Forgiveness: Understood, Received, & Given, Pt. 3

To forgive does not mean we validate what the person did or are OK with it. No, it was wrong, but we choose to forgive & leave the consequences to God.

Forgiveness: Understood, Received, & Given, Pt. 3

"And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.'"

(Exodus 34:6-7)

Before we segway to forgiveness received, let us probe a little more into the very concept of forgiveness. When someone sins against God or you or me, the right thing to do is forgive them. God always forgives, but we humans at times are slow to forgive. To forgive does not mean we validate what the person did or we are okay with it. No, it was wrong and hurtful, but we choose to forgive and leave the consequences and punishments to God (and in some cases, the authorities as well).

I really appreciate the way J.A. Motyer explains the relationship between forgiveness and discipline: "But there is also (exact) punishment of misdeeds because forgiveness without chastening would make us complacent, and chastisement without forgiveness would make us despair. Forgiveness without discipline would make us spoilt children; discipline without forgiveness would break our hearts. Together they guarantee that while we can treat forgiveness as certain, we can never treat sin as negligible [or unimportant]." (The Psalms, New Bible commentary: 21st century edition, 4th ed., p. 550)

What about forgiveness received? "To err is human, but to forgive is divine," what a true statement. God is, according to Psalm 99:8, El Nasa, God Who Forgives. It is His very nature and essence of who He is. "The Lord's forgiveness does not fall short of justice; but it goes beyond justice to grace, which is an essential aspect of his self-described character in Exodus 34:6–7." (Estes, D. J. Psalms 73–150, E. R. Clendenen, Ed.; Vol. 13, p. 239)

Luke 15:20-24, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, clearly reveals the love of the Father and how He is for us and desires to forgive, pardon, and reconcile us to Himself. What a beautiful scene. The father lavishes grace upon his wayward son. This is who God is!

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry."

To become a follower of Jesus, each one must come to God in confession of sins, repentance, and ask for forgiveness. God will abundantly pardon and forgive. He will do what only He can, but He will not do what only you can. He will forgive you, but He will not confess for you. One of the most recognized verses in the Bible, 1 John 1:9, puts it so memorably: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It is imperative that you confess your sins and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This will bode wonderfully well for you for eternity in heaven, and it will empower you to do what is impossible in our own power, which is to forgive.