Forgiveness – Part 1
(The following is the first part of a five-part series. I want to preface this article by saying it is a compilation of thoughts that began in February or March of this year. What started as a 3-word phrase “jumping off the page” one morning in my personal devotions has continued to develop over the past seven or eight months via further Scripture reading, Bible commentaries, King James Bible preaching, and devotional books, as well as personal experiences. This is certainly not an exhaustive study on the subject of forgiveness but rather a glimpse into what the Lord has been teaching me this year.)
“If He Repent”
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:3, 4
It was the above Scripture that “jumped off the page” earlier this year – specifically the 3-word phrase “if he repent”. Although I had read that passage many times, for some reason the Holy Spirit seemed to take a highlighter to those three words that morning.
Sometime later, on March 23, my personal devotions included the following devotional from “Daily Thoughts for Disciples” by Oswald Chambers. (I’m not sure how much time elapsed between these two readings as I did not record the first incident in my journal. I will estimate a few weeks.)
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“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” Matthew 18:15
“It would be an immoral thing to forgive a man who did not say he was sorry. If a man sins against you and you go to him and point out that he has done wrong – if he hears you, then you can forgive him; but if he is obstinate you can do nothing; you cannot say ‘I forgive you’, you must bring him to a sense of justice. Jesus Christ said, ‘I say unto you, Love your enemies’, but He also said the most appallingly stern things that were ever uttered, e.g. ‘…neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ I cannot forgive my enemies and remain just unless they cease to be my enemies and give proof of their sorrow, which must be expressed in repentance. I have to remain steadfastly true to God’s justice. There are times when it would be easier to say, ‘Oh well, it does not matter, I forgive you’, but Jesus insists that the uttermost farthing must be paid. The love of God is based on justice and holiness, and I must forgive on the same basis.” ~ Oswald Chambers
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As I read the above devotional that March morning, the 3-word phrase came back to me – “if he repent”. I must admit, the devotional went against the grain of what I felt the Lord had been teaching me in recent years on this subject of forgiveness. I had to go back and read it several times, along with the Scripture in Luke. That morning, I definitely had something to “chew on”.
Nine days later – on April 1 – Faith Music Radio was playing while I was cleaning my bedroom. I had been going in and out with cleaning supplies, etc. but “just happened” to be in my room to hear a preacher preaching on forgiveness and the biblical principle that the offender must repent before the offended can forgive. Does this mean that the offended grows bitter while waiting for the offender to ask for forgiveness? Absolutely not! The offended should ALWAYS be ready to forgive the second the offender repents. But, repentance must take place before one can be forgiven. This preacher’s words, of course, reminded me of the two previous instances in my personal devotions.
Looking back, I realize I didn’t fully understand why God was continuing to put this truth before me but I did know that there was a purpose. My responsibility was simply to listen and learn. This past week, the Lord gave me peace to begin writing on this topic of forgiveness. Again, I certainly do not claim this to be an in-depth study but simply a compilation of thoughts.