Wholehearted Forgiveness

Psalm 103:10-13 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle preached how we tend to hold grudges instead of forgiving those who offend us. We may have all the biblical knowledge of forgiveness, but not practicing daily. We seem to reserve the Right to “partial forgiveness”. One can know and understand forgiveness without doing it. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “forgiveness” as: “The act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty. The forgiveness of enemies is a Christian duty. The pardon or remission of an offense or crime; as the forgiveness of sin or of injuries.”

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Five associated aspects, good or bad, are (1) Pardoning, by definition, is “forgiveness; the release of an offense or of the obligation of the offender to suffer a penalty, or to bear the displeasure of the offended party. We seek the pardon of sins, transgressions and offenses.” This does not include condoning sin. (2) Excusing, by definition, is: “to pardon; to free from the imputation of fault or blame; to acquit of guilt. We excuse a person in our own minds when we acquit him of guilt or blame.” (3) Forgetting, by definition, is: “to lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory.” (4) Denying, is by definition, is: “to disown; to refuse or neglect to acknowledge; not to confess. We deny the truth of an assertion, or the assertion itself. The sense of this verb is often expressed by no or nay.” (5) Reconciliation, by definition, is: “to conciliate anew; to call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated; to restore to friendship or favor after estrangement; as, to reconcile men or parties that have been at variance.” From a Christian standpoint this is the goal, but from a human standpoint reconciliation is not always obtainable and may not happen.

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

There is widespread agreement on what forgiveness is not.  But, there is widespread agreement that it occurs within the individual and generally leads to a healthier life. It happens inside you or it does not happen at all. Forgiveness releases our blind Right to be “right”. Psychologists agree that it is a myth that forgiveness happens in a moment of time and not a process. Sometimes, offenses are so deep that it takes time to unpack and work through in a process of time. Why? Because forgiveness is 99% for the offended one, in order to release the hurt of the injury and move on with their life.

Colossians 3:11b-15a “Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

Nothing demonstrates our right relationship and right standing with God more than wholehearted forgiveness. It is faith in thought, word and action.

In Christ, Brian