Forgiveness Explained
Chapter 1
by Gini Crawford, MSW
Overview
As Christians, our past, present and future sins are fully and abundantly forgiven in Jesus. However, we do have a responsibility to forgive others as God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:9-15). And I know at times forgiving someone is about the last thing we want to do.
In this devotion, you will learn such things as: forgiveness from God's perspective, the greatest forgiveness of all, why and how to forgive as a Christian, why unforgiveness is a sin, what resentment and bitterness are, forgiveness and psychological distress, how forgiveness and our minds work, importance of forgiveness for our well-being and health, restoring a relationship with forgiveness, and other forgiveness aspects.
Be honest. What are your feelings about forgiving? Do you like to forgive?
Forgiveness from God's perspective
What does forgiveness mean from God's perspective? To forgive means to not keep account of wrongs, to send forth or away the wrong, and to let go from oneself. Forgiving also has the idea of treating the offending person graciously, with kindness, love. (1 Corinthians 13:5, Ephesians 4:32). God's forgiveness removes our sins from us, liberating us from sins’ guilt and power. Only God can literally remove sins from a person, but you can still forgive or let go of the wrong against you from another person.
...But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them... Nehemiah 9:17b NIV®
Studying forgiveness from God's standpoint and applying it to our lives will make us more like Christ, and believe it or not, much happier people.
Forgiving others
Don't misunderstand forgiveness from the Bible. Some people think if they forgive, they are saying what the person did was acceptable. That is not what forgiveness means. When you forgive someone, you make the choice to give up your desire to get back at the person, and to let go of your anger or resentment towards the person (Proverbs 16:32; James 1:19-20). You also stop judging the person who caused you the hurt. Instead of revenge, anger, and judgment, you show grace and kindness (Luke 6:35-37; Romans 12:17-21). In other words, the guilty person may not deserve forgiveness, but it's an act of kindness on your part to forgive (Ephesians 4:32). When you forgive, you are not condoning the person's sinful action, but you are letting it go from yourself. When you forgive someone, it doesn't mean the person won't experience the consequences of their behavior.
Have you ever been sprayed by a skunk? If you have, you know the smell is horrific. So getting your skunk spayed clothes off and away from you is a necessity, never to put them on again. When you forgive someone, you are mentally letting go of the wrong, getting it away from you like skunky clothes.
Is it hard for you to forgive others? Be honest.
Life Application
Jonah the prophet found it hard to forgive
The Old Testament prophet Jonah hated the wicked Assyrians (whose capital was Nineveh), and he knew God would forgive them. So Jonah ran from God to try to stop God from forgiving the Assyrians. But God can't be fooled, and He sent a big fish Jonah's way. This fish showed Jonah God's grace and forgiveness, by saving him from drowning and getting him back on God's track. And Jonah was right; God did show the very sinful Assyrians much grace (favor) and forgiveness through Jonah's preaching, and did not destroy their city. At times are you determined not to forgive so you run from God?
Read the whole book of Jonah. The story of Jonah is a quick read. It's God's true story about a big fish and a man who was so determined not to forgive, he didn't care if he drowned. At the end Jonah was dismayed that the people were sorry for their sins, and he gets angry that God forgave them. Do you get angry, when God forgives people you don't think deserve forgiveness?
The book of Jonah shows the fact that God is the God of forgiveness, along with many more characteristics of God. List a few other characteristics of God. What part of the book of Jonah was the most meaningful to you?
Prayer: God heard and saw they had turned from their wicked ways and did not destroy their city. (Jonah 3:6-10). How would you pray if you were an inhabitant of Nineveh? Here is my prayer: Dear God, You are compassionate please have mercy on our city. Please forgive us for our evil and violent ways.