We have come to the final meditation in our series on forgiveness. We have tried to deal with the basics of the subject, to show how forgiveness works, how and why we should forgive. Doubtless, there are many other aspects of the subject that could be considered in a comprehensive review of the topic. However, we want to look at just one more facet before we close, without which even a primer on forgiveness wouldn't be complete. It comes in the form of a warning that Jesus gives in Matthew 6, as He teaches the disciples how to pray:
Matthew 6:9-15 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Note that in this most familiar pattern prayer, the argument we are to give God as to why He should forgive our sins is that we have already forgiven the offenses of those who sinned against us (v12). But then in verses 14-15, having concluded with the prayer, Jesus underscores what is at stake in this matter of forgiveness. If we forgive others, God will also forgive us, but if we do not forgive others, neither will God forgive us. Take a few moments to reflect on the significance of those words.
We already saw that forgiveness is conditional on the repentance of the offender. But this teaching introduces another consideration - God's forgiveness of us is conditional on our forgiving those who sin against us.
One of the main parables where Jesus repeats this teaching in another form is found in Matthew 18:
Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
This principle doesn't just appear in Matthew. we can find it in Mark, Luke and James:
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
There are also echoes of it in the Old Testament:
Proverbs 21:13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
It sounds severe on the part of God when we first hear it, doesn't it? To withhold forgiveness from those who claim to be servants of God but who then withhold it from others! Yet on closer inspection, it makes perfect sense for several reasons:
1) As we have seen, the propensity to graciously forgive is inherent to the character of God. Those who are truly His children, and who are being conformed to the image of His Son will be ready and willing to forgive others. If some are known for being hard-hearted to others and unforgiving as a general pattern of life, and are thus unlike God in this important respect, we may well question if they are God's children at all. Furthermore, by claiming to be God's children and then behaving in a way that is a complete misrepresentation of Who He is, they bring dishonor to His Name.
2) Those who are His children have been forgiven an incalculable debt by God. This consideration should help us to see as relatively insignificant the sins that others commit against us, and to be eager to forgive them. This is what Jesus was teaching in the parable of the unforgiving servant above. If we refuse point blank to forgive others, we are showing that we have little regard for the enormity of our debt to God, which He forgives His repentant children through faith in Christ. In another account (Luke 7:36-50), Jesus explained that Simon the Pharisee, in whose house He was dining, didn't think his sin-debt to God amounted to very much, since he had shown little love to Jesus. Meanwhile, a woman who was present at the meal demonstrated great love for Christ, being aware of how much she had been forgiven. It goes without saying that there are good grounds to question the salvation of those who don't regard their sins against God as a particularly serious matter.
3) As we saw earlier, the fruit of the Spirit, Whom God sends to live in all His children, essentially underpins the desire to reconcile and to be at peace with others: love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control (Galatians 5:22). If these fruits are in us and to an increasing degree by the Spirit's work, a forgiving spirit must come along with them. So someone who is not forgiving by nature probably doesn't have the Spirit, and Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Romans 8:9b).
For all these reasons, and probably for others, those who do not possess a heart of forgiveness towards others have probably never themselves been forgiven by God but remain alienated from Him and at enmity with Him. They are not capable of manifesting God-like forgiveness to others while they remain in this condition, so God indicates that they will not receive His forgiveness either.
So our free, full and cheerful forgiveness of others becomes a useful test for our standing before God. If we are unwilling to forgive, or if we "forgive" but do not forget; if we have to grit our teeth and speak words of forgiveness from a hard and unloving heart, we need to watch out, because that is not how the children of God behave. For them, forgiveness is gladly and unreservedly given to the repentant offender, and the restoration of fellowship that results is a matter of sincere, heartfelt delight and thanksgiving to God.
It is often said that believers should keep short accounts with God and with each other. This means that the moment they become aware of an offense they have committed that needs to be dealt with, they are quick to seek forgiveness, burying their pride and concerns over what others may think of them. In turn, they are quick to grant forgiveness to those who seek it from them in regard to offences they have given. In this way, forgiveness is something that is practiced among the children of God - offenses are not allowed to fester, and the Devil is denied a foothold in the hearts of God's children and in the church.
Where is your heart as you read this? Is there someone who has sinned against you and has expressed repentance in some way, but you cannot bring yourself to forgive them? Be very careful of your heart if that is the case - it may be deceiving you if you consider yourself a believer but act in this way. Plead with God to make it more like His heart and that of Jesus, which is always willing to embrace and forgive the repentant sinner!
Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Luke 19:41-42 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
