Post by George on Sept 16, 2008 22:29:43 GMT -5
Forgiveness
I would like to take a look at the Biblical teaching of forgiveness. This is not about the forgiveness of God toward us but rather our forgiveness of others as they trespass against us. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we as that those who trespass against us are forgiven. I find this to be very important doctrine in the lives of Christians.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Actually this study could end right here but it will not. Let us take a closer look at what we have been told in these two verses.
Firstly, all means all and that is all it means. Bitterness is acridity and is related to the word poison. Bitterness is as a poison. In this case I believe it kills the spirit of not only the person or persons it is directed at but also the spirit of the one who harbors the bitterness. In order to not define terms in terms that need to be researched I must point out that acridity means deeply or violently bitter. Bitterness can become anger and anger can become wrath.
Wrath is defined as fierceness and indignation.
Anger means violent passion and by implication punishment. When involved in anger we are attempting to punish someone else for usually what is our shortcoming. I say shortcoming in that the Bible tells us to be angry and sin not. (Eph 4:26) Let us take a look at what John Gill has to say about Eph 4:26 in his commentary:
“Eph 4:26 - Be ye angry, and sin not ... There is anger which is not sinful; for anger is fouled in God himself, in Jesus Christ, in the holy angels, and in God's people; and a man may be said to be angry and not sin, when his anger arises from a true zeal for God and religion; when it is kindled not against persons, but sins; when a man is displeased with his own sins, and with the sins of others: with vice and immorality of every kind; with idolatry and idolatrous worship, and with all false doctrine; and also when it is carried on to answer good ends, as the good of those with whom we are angry, the glory of God, and the promoting of the interest of Christ: and there is an anger which is sinful; as when it is without a cause; when it exceeds due bounds; when it is not directed to a good end; when it is productive of bad effects, either in words or actions; and when it is soon raised, or long continues:”
According to Gill and I believe according to the Bible the only time anger is permitted is when it concerns anger over sin and particularly the sin in our own lives. You see we cannot really come to the point we despise the sin in other’s lives until we learn to abhor the sin in our own lives. We must become angry at the sin that exists in our own lives first and foremost.
Clamour is defined as an outcry resulting in tumult or grief. My word, why would we possibly want to cause tumult or grief in another person’s life? According to Eph 4:29 rather than cause clamour in another’s life we are to speak only those things which are edifying. Edifying means to build up. Rather than tear down another person through anger or wrath or clamour we are to speak those things which build him or her up. In Philippians 2:3 we are told to esteem others better than ourselves. We are to build them up and support them rather than tear them down through our own vainglory or gossip.
(Mat 18:21) Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (Mat 18:22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
In Matthew 18:21,22 we find one of the more well-known passages in the Bible concerning forgiveness. In this instance the figure of seventy times seven is a complete or certain number for an uncertain or unknown quantity. What Jesus told us is that we are to forgive our brothers, as often as is needed with no limit to the amount of times the forgiveness is required; and it is required.
The topic of the Lord’s Supper comes to mind at this point. It is one of the two ordinances of the Church. There is some rather interesting scripture concerning the Lord’s Supper and our participation in that ordnance.
(1Co 11:26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. (1Co 11:27) Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (1Co 11:28) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. (1Co 11:29) For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1Co 11:30) For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (Emphasis added)
The Bible says, “whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily….For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” How is it that we can partake of the Lord’s Supper in and unworthy state? In effect when we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are bringing our gift to the altar. What is that gift? It is our lives. Not only our mortal existence but also our entire existence including our mind, will and emotions. We are showing our love for and allegiance to Jesus Christ. As Paul put it when we partake of the Lord’s Supper I believe we are presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. (Rom 12:1)
Our sacrifice must be pure and clean, without spot or blemish. If we harbor ill will between us and our brother or brothers we are not upholding that requirement. We have unfinished business we need to attend to. Of course the very first thing we must do if there is ill will between us and someone else is to get right with God. We must keep short accounts with God. Then we must take the step of rectifying the problem between us and the other person or persons. Witness the following:
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Pay particular attention to the teaching in these two verses. If we are presenting our gift to The Lord as we partake of the Lord’s Supper what does Jesus tell us we need to accomplish first? We must get right with our brethren. Jesus said not to even come to the altar if someone has something against us. If we have created ill will with someone else or even if we feel we are completely correct in our position yet someone has a problem with us we need to rectify it. We need to apologize for what has happened and ask forgiveness seventy times seven. I believe these two verses above are directly tied to 1 Cor 11:26-30. Compare the two and look at the ramifications of what they are telling us. It is dealing with forgiveness. Since God, for Christ’s sake has forgiven us how can we not forgive others?
Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
As the elect of God signifies that we are a part of the body of Christ, the Church. We are brethren and all members of one body. The bowels of mercies refer to a common bond that exists between us as members of that body. This is an affectionate bond by which the lot of us is untied together for the common good. It is a bond by which we are to uphold one another. It is a bond by which the Bible tells us we are to esteem others better than ourselves. (Phi 2:3)
Then we see the continuation of the thought in the mention of kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and longsuffering. It should be pointed out the meekness is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit and can only be inculcated to us through Jesus Christ. Inculcated means impressed or enforced by frequent admonitions.
Forbearing one another - Ceasing; pausing; withholding from action; exercising patience and indulgence. This is very much akin to longsuffering. The next clause is perhaps the most important in the three verses. We are commanded to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. Christ has forgiven us without merit. We do not deserve forgiveness yet He gives it anyway. Christ forgives us without holding anything back. We cannot forgive someone but hold the attitude that we shall not forget what he or she has done. That is not true forgiveness.
To forgive literally means to pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender. But by an easy transition, we also use the phrase, to forgive the person offending.
And above all these things put on charity. Here is the definition of charity as found in the Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the American Language:
Charity
CHARITY, n.
1. In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men.
Luk 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. Luk 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Now this is a thing that is very difficult for a lot of us to do in our lives. It entails the utmost in forgiveness. If our brother trespasses against us we are to let him know (rebuke him.) Yet if he repents and truly shows a repentant spirit we are to forgive him. Now here comes the tough part. We are told that if this very same brother turns around and does the exact same thing again we are to rebuke him and if he is repentant we are to forgive him once again. We are commanded to do this seven times in a day if necessary.
In the Bible seven is an absolute number that signifies an often unknown quantity. Sometimes it can mean seven exactly and other times it can have an infinite quantity to it. Recall the words of Jesus on forgiveness:
(Mat 18:21) Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (Mat 18:22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.[/i] (Emphasis mine)
In other words we are to extend forgiveness as many times as is necessary to restore peace and harmony and to fulfill the commands and desires of God as to our interaction with our brethren. I believe this to be an area in our lives, including mine, which needs to be really examined. Do we exhibit Christian charity to others or do we harbor ill will and grudges? Do we forgive as commanded or do we still remember and cannot get away from the harm someone did to us ten or twenty years ago? I will finish this study by quoting the opening verses once again:
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
God forgives us for the smallest things we do wrong as well as the worst things and everything in between. The Bible says He does it for Christ’s sake. The question then remains since God forgives us all our wrongs for His Son’s sake, how can we as creations of the creator not forgive others? Do we do as commanded or do we make ourselves out to be better than God?
In Christ,
George