Forgiveness: Forgiving Others As God Has Forgiven You

Introduction

God’s forgiveness is an outpouring of abundant grace and mercy that provides pardon to the guilty. Although God’s forgiveness does not necessarily release the offender from the physical or material consequences of sin, it provides full release from the guilt of the wrongdoing. For you to practice Biblical forgiveness, you must understand and accept God’s gracious forgiveness of you and must follow His example in providing forgiveness to others (based on 2 Samuel 12:13-14; Psalm 103:10-14; Luke 23:39-43; Romans 5:8, 8:1; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12-14, 25).

Understanding God’s Forgiveness

The nature of God is to forgive sins.

Nehemiah 9:16–17 KJV 1900

16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

Psalm 86:5 KJV 1900

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; And plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Isaiah 43:22–25 KJV 1900

22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; But thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. 23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, Nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, Neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: But thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, And will not remember thy sins.

Every type of wrongdoing can be forgiven by God (Exodus 34:6-7, esp. verse 7; Psalm 103:3, 10-12), except that of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is to attribute the works of God to Satan (Matthew 12:22-32, esp. verses 31-32; Mark 3:20-30, esp. verses 28-29).

He forgives “iniquity” (a lack of integrity, honesty, or justice).

He forgives “transgression” (crossing over the boundary from right to wrong).

He forgives “sin” (missing the mark of God’s perfection; self-centered lawlessness).

He was ready to forgive you while you were still His enemy (Romans 5:10) and before you were ready to ask for or receive forgiveness (Psalm 86:5; Romans 5:8).

He forgive you out of His mercy and grace and not because you merit (deserve or have earned) His forgiveness (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:4-7; Colossians 2:13-14).

When God forgives you, He forgives completely (Psalm 103:10-12; Jeremiah 50:20; Romans 5:16-21; 8:1, 33-34; 1 John 1:9). The completeness of His forgiveness is revealed by the following statements.

When God forgives you, you are changed.

At your spiritual birth, God establishes a new relationship with you as your Father and removes the judgment of condemnation from you.

As your Father, He cleanses you from all unrighteousness as you confess your sins to Him (1 John 1:9).

When God forgives you, He no longer deals with you according to your sin (Psalm 103:10). Instead, He covers your sin (Psalm 32:1) and blots it out (Psalm 51:9; Isaiah 43:25, 44:22).

When God forgives you, He no longer will charge the guilt (condemnation) of your sin to your account (Psalm 32:2; Romans 3:24-25, 4:8, 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:19).

When God forgives you, He removes your sin from you and from His presence (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 38:17; Micah 7:19) and promises not to remember it against you any longer (Hebrews 10:14-18).

God’s forgiveness cost you nothing (Ephesians 2:8-9), but it was very costly to God (Isaiah 53:4-12; John 3:16; Acts 20:28; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:17-19, esp. verse 19).

God never withholds forgiveness when sin (any wrongdoings) are confessed in a sincere, Biblical manner (1 John 1:9).

Responding to God’s Forgiveness

You are to forgive others just as God has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3:13 KJV 1900

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

You are to:

Willingly grant forgiveness whenever another confesses sin to you;

Forgive any type of sin, no matter how severe or devastating it might seem to be;

Forgive on the basis of grace, not on the merit of the person to be forgiven;

Expect a renewed relationship with the one who is forgiven;

Recognize that it may be costly to you when you grant forgiveness; and

Forgive completely and do not remind the forgiven person of his sin in an accusing manner, even though it may not be appropriate to release the offender from all the consequences of his sin. (The only reason to remind anyone of his sins is for restoration or teaching purposes, and even then it must be done in a spirit of gentleness).