can do by himself to pay the debt of sin or to reconcile himself to God (cf. Ephesians 2:1-10) 8. This is why man needs forgiveness: his hope cannot be in "paying God back" or doing enough good things to outweigh the bad, but must be based in God suffering loss on account of the sin B. In former times, animals were offered as sacrifices for sin (Leviticus 1-8, cf. Hebrews 9:1-10, etc.) C. Yet these could not really take away sins (cf. Hebrews 10:4)! D. Jesus the Christ died on the cross in order to allow humans to have their sins forgiven 1. Matthew 26:28, John 1:29, Romans 5:5-11, Hebrews 7:22-28, Hebrews 9:10-15 2. Since Jesus was without sin, He could suffer the loss to atone for, or pay for, the sins of mankind 3. God is willing to allow the blood of Christ to cover the sins of those who request it in truth, and they can be reconciled back to God E. This forgiveness originally obtained through baptism (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-7) 1. Belief, confession, repentance presupposed (cf. Mark 16:16, Acts 16:16, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38) 2. It is not as if the water has special properties! 3. Instead, the believer's willingness to submit to the approved type of death and resurrection is recognized by God as an appeal for the forgiveness of sin, and God then covers those sins on the basis of the blood of Christ, and the believer is then reconciled back to God F. Forgiveness for baptized Christians comes on the basis of petition to God of confession and repentance 1. 1 John 1:9 2. Confession: Greek homologeo, derivation "speak the same thing as," thus, "confess" 3. "Confessing sin" involves actually identifying sin, "speaking the same thing" as what was done, not some generic petition for forgiveness 4. It may be humbling and uncomfortable to actually say to God the sins that we have committed, but if we really want them to be forgiven, that is what we must do! G. Without the forgiveness of sin, we will be condemned (Romans 6:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)! IV. Forgiveness: Man and Man A. There are many times when God attaches forgiveness of sin to our willingness to forgive others of their sins 1. Matthew 6:12, 14-15, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, 7:47, 11:4, 17:3-4 2. Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13 B. Illustrated clearly in Matthew 18:21-35 1. Peter wants to know how many times he is to forgive his sinning brother; 7 times? 2. Jesus says seventy times seven! 3. Parable of the Master and the Unforgiving Servant 4. Debt of 10,000 talents: approx. $1,095,750,000 or $1.01 billion! 5. Debt of 100 denarii: each denarius about $15, thus, $1,500 6. Parable interpreted: we are the indebted servant 7. We have a debt we will never be able to repay: sin against God! 8. Yet if we petition God according to His righteousness and covenant loyalty, He is willing to forgive us of our sins! 9. The fellow servant is our fellow human 10. The debt of 100 denarii is his sin against us: it does not compare to the debt we have to God, but notice that it is still fairly significant! 11. When people sin against us, it is going to hurt! 12. Nevertheless, we must remember that just as their sin has hurt us, our sins have grieved God and required the horrific death of His Son for atonement! 13. If we refuse to forgive our fellow man when he sins against us, God will not forgive us of our sins, and we will be condemned! C. The lesson is clear: we must forgive everyone who sins against us when they repent D. But what about those who sin against us but do not repent? 1. Many feel that if someone has not repented, we cannot forgive them 2. They appeal to the fact that most of these examples indicate that the offensive party is repentant 3. Yet that is the point of Jesus' teaching in those places: what if Jesus has no intention to address the matter of forgiveness without repentance in these passages? 4. Consider Matthew 6:12-15, Mark 11:25: mention made of needing to forgive, no indication of repentance 5. Jesus and Stephen represent examples of this (Luke 23:34, Acts 7:60): it is clear that those crucifying Jesus and those stoning Stephen were not repentant! 6. What is to be lost if we forgive even if there is no repentance? Nothing! We willingly take on the burden of suffering the loss since God suffered such loss for us while we were ungodly (cf. Romans 5:6)! 7. On the other hand, if we are to forgive regardless of repentance, what will God think of us if we refuse to forgive when there is no repentance? 8. We must love our enemies and do good to those who hate us (cf. Luke 6:27); how can we do that if we hold the sins of our unrepentant enemies against them? E. Therefore, we would do well to forgive anyone and everyone who sins against us so that we may reflect God's love to all men and demonstrate our appreciation for our own forgiveness! V. Conclusion A. We have considered forgiveness B. Forgiveness is the releasing of a person from a debt or from the consequences of an offense: the one forgiving suffers the loss or the pain, and the forgiven is delivered 1. Jesus suffered greatly so that we could obtain the forgiveness of our sins 2. We therefore ought to be willing to suffer loss and forgive others, no matter how they sin, no matter the condition of their hearts! C. Without forgiveness, we are lost without hope D. If we refuse to forgive, we will find ourselves likewise unforgiven! E. Let us live as people who have obtained mercy and forgiveness from God! F. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). Forgiveness remains an integral part of Christianity and the hope of believers in Jesus. Forgiveness demands release. When a debt is forgiven, the debtor is released from repayment. Yet such a release requires the one forgiving to suffer the loss or harm. If a debt is forgiven, someone must suffer the loss of the repayment. And so it is also with sin: forgiveness demands release from the consequences of sin, but someone must suffer that loss, pain, and hurt. Why is forgiveness so important in the Christian life? 2: Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). When we think of forgiveness we often immediately think of our need to be forgiven of our sin by God. We have done things which transgress God's holy will and purpose. The penalty for such transgression is death. We cannot atone or cover for our sins by anything we can say or do. In days of old people offered animals for their sin. God loves us and proved willing to suffer evil and death in Christ in order to atone for our sins. We must now submit to Jesus in faith, baptism, and repentance to receive forgiveness of our sins. How can we be forgiven of our sins by God? 3: "For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15). If we have become followers of Jesus we have come to understand the importance of receiving forgiveness of our sins. While we cannot do anything in order to earn or merit the forgiveness of our sins, God has made it clear in Christ that He will not forgive those who refuse to forgive others. Even when others have caused us great harm and distress, we are called upon to forgive them as God has forgiven us. They may still have to suffer consequences for their transgressions; but we must grant release if we want to maintain release from our sins. Why will God not forgive those who will not forgive others? 4: "Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25). God shows no partiality; thus for God forgiveness is a matter of retaining or loosing a person from their sin. As Christians we are not granted the ability to retain or loose the sins of others, but we are liable to show partiality on account of past hurt and sin. Thus God in Christ calls upon Christians to forgive anything against anyone, regardless of repentance, for our forgiveness is not as much about them and their sin as it is about how we view and treat them. It is impossible to love someone as long as you hold their sins against them. If we want God to heed our prayers and forgive us of our sins, we must prove willing to forgive others what they have done to us. Why must we forgive the sins of others?