Forgiveness

Cross Series

“Forgiveness”

Ephesians 1:7 and Matthew 26:28

The grace that keeps on gracing!

In a certain way, “forgiveness” and “grace” are the same word. You can’t truly have one without the other. In fact, it is the giving of grace that makes forgiveness… forgiveness. In other words, grace is the power (fuel) of forgiveness. It’s what makes forgiveness valid. Without the giving of grace, the word “give” would have to be removed from “forgive.” 

This is also what makes forgiveness the unique quality of God and godliness. Through forgiveness, the offender actually receives a gift from the offended. It doesn’t seem right, but it is. The one offended actually blesses their offender.  Perhaps stronger language can bring more clarity to our understanding of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the criminal being granted the gift of pardon from the victim. It’s the offended party bestowing a gift to the offending party. The one violated gifting the violator.  Again, the word “give” is the key to the word “forgiven”.

Get, Get, Get!

Perhaps this is why forgiveness is such a difficult thing among mankind. Our nature thrives on revenge, not gift giving. In this, selfishness becomes the key to our survival… so we think. And so receiving, not giving, seems to be the focus of our success.  And yet the Lord said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.”  Do you agree that revenge is the reflex of our carnal heart?

Have you noticed that revenge surfaces much quicker than forgiveness? Generally, revenge swells up like a pump-knot on our shin as soon as an offense takes place. As a thief responds to an unlocked door, so revenge is the reflex of a wounded heart.  But this should not be so for the child of God. While our carnal wishes to respond in spiteful reflex, the Christ within us hopes to give, give, give. (Remember: bitterness and stubbornness are forms of revenge).

Guilty… but pardoned

Nations and states have governments that are ruled by order. When the order is broken, punishment MUST be induced. This is called justice. No secure state is ruled by a judge who pardons at the voicing of a simple apology. In other words, just because you are sorry, and offer a sincere apology, doesn’t secure your pardon. No court on earth works this way. And neither does the High Court of our Lord.  A simple heart-felt apology is not enough to secure your pardon before a just God. Their must be reparations made in order for freedom to be secured. Justice must be served!

One of the greatest oversights in Christianity is a partial Gospel. The offering of forgiveness without the understanding that a price must be paid. This is what we do when we tell sinners that they need to pray a simple prayer, asking forgiveness for their sins, without a clear message of the cross.  The most heart-felt prayer is meaningless without an understanding that they were not set free without punishment. Indeed there was a punishment… and Christ took upon Himself that punishment.

Romans 3:23 tells us that every man is guilty before God for the crime is dishonoring the glory of God: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Because the eyes of the Lord run to and from through the earth (2Chronicles 16:9) God knows every thing. Therefore every sinner is held in judgment in God’s High Court.  What was our crime? Dishonoring the glory of God.  A price must be paid… and it was. The cross of our Lord, and the Lord on that cross, was the price paid for our dishonoring of God’s glory.  In essence, He paid for our pardon. The Just for the unjust. The violated, gifting the violator.  And what was the gift wrapped in the bow of forgiveness? Grace!