Lord, teach me to forgive. The Christian Doctrine on Forgiveness For Christians an unforgiving spirit, heart or attitude is an oxymoron. There will never be an offense so great, so vile, or so personal that would allow any follower of Christ to justify the refusal to grant forgiveness even if they are never asked to do so regardless of the amount of pain or grief the offense evokes. In fact, the first responsibility of bringing healing to the wounds suffered does not fall on the offender, rather the offended according to Matthew 18:15. “If our brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” (NIV) This teaching of Jesus cannot be understood or practiced with a clear conscience or a pure heart apart from the understanding that the entire ministry of Christ is grounded on this core doctrine. God, the offended party, became a man in order to make the offenders (that would be us) aware of our offense (s) in order for us to accept or refuse accountability. Only after accepting responsibility for our breaches of behavior by a repentant response can the process of reconciliation begin. What cannot be lost in this healing process is that the unacceptable acts committed will never be undone. In some cases restitution may be done but the initial act cannot be undone. Forgiveness in the original language of Scripture is a book-keeping term. If there is an unpaid debt the one owed may choose to write off the debt by incurring the cost himself leaving the former debtor debt free. Such an offering can never be considered anything but an undeserved gift. Should such a gift prompt in us who have accepted the terms of this reprieve of offending God a spirit of eternal gratitude? Terms: what do you mean by terms? How can it be a free gift if there are conditions attached to the gift? The reason is simple. The ultimate goal of God’s forgiveness is not to just wipe the slate clean but reconciliation. His first step to recreating the opportunity to share the adventure of walking by faith was and is forgiveness. He has torn down the wall we and we alone have created so that the new life can begin. A new beginning has no potential without a change of direction and heart which is why there is a call to those of us who believe to live a repentant life style. Simply put, we willfully continue to do things God’s way rather than our own. Deeply embedded in this life-style teaching of Christ on forgiveness He subtly states in His model prayer, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” One could paraphrase those words to say “forgive us in the same manner as we forgive others.” Although we may not hear that intent as we have often repeated those words. it none the less is a core discipline for everyone who calls Jesus Lord. Having laid out the brief outline of this foundational teaching of Scripture, I would like to point out that in the absence of the practice of this Christ-like discipline many things will and do break apart in the community of the forgiven: the Church. If we put a forgiving spirit on the back burner it provides room for us to play the victim rather than being the victor we are called to be. Without this aspect of the nature of Christ, it makes it easy to justify infecting the body of Christ with the cancers of gossip, finger pointing, and the many other ways of saying that life is all about me. It was that mindset that got Satan and his demonic angels kicked out of heaven. Could it be said that people leave churches because they fail to translate their need for forgiveness into the ability to forgive others? Could it be said that an unforgiving heart is powered by pride and arrogance? Could it be said that churches that enter into death spirals do so because there is not enough gratitude for the gift of forgiveness and they become passively indifferent to the plight an unforgiving spirit creates? There is not a problem in the world that can not be solved by practicing the gift of forgiveness. Even though forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing, reconciliation without forgiveness can never happen. If my understanding is correct, the burden does not rest alone on those who violate the sanctity of others but on the Christ-like response of those who have been wronged. Lord, teach us to be a community of forgivers.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:32:19 +0000
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