Chapter 2 - Forgiveness
Introduction
In the last chapter I never mentioned the word ‘forgive’ even though that is exactly what God has done for every believer in order to receive His righteousness and meet the justice requirement of His law. I hope that everyone reading this already understands the meaning of the word forgiveness, or perhaps more importantly the concept of forgiving. But to assure we are all in alignment, we see that the definition of forgiveness in the Bible is not simply the squelching of some emotional response from being angry or resentful. Forgiveness in the Bible completely releases someone from the consequences of their actions, as if the offense never occurred.
In the Old Testament we find two primary words that convey the act of forgiving. The first being nāśā, a verb that conveys three ways to render forgiveness: 1) to lift; 2) to bear or carry; or 3) to take away (note that this word can also be used literally in applications unrelated to forgiveness, for example the ‘lifting’ of wings, see Ezekiel 10:16). The second Hebrew word is sālaḥ, another verb meaning to forgive, to pardon, or to spare, which in the Bible God is always the subject. In the New Testament the Greek verb aphiēmi means to send, to send away, or to let go. It also has several non-forgiveness applications, for example to dismiss (see Matthew 13:36), to escape or freed (see Matthew 24:40), to leave (see Matthew 4:11), and to let go (see Matthew 8:22). The application to forgiveness refers to the removal of sins from the person. The Greek noun aphesis refers to the release of sins from a sinner.
Typically when someone says to another, “I forgive you,” they are willing to let go of any anger, resentment, and hostility towards the person who either offended them or hurt them in some way. This “letting go” also implies that whatever the relationship was before has been restored as if the offense never occurred. But being human we can’t simply “throw a switch” and forget, we still remember everything! So if someone repeats a previously forgiven offense, it’s difficult to forgive again. When Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21b-22, ESV) he probably thought that he was being magnanimous, but Jesus responded with seventy-seven times, some translations state seventy times seventy, in either case it’s not the number that counts, it’s the willingness to never stop forgiving. But is that even possible for a human? I don’t believe it is without God, He is the one that makes that possible.
True Forgiveness Begins with God
I often wonder if Peter thought Jesus was joking when He responded to Peter’s inquiry to the number of times one should forgive another. To continually forgive someone seems counterproductive in our eyes, but it reflects the nature of God. When He forgives, we are told that, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”(Psalm 103:12, ESV, see also Isaiah 38:17; 43:25; Micah 7:19) We are also to forgive and forget, something I don’t think we can do without the Holy Spirit.
Some have asked, “Is forgiveness from us that important?” Jesus taught, ”For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV, emphasis added, see also Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). Jesus gives what appears to be a warning, that if someone does not forgive others of their trespasses then God the Father will not forgive them. These verses have stirred up a significant amount of controversy. Some say that if a person does not forgive others of their sins against them, that they forfeit their own salvation. But since the Bible teaches that faith in Jesus is all that is necessary for salvation, there must be another explanation. The word that is translated as ‘trespasses’ is different than the word that was translated in verse twelve, while both words can be accurately translated as an offense (or sin), they are both very specific and carry different definitions (neither one being any of the typical words translated as ‘sin’ in the New Testament that refer to the concept of “missing the mark”). In context, the warning appears to be a two-fold lesson. First, that one needs to have a heart willing to forgive in order to seek forgiveness for themselves. And two, the lack of desire to forgive others can stand in the way of their relationship with Jesus, while not affecting salvation, it can be adverse to one’s fellowship with Him.
Jesus also taught the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” after answering Peter’s inquiry recorded in the verses that follow (see Matthew 18:23-35), which covers another aspect of forgiveness, the settlement of money (or something of value) that is owed. In that parable Jesus used an outrageous debt that was erased (ten thousand talents, believed to be a massive debt in the neighborhood of several million of modern-day dollars). That may startle some or perhaps scare a few away! What was Jesus thinking? He wants us to be totally dependent on Him. A perfect God provides perfectly, even though we are still sinners we are to reflect God’s love through our forgiveness. This countercultural concept would certainly differentiate believers from the world as it would demonstrate our total reliance on God.
If forgiveness is so strongly encouraged, have you ever wondered why doesn’t God forgive those who have refused Jesus?
Why Not Forgive Unbelievers?
Why not forgive unbelief and save all of humanity? Before we explore any reasons let’s look at what Jesus taught regarding blasphemy spoken against the Holy Spirit:
“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:31–32, ESV).
“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28–29, ESV)
“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Luke 12:10, ESV)
Each of these accounts are recorded after the same incident when Jesus healed a demon-oppressed man. But instead of recognizing the miracle as something from God (the Holy Spirit), the Pharisees who witnessed this miracle accuse Jesus of collaborating with the devil (thus denying the Holy Spirit). Even though the circumstances leading to this proclamation will not likely ever occur again, the unpardonable sin remains a valid concern today. The job of the Holy Spirt is to, “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8b, ESV) When someone denies (or quietly rejects, verbalizing doesn’t matter as this is a matter of the heart) the work of the Holy Spirit and remains unrepentant (remember John 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” ESV) they are guilty of the unpardonable sin.
But that really does not fully answer the question we started with! We can speculate about why God doesn’t forgive those who have rejected Jesus from the angle that many of those people would be changed (given glorified bodies) against their will or that they could care less about heaven. Some theologians suggest that God can only save a limited number of people. Peter would remind us, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, ESV, see also 1 Timothy 2:4) God wants all people to be saved, so why not save them all? Because He is holy and perfect.
To reward disobedience is likely contrary to perfection, God loves all of humanity but will not save those who reject the perfect atonement offered as the only legal remedy to the fall of humanity.