God's Forgiveness

There is one eternal principal which will be valid as long as the world lasts. The principle is -- Forgiveness is a costly thing. Human forgiveness is costly. A son or a daughter may go wrong; a father or a mother may forgive; but that forgiveness has brought tears ... There was a price of a broken heart to pay.

Divine forgiveness is costly. God is love, but God is holiness. God, least of all, can break the great moral laws on which the universe is built. Sin must have its punishment or the very structure of life disintegrates. And God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before men can be forgiven. Forgiveness is never a case of saying: "It's all right; it doesn't matter." Forgiveness is the most costly thing in the world.   -William Barclay in The Letter to Hebrews

Let’s begin with the observation that the forgiveness of sins is a major biblical doctrine. The Bible has a great deal to say about God’s forgiveness of our sins because that is where salvation really begins. For example:

• As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
• If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness” (Psalm 130:3-4).
• You have put all my sins behind your back” (Isaiah 38:17).
• I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again” (Isaiah 43:25).
• You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (Micah 7:19)
• Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).
• In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

We should clearly understand that salvation begins with our forgiveness by God. If God did not forgive us, we would have to shoulder our sins forever, weighed down under a load of guilt that could never be removed. But the Bible also has a lot to say about our forgiveness of the sins of others against us. Here are two examples:

• And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:26).
• Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Several points might be made regarding these twin towers of forgiveness. First, Christianity is supremely a religion of forgiveness. It begins with God and comes down to us. Second, God only has one solution to the problem of human sin—the act of forgiveness. If we do not accept his solution, no other will be offered.

Third, God himself has shown us how to forgive others. We are to do for others what he has done for us. Fourth, there is a direct connection between our own spiritual health and our willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us. When we have a “root of bitterness” springing up within us, we cannot be truly healthy.

I’m sure we would all agree that forgiveness is of the Lord in the sense that forgiveness starts with God, comes down to us, and then goes out to other people. This is what Ephesians 4:32 plainly says. We are to forgive as God has forgiven us.

In his massive commentary on Ephesians, Harold Hoehner points out that the word translated “forgive” in the NIV is actually a Greek word meaning, “be gracious.” It includes forgiveness but is actually a much broader concept.

We are to extend grace to others as God has extended grace to us. We, the undeserving who have been showered with God’s grace in Christ, are to give to other undeserving sinners (who have sinned against us) the same outpouring of grace. From God to us to others. Grace to us, grace to others. This is God’s plan.

Prayer: Lord God, you are my strength. Hold my hand in my weakness and teach my heart to fly.With you, there's nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Hold me tight in your embrace, so that I can be stronger than the challenges in my life. Amen.

May God be with you always,

Liv