What is Forgiveness

for·give·ness [fer-giv-nis]
noun
1. act of forgiving; state of being forgiven.
2. disposition or willingness to forgive.

Forgive
verb
1. stop blaming or grant forgiveness; I forgave him his infidelity; She cannot forgive him for forgetting the wedding;
2. absolve from payment; I forgive you your debt; forgive

Forgiveness: is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offense or debt'. The concept and benefits of forgiveness have been explored in religious thought, the social sciences and medicine. Forgiveness may be considered simply in terms of the person who forgives including forgiving themselves, in terms of the person forgiven or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven. In some contexts, forgiveness may be granted without any expectation of restorative justice, and without any response on the part of the offender (for example, one may forgive a person who is incommunicado or dead). In practical terms, it may be necessary for the offender to offer some form of acknowledgment, apology or restitution, or even just ask for forgiveness, in order for the wronged person to believe himself able to forgive.

Most world religions include teachings on the nature of forgiveness, and many of these teachings provide an underlying basis for many varying modern day traditions and practices of forgiveness. Some religious doctrines or philosophies place greater emphasis on the need for humans to find some sort of divine forgiveness for their own shortcomings, others place greater emphasis on the need for humans to practice forgiveness of one another, yet others make little or no distinction between human and divine forgiveness.

Sources: Wikipedia; Dictionary

Forgiveness

 

There are really 2 forms of forgiveness that are on my mind today. The first is the forgiveness from sins that only our Heavenly Father can provide and the other is the forgiveness between fellow man. Both are important elements of a Christian life and we will see they are often represented in the Bible.

 

Godly Forgiveness

I would like to start out this lesson with the notion that every time in these scriptures below, when Jesus was referring to forgiveness, He always claimed that forgiveness came from The Father and not from Himself. This is an interesting study that we will soon dig deeper into, but for today, we are just looking at the fundamental basics of forgiveness.

Luke 11:4
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

 

Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 

Matthew 6:15
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

Matthew 9:2
And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy,

lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy;

Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

 

Mark 11:25
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

 

Some people assume that The Son Jesus forgives us of our sins because He paid the price for our sins, when in all actuality, it is God "The Father" in Heaven who forgives us of our sins. Jesus is the intercessor, Jesus died for our sins that we may be forgiven and that the blood of His sacrifice on the cross would wash us of all unrighteous and we would be found forgiven, without sin, worthy of receiving the heavenly gift of eternal life. Now that's the reality of forgiveness of sins on the level of all the universe and all the Heavens. God the Father is the forgiver of sins. It is this forgiveness that enables us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and this paticular forgiveness of sins can only be achived when we are representeded by Jesus.

Godly Forgiveness Here on Earth

There is also another form of forgiveness that happens on a regular basis here on earth, and that is Jesus, who is constantly conducting forgiveness with us. Jesus forgives us of our sins on a regular basis here on earth every time we come to Him asking. This forgiveness of sins is completely different from the forgiveness of sins at the purification to enter into Heaven. Jesus is constantly forgiving us of sins, and He is a Just God that forgives us.

Luke 5:24
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee,

Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

 

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

This constant purification of running to Jesus for forgiveness here on earth is an absolute necessity because of the ungodly environment that we are in. It would be safe to say at no time in our entire life here on earth would we ever be worthy of entering into Heaven without the sacrifice of Jesus. But at the same token, it is this constant running to Jesus, asking for forgiveness, that puts us into a position and condition to be worthy of being in His presence here on earth.

I can't count how many times I go to churches around the country and find that they do not come to Jesus asking for forgiveness. I have been to most every religion and denomination you can think of and I would have to say that 90% of them conduct their service without asking for forgiveness. Is this just an oversight? From time to time, maybe; but I would certainly not want to be a part of a church who invites Christ into their place of worship without coming to the throne in forgiveness. We need to prepare ourselves to be in His presence. It is an absolute necessity to be pure of mind and pure of heart every time we come to God. Every single prayer time that we have should start with forgiveness.

This is the only way God forgives us of our sins, when we ask for forgiveness. And even though we can be forgiven here on earth of all our sins and it will draw us ever closer to Him, we are still just filthy rags and are still not worthy of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not until we have been washed clean by the Blood of Christ, to be pure, white as snow, and only then are we worthy to enter. We want to constantly be going to our Jesus for forgiveness so that we are worthy of receiving His blessings, and worthy of being in His presents here on earth.

So, yes, Christ forgives us of our sins here on earth, and yes, Christ stands up for us at the throne of God "The Father" pleading for our forgiveness with His nail pierced hands. His sacrifice has been accepted by God for us to receive His pardon for the wrongs we have committed. God has implemented the perfect system of validations, reasonings, and purifications as to how His forgiveness is justified; even in the presence of accusers like Satan, Christ mercy and grace prevail to those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.

Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood,

even the forgiveness of sins:

 

1 John 2:12
I write unto you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

 

Now I know that this may seem a little trivial and it may be that this is an insignificant aspect of the entire concept of forgiveness as a whole, but I just thought it was great way to show you a side of forgiveness that is often overlooked. It is also a good lesson to show you that the more you study and the more you read, the more that Christ will open your eyes to His Glory and truth. And the discernment that you receive when you pray will really help you see things in a most amazing way.

 

Christian's Forgiving Each Other

Jesus gave us plenty of examples of forgiveness in the Bible. Some of the most important lessons are the lessons we need to learn when it comes to forgiving each other. Not only do we need to be forgiven by the Almighty Father, we need to hold that same Godly character in forgiving others who have done us wrong.

Matthew 6:15
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

Luke 6:36

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

 

Luke 6:37

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

 

Luke 6:27-29

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also."

 

Mark 11:25

"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,

forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

 

In the real scope of thinks, we also need to ask others for forgiveness when we do them wrong. Just as we go to God for forgiveness, we need to go to our brother for forgiveness.

Matthew 5:23-24

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

 

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God teaching and practice of forgiveness. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly spoke of forgiveness, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.". Throughout the entire Bible forgiveness is an absolute necessity to the Christian life. We need to humble ourselves in both fashions of asking for forgiveness and giving forgiveness. thru these practices, we will become more Christ like in our actions and character in order to better develop our relationship with Him.

One last position on forgiveness will have to be the fact that nobody on earth can forgive you of your sins. God is the only true forgiver of our sins. Even though you are asking people for your forgiveness, and they have forgiven you, you still have to get God's forgiveness for the wrongful deed you have done against Him. Man can not forgive your sins, man can forgive you but he can not forgive your sins, a pastor or priest can not forgive you of your sins, you can not even forgive yourself of your sins. Most people have a lot of challenges forgiving themselves of things that they may have done and that is usually because they are not capable of doing for themselves what only God is capable of doing for us. Satan has a way of keeping us from self forgiving, but with Christ, He will show us that forgiving ourselves is actually easy when God has already forgiven us.