God’s Love For Us, Part 6: Forgiving
David W Palmer
“God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), and he loves you with the love described by the apostle Paul:
(1 Corinthians 13:4–7 TLB) “Love … does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.”
Love “Does not Hold Grudges” (verse 5)
The NIV says that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” In other words, love forgives and forgets. That’s the way God loves us; and he wants us to love others with this same love.
A. Love Forgives
(Ephesians 1:7 NKJV) “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
The Greek word translated “forgiveness” in this passage means to release, as from bondage or imprisonment. It means a letting go of sins as if they had not been committed.
In Matthew 18:23–35, Jesus gave us a perfect illustration of this level of forgiveness and of its nemesis, unforgiveness. Here are the highlights:
(Matthew 18:24–27, 29–30, 34 NLT) “In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. {25} He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. {26} “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ {27} Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. ... {29} His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. {30} But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. ... {34} Then the angry king sent the [first] man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.”
Note how Jesus used the imagery of “prison” and “torture” when speaking about unforgiveness. When we receive or give forgiveness, we are literally releasing someone from torturous confinement. (Not to mention the eternal torment if we do not receive God’s releasing pardon through Jesus.) Conversely, if we do not forgive, we are binding the other person—and ourselves—to torture.
The word translated “forgave” in verse 27 above, also has the meaning of sending away. From it, we receive the impression that when God forgives us, he sends our sins away—simultaneously sending us away from the torturous internment.
Another Greek word translated “forgive” in the New Testament is the word “charizomai” (from the same root word as grace). The insight we gain from this word is about the motive or the feeling behind the forgiveness; it is one of kindness, grace, pardon, or gift. It implies that forgiveness is a gracious gift given where it is not earned or deserved. This shows the mercy, love, compassion, and grace—the “bigness”—of the giver. Note that it also contains “charis,” grace—a promise of God’s holy supremacy over the very sin that brought on the need for forgiveness.
(Romans 5:15 NLT) “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”
When we forgive others, we are literally “giving” them something, and sending something else away. We are, by grace, giving them pardon; and by love, we are sending their offenses away into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). Plus, we are sending the person away free—like the proverbial release: “to find out if something is really yours, set it free. If it comes back to you, it is yours.” God’s forgiveness sets us absolutely free—no chains, not even strings attached, and with no obligation whatsoever. There’s no, “you owe me!” in God’s forgiveness. Those who appreciate this, who love him, and who want to be like him; come back to him of their own free will; they come in loving adoration and yielded loyalty. These are the ones he wants populating his eternal kingdom.
God went to the ultimate expense to inaugurate a justice system that allows for the freeing and absolute forgiveness of those who deserve eternal torment and torturous confinement. Jesus’s innocent blood was shed to allow God to express his love in fully forgiving you. He only has three conditions for receiving this: confession, repentance, and absolute trust in him(See: Luke 17:4, 1 John 1:9). Then he hopes that you will come boldly to his throne to find the holy grace you need to permanently overcome sin by his holy power; this way, you can be like him.
Remember, Jesus hopes that we will forgive others like he has forgiven us—even if it costs us dearly:
(Matthew 10:8 NKJV) “Freely you have received, freely give.”
