Forgiving- Is it Optional?

What does scripture teach us in regard to whether or not we should forgive others if they do not show any signs of repentance? The following is a write-up on this subject following much study and prayer.

In the parable of Matthew 18 Peter asks, “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.” (In the KJV this reads seventy times seven.) The point is that we must forgive over and over, and not try to even keep count. We must note here that Jesus does not say IF your brother repents, you must forgive him. Each parable was told in order to bring across one clear message. The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant tells us of a man who owed a great debt that he could not pay. It also tells of how his master mercifully canceled that debt, absolving him of payment. The same man who was forgiven the debt failed to show mercy to another who owed him a paltry amount in comparison. Upon finding this out, the master then delivered the unforgiving servant to the jailers until he should pay all the debt (which would be impossible for him to do). We need to see in this parable our own story. We owed a great debt we could not pay, and yet God, in his mercy absolved us of that debt, (if we are His children). In Colossians 2:13-14 we read, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Considering the enormous debt we have been freed from paying, we must freely forgive others the small debts they owe us in comparison. IF we refuse to forgive others their offenses against us, then we cannot expect God to forgive our debt against Him, “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).

A good example of forgiveness before repentance occurs can be found in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Long before the wayward son asked for forgiveness, the father granted it. In Luke 15:20 we read, “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him”. In this parable we also must see our own story. If we are children of God, our heavenly Father has shown us great compassion, for “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:8-11).

Scripture does not tell us that we were reconciled to God after we repented, but while we were still in our sin and enemies of God, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). In lieu of God’s great mercy toward us who have been forgiven so great a debt we could not pay, we must, in obedience to scripture’s teaching, forgive as the Lord has forgiven us (Col. 3:13) and leave the rest up to God. We must also understand that there can only be reconciliation of relationships if God brings it about. Our responsibility is to attempt reconciliation, pray for it and leave the rest in God’s hands, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18) ; “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In Luke 17 Jesus again teaches us the importance of forgiveness, but with a different view in mind. Jesus tells the disciples here “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17: 3). We must understand that to forgive someone does not always mean we do not hold them accountable for their sin. Many times we can, (and should) overlook minor offenses against us, as the unforgiving servant in the Matthew 18 parable should have done, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). However, scripture does teach us, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6: 1). The teaching here is that we must hold those who claim to be Christians accountable for their transgression, and be willing to forgive that one as many times as he/she repents, which may not be an easy task, especially if one offends us over and over and over in the same day. We need to follow the example set forth in Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector,” meaning we must treat that individual as an unbeliever who is need of being shown the compassion and love of God. The point of both teachings is that we must forgive. We must forgive even if repentance does not occur, and we must forgive over and over even when it does occur, “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).

Scripture leaves us no leeway for being unforgiving. God alone determines whose sins He will forgive, whose transgressions will be covered by the blood of Christ, “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” (Romans 9:15-18). With the correct understanding that all were destined for hell, not one of us is deserving of anything less it is easier to see how “...God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.” He will forgive those He has chosen to forgive and we must forgive all- not knowing exactly who He has chosen to forgive.

We must understand all of these issues within the context of the entire teaching of scripture which summed up in one command is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Obedience to God’s commands is the best way we can show our love for Him,“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Obedience to God’s commands is the best way we show our love for others as well, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments” (1 John 5:2). One of God’s commands is “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).

Turning to a Different Gospel

After reading through Galatians again, the following question came to mind, How many people today are turning to a different gospel? Paul starts out this book stating his astonishment at the people of his time ‘turning to a different gospel’ (Galatians 1:6). This was involving the whole circumcision issue. Thinking the people had come to a right understanding that circumcision was to no avail, Paul finds this not to be the case. He even tells of an incident where he had to publicly rebuke Peter, “For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2:12-14).

Paul goes on to say, “..we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

He reaffirms the fact that circumcision is of no avail, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6), and further on in verses 15-16, “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” Nothing that man can do outwardly is of any account. In our day and age this would mean such things as ‘making a decision’, praying a special prayer, walking an aisle, or being baptized. It matters not whether we have done any one or all of these things- IF we have not had an inward change of heart- having been made a new creation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In Colossians 2:11 we read, “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ..” Romans 2:29 reads, “circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.” Circumcision of the heart is when God by His Spirit gives us a new heart, replacing the old hardened one that had once been dead to the things of the Spirit, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 26:36).

These passages make clear that there is nothing we can do outwardly to achieve salvation. Our salvation comes through faith alone, by grace alone and not by anything we have done or ever could do. There must be an inward change of heart. Evidence to show this change comes about through recognition of our need of a Savior, and confession of our sins, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). As ones who have been born again of the Spirit we will live a repentant lifestyle, and we must “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

We must understand that any form of outward change counts for nothing, if it is not accompanied by an inward change of heart that leads to obedience. Paul affirms once again that, “..neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God (1 Corinthians 7:19). May we not be found ‘turning to a different gospel’, which is any message that preaches anything other than trusting in Christ’s righteousness alone for our salvation.

Can Lying ever be Justified?

Sometimes stories in scripture can make us come away feeling rather puzzled. Two stories that come to mind in this would be the one of the midwives and the one of Rahab. After the reading of these two accounts we could easily question whether or not telling a lie could be justifiable in certain instances.

We must go to the teaching of scripture as a whole to solve any perplexing questions we may have. The perplexing question in this instance would be, Can lying ever be justified?  What do the scriptures tell us? They clearly teach that God cannot lie. In Numbers 23:19 (KJV) we read, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” We also read in Proverbs 6:16-19 that God hates lies, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

We also learn that lies come from the devil, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). In fact, God tells us all liars will have their place in the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8 (ESV) reads, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The Bible seems pretty clear in how God feels about lies and liars, with not just one or two questionable verses, but many that are clear to the point. So what do we do with texts such as Exodus 1:18-20 where we read of the midwives’ lie to the king of Egypt, or the story of Rahab in Joshua 2:3-6 where she lies to protect the spies? We must realize that both of these examples are from the period of time before the giving of the law, which was to show man how they could live to please God.

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 116:11, “I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.” It would certainly be alarming to come to this realization. Romans 3:4 reads, “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar”, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you judge,” and yes, the scriptures teach our best righteousness is as filthy rags, “..all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). We are in desperate need of the gospel, and of a Savior.

 So the grace of God portrayed in these two stories should both amaze and comfort us, if we are honest enough to realize that our best righteous acts also contain selfishness, deceit, jealousy, and maybe even lies. We can do no good apart from the working of Christ’s righteousness in and through us. We deserve punishment not honor, “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this..”(Ezra 9:13). We are more responsible than the women in the stories of Rahab and the midwives because we have the full counsel of God through His Word that clearly teaches us not to lie. Yet, as God honors these women for their attempts to be righteous, so God honors our feeble attempts at righteousness. We must realize that any act that is not done out of a perfect righteousness is not pure before a Holy God.

Let us remember that scripture also teaches us, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Our God does not lie, and neither must we, under any circumstances. Even though we know we cannot live in perfection as long as we live on this fallen earth with a sinful nature, we still must strive to live holy lives, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

What an amazing God, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33. It is no wonder that in Revelation 4:10-11, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Let us repent of our humanistic religion that still tries to deny our sin and exalt man to be like God, and give God all the glory, “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” Jude 1:25.