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“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt 6:14-15 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is multidimensional and relational. Does this sound like an abstract concept? It’s not.
Forgiveness is at the heart of God’s redemption of humanity. It originates with God towards us but it doesn’t stop there. Not that we are to forgive God but we are to extend God’s forgiveness of ourselves to others.
Forgiveness is a rather simple concept yet often misunderstood. Our need of forgiveness goes back to the first garden on earth—the Garden of Eden.
Too often, forgiveness is seen as a means of righting a wrong. But it’s more than that. It’s a restoration of trust. This is why forgiveness is the heart of redemption.
When sin is reduced to an act of disobedience it minimizes the effect and power of forgiveness. The first sin in the Garden was more than disobedience. It was a violation of God’s trust by Adam and Eve.
God entrusted oversight of His creation—the Garden—to Adam and it included Eve (Gen 2:7-9, 15-18). Included with this trust was one specific restriction—don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17).
God trusted Adam and Eve. They violated His trust by believing the lie of the serpent that God was holding back some power and special knowledge from them (Gen 3:1-7). So they believed the serpent’s lie instead of trusting their Creator.
This episode of broken trust resulted in a broken relationship between God and this man and woman. It’s referred to as the fall of man but that’s an oversimplification of this event where trust was broken.
The ripple effect of this act of disobedience and violation of God’s trust resulted in a multigenerational plague of fear and mistrust. The rest of the book of Genesis testifies of this (Rom 5:12-14).
Insights to consider
Forgiveness is always relational. Some may believe it’s merely a legal transaction between a righteous God and an unrighteous person but it’s far more than that.
The origin of forgiveness is with God, not humanity. The purpose of sacrifices and offerings under the Mosaic Law was to bring restoration to the relationship of God’s people with Him. The Lord was the offended one in the Garden and all sin is ultimately against God.
Even those outside of the Law of God sought a form of forgiveness and restoration through their sacrifices and offerings—an attempt to appease God or whatever gods they worshipped. Our need of forgiveness is rooted in our innate desire for restoration with God.
Forgiveness is also multidimensional as well as relational. Forgiveness isn’t just between us and God, it needs to be extended and present between us and others.
I realize some people may think things are good with their relationship with God as long as they confess their sins and ask for His forgiveness. But forgiveness is not a one-way street nor is it confined to God and an individual person. It never was.
The first murder on earth was the result of resentment and unforgiveness when Cain killed his brother Abel (Gen 4:1-8). This was set in motion when Adam didn’t resist eating fruit from the forbidden tree after Eve did. When questioned by God, Adam blamed Eve and God, and Eve blamed the serpent (Gen 3:1-13).
This began the ripple effect of sin and broken trust throughout the history of humanity. Only God’s forgiveness could break this flood of sin and death and broken trust.
Many instances of sacrifices and offerings under the Mosaic Law are designed to bring restoration of broken relationships between people. The Day of Atonement—a solemn national day of fasting and sacrifices and repentance—was instituted to bring restoration with God and one another (Leviticus Chap 16).
Forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel and the Great Commission (Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21-23). This is reaffirmed by the apostle John in his first epistle (1 John 4:19-21).
True Religion
Jesus declares our forgiveness from God hinges on our willingness to forgive one another. Restoring our relationship with God is woven together with restoring our relationships with one another through forgiveness. There are no exceptions.
This means there is no such thing as “Lone Ranger Christians” who say and think— ”It’s just you and me, Lord!” People who believe and say such things are self-deceived.
Why is our forgiveness with God conditional? Because of the nature of forgiveness. Forgiveness is an extension of mercy. And mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:12-13).
Years ago, a woman in the church I pastored suffered from a lingering illness. She went to doctors who couldn’t find any cause for this illness. Her husband asked for prayer, so a few men and I went to lay hands and pray for her at their home.
As we gathered around her bed, the Lord revealed she harbored unforgiveness in her heart. We prayed for this and her health, then went to our homes. In the morning, her husband called me, and with a voice of excitement and joy told me his wife was completely well!
Her miraculous recovery came once she extended forgiveness to someone else. I’ve heard similar stories. Unforgiveness can become like cancer eating away in our hearts and even infecting our health. But when we extend forgiveness that cancer is removed.
Forgiveness is not about justice or righting a wrong. It is an extension of mercy rather than judgment. It is forgiving the debts we have towards others. How often? When Peter asked this of Jesus, he was told seven times seventy and shared a parable to emphasize it (Matt 18:21-35).
As Jesus declared in the Beatitudes—Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matt 5:7).
Because God has shown us great mercy, we are to be merciful in the same way.
Are there people you need to forgive? Then do so!
Reflection—
Forgiveness is multidimensional and relational. Forgiveness is not about justice or righting a wrong. It is an extension of mercy rather than judgment. Forgiveness is at the heart of God’s redemption of humanity.
Prayer Focus—
When you find yourself holding resentment and unforgiveness in your heart, simply ask God to remind you of His mercy and grace in your life. Ask the Lord for forgiveness, then ask Him to give you faith to extend forgiveness and mercy to those you feel have hurt and wronged you.
Devo Scripture Text
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:1-18 NIV84)