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SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS PAGE Forgiveness -- Definitions |
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SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS PAGE Forgiveness -- Definitions |
Definition
The theologians define it as " . . . the voluntary release of a person or thing over which one has legal or actual control (H. Vorlander in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1:697)."
John F. MacArthur provides the following definition for forgiveness in his book, The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness, p. 112:
Genuine forgiveness is not feigned or grudging, but is given as freely as we ourselves desire to be forgiven. It involves a deliberate refusal to hold the guilt over the head of the offender. It means ending the bitterness, laying aside anger, and refusing to dwell on the offense that has been forgiven. It is a complete letting go of any thought of retaliation or reprisal. It is, as nearly as possible, the human equivalent of what God promises--to remember the sin no more (cf. Jer. 31:34).
Such forgiveness does not come easy, particularly when it deals with the kinds of sins that destroy lives and relationships. . . .
MacArthur has a good definition. I would only say that forgiving often precedes healed emotions. It involves an act of the intellect and the will. The appropriate emotions (e.g., a complete releasing of the anger, a complete releasing the offender's guilt) will follow. My advice to the offended is that he/she should start the process without worrying that complete emotional healing is not immediately apparent.
Informal Forgiveness
The first thing that comes to the mind of many who have been offended by another is revenge. What can I do to get even?
However, it is clear that a believer should allow God to take revenge and not take revenge himself:
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord (Romans 12:19, NASV).
To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:8-9, NASV).
See also Matthew 5:38-39 and Luke 6:29.
Sometimes God uses government to achieve His revenge:
. . . for it [government] is a minister of God; an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil (Romans 13:4, NASV).
Thus, when the believer has been the victim of a criminal act, the victim should cooperate with government in dealing with the evil person.
No matter what another has done to offend him, a believer is obligated to have a peaceful relationship and to not seek revenge:
So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another (Romans 14:19, NASV).
. . . showing forbearance to one another in love, . . . (Ephesians 4:2, NASV).
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (James 3:18, NASV).
See also Matthew 5:9.
Revenge is certainly the opposite of forgiveness. When a believer has rejected personal revenge as an option, he has successfully begun the process of forgiveness.
Formal Forgiveness
As is described in the flow chart, forgiveness may be unconditional for some offenses and conditional for other offenses. Conditional forgiveness is described in Matthew 18:
And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And 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-gatherer (Matthew 18:15-17, NASV). See also Matthew 6:12; Ephesians 4:32; and Colossians 3:13.
On the other hand, forgiveness is sometimes unconditional:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8, NASV).
See also Proverbs 10:12 and 17:9.
These passages speak of covering an offense rather than uncovering an offense. When forgiveness is conditional, the sin has to be revealed -- not covered up (Matthew 18:15-17). So the above verses speak of unconditional forgiveness. In these verses the victim loves the offender so much that he overlooks the wrong.
[Love] does not take into account a wrong suffered (1 Corinthians 13:5, NASV).
Keeping a record of wrongs is essential in conditional forgiveness (Matthew 18:15-17). The victim remembers the sin, the witnesses remember it, and ultimately the church remembers it. Thus this verse portion is talking about unconditional forgiveness in which the sin is forgotten. Again the interpretation is that there may be some whom we love so much that we overlook their sins.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; . . . (Mark 11:18).
This passage was given to our Lord's disciples while they were yet under the Old Covenant. On the other hand He was beginning to be rejected as the Messiah who would set up a Kingdom populated by those found to be righteous under the Old Covenant. Teaching concerning the New Covenant and the Church Age were working their way into His ministry.
In this verse the Lord describes an unconditional type of forgiveness. The forgiveness described can be accomplished while the person is standing and preparing for prayer without leaving the position. It is unrealistic to believe that the person accomplished the steps of conditional forgiveness in Matthew 18 while standing there before he continued in prayer. There were no conference calls on cell phones in those days. He would have had to leave the position and find the accused person or even call a meeting of the church. In fact the grammar is supportive of the interpretation that the need to forgive came to mind and the forgiving was accomplished during the praying. This has to be unconditional forgiveness.
See also Ephesians 4:2.
Haddon Robinson believes forgiveness should be unconditional unless it involves an actual sin:
Jesus isn't saying, 'If your brother irritates you, or upsets you, or ignores you, or disagrees with you about some practice, you are to follow this procedure.' This procedure deals with sin.
Another Christian word covers irritations: forbearance. We are to bear with one another. We are to put up with things that irritate us and forgive them without saying anything to the person involved. We are not to make such matters a matter of confrontation or discipline (Haddon Robinson, Discover the Word Outline: November 04, 2002, http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/radio/daily/archiveout.php ).
However, the criteria for engaging in conditional forgiveness is not actual sin:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8, NASV).
Peter teaches that there are some situations in which sin is to be overlooked because of the love we have for the offender.
MacArthur provides the following helpful criteria to decide if forgiveness should be conditional or unconditional (pages 123-134):
The Greek word "to repent" is metanoew. When the inspired writers of the New Testament began their task, their dictionary would not have listed a meaning for metanoew that included "ceasing from sin." Instead it would have listed "'change one's mind about something" as the meaning. A meaning related to "ceasing from sin" evolved later in history. "Change ones mind about something" is listed in William F. Arndt & F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 1957 edition, p. 513. The English translation of metanoew as "repent" is unfortunate because it carries the "ceasing of sin" connotation.
The metavnvoew required for conditional forgiveness cannot include a certain record of "ceasing from sin" since the sin-metanoew-forgiveness cycle can take place seven times a day (Luke 17:3-4). But such a frequency of the cycle does allow a "change of mind" like an understanding that he/she is at fault.
Restitution is a payment the offending party is responsible to make to the offended party.
The Old Testament often mandated the lex talionis (i.e., an eye for an eye) for murder and assault (Exodus 21:12). But for many other crimes, the offender was made to pay restitution. Normally the restitution was equal to the value of the damage done, but when the damage was critical to the survival of the victim, an additional amount was added (Exodus 22:1-4; Proverbs 6:31-32). This could serve as a guide to an offender who makes restitution to his/her victim.
Will we go to hell because we do not forgive others?
There are a couple passages that state that unless we forgive others, God will not forgive us: Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25b-26. Does this really mean that our place in heaven is conditioned on our forgiveness of others?
The Law, an enhanced part of which was the need to forgive others if one is to receive forgiveness from God, was never able to impart righteousness to anyone (Acts 13:39; Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16; 3:11). Under the New Covenant we should not be keeping the Law for salvation. We should not be forgiving of others for the purpose of receiving forgiveness from God. We should rather be trusting in Christ and His work on the cross for salvation. However, we should still see in Matthew 6 and Mark 11 an exhortation that a holy person should be forgiving of others.
Under the Law of Christ (the New Covenant law), Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 are the guides for Christians in the area of forgiveness rather than Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25b-26: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32)."
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© 2001-2003 -- Ken Bowles -- February 20, 2003, Edition
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