My dear readers,

Is someone truly saved if they have trouble forgiving others?

Forgiveness Experienced -- The Bible teaches all believers that one of the types of salvific evidence is the ability to forgive unconditionally. The believer no longer bears any grudge or harbours any bitterness against the ones who have offended him. He seeks no vengeance or harm toward the offender. In fact, he has a sincere desire for the offender’s good and overall well-being. He prays for the offender. If the offender is a sinner, he prays for his salvation. If the offender is a professing believer, he prays he will repent and return to holiness. This biblical version of forgiveness is from God because this is God’s forgiveness for sinners. Was that not the reason He gave His only begotten Son to die for undeserving sinners so they could be saved? He wanted the best for sinners who sinned against Him!

Forgiveness Defined -- God defines forgiveness in this manner in Jeremiah 31:34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” The LORD says that after He forgives, He will no longer remember their sins. The LORD is immutable in His omniscience. He does not forget or learn new things. He knows all things all at the same time! What He means by “remember their sin no more” is that once their sins are repented of, i.e. washed by the blood of Christ, God will no longer hold their sins against them and will not condemn them. In God’s eyes it will be as if they did not commit those sins at all. The fellowship and relationship with God are restored.

What does forgiveness mean for Christians then? 

Forgiveness Explained -- Biblical forgiveness has two parts. The first is the one who has been offended. He is willing to forgive. He bears no animosity toward the offender who has hurt him. Possessing this forgiveness that has no ill will toward the offender protects the believer from bitterness, unjust anger and a vengeful spirit. These emotions that stem from a deep sense of injustice because of being persecuted for Christ are wrong and sinful. To protect His disciples from these sins, Christ taught them to forgive and pray for those who unjustly treat them because of their faith: Matthew 5:44-47 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”

By not taking vengeance and instead reciprocate in love and kindness, we will help these sinners see Christ in all believers’ lives. The more they persecute, the more love and compassion should be shown. Sharing the gospel from this perspective of humility adds power and moral strength to the witness of believers, for this was what Christ did for believers when He came from heaven and died for them.

The second part is that the one who has sinned must repent and seek forgiveness. If the transgressor refuses to repent and seek forgiveness, there is no reconciliation, even though the offended one is ever ready to forgive, just as God is ever ready to forgive all sinners in Christ. As long as the transgressor refuses to repent and remain in sin, the blessing of a restored relationship remains elusive, thus sinners will remain as sinners before God.

How is it possible for believers to have such unconditional forgiveness?

The answer is given by Christ when Peter asked Him how many times a Christian should forgive his brother.

Matthew 18:21-35 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

From the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, we learn:-

• There is no limit to forgiveness – Peter thought that forgiving his brother seven times for the same sin committed against him would suffice. The implication was that after the seventh time, he no longer needed to forgive. Jesus corrected him with “seventy times seven.” The phrase does not mean 70 times of 7; 7 was seen as the number of completion. When understood figuratively, it means an unlimited number of times. In forgiveness, no one must keep score of the other person’s sin. If there is a score kept, the forgiveness is not sincere.
• All believers must forgive as Christ has forgiven them – The forgiveness of God in Christ was illustrated by the king’s forgiveness of the servant who owed ten thousand talents. This amount was so large that it was impossible to pay [NOTE: if a servant earns 6 pennies a week, it would take him about 2750 life-times @ 70 years of work weeks to pay in full.] The servant begged for mercy, and the king forgave his entire debt. The debt of sin we committed against God can never be paid, even if we have 2750 life-times. That is why when a sinner dies in his sins, he will be cast into hell to be punished and ultimately into the Lake of Fire forever. The moment a sinner experiences this forgiveness in his heart through the cleansing power of Christ’s blood, he should be eternally grateful to God and obey Him by surrendering his life to Him for His use;
• All believers know that the ability to forgive like Christ is evidence of salvation – The second half of the parable describes the forgiven servant treating his fellow servant most unjustly, and suffering the consequences tragically. His fellow servant owed him one hundred pence (i.e. about 16.5 weeks of labour) and begged him, the way he had begged the king earlier. Instead of forgiving his fellow servant, he sent him to be imprisoned until he could pay the whole amount! How could he pay when he was in prison? The king found out and scolded him severely. The king also reinstated his debt and cast him to the tormentors. The conclusion of the parable is the thrust of the lesson, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

God has blessed all believers with the ability to forgive all sins committed against them, regardless of how heinous and painful they are. If they refuse to forgive, they have not sincerely experienced God's forgiveness in Christ, i.e. are not born again. The ability to forgive is clear evidence of salvation in Christ.

Christ taught this truth in the Sermon on the Mount soon after He began His ministry in Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” These are the two concluding verses highlighted by Christ after He taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer. Out of all five aspects of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus highlighted this aspect of forgiveness.

This is perhaps the most challenging aspect to obey, but also the most blessed, as it protects the believer’s heart from sin, such as harbouring unjust anger and bitterness. When a believer regards iniquities in his heart, the Lord will not hear his prayers and receive his worship (cf. Psalm 66:18). He becomes spiritually useless in fighting God's battle and helping His servants. Why would a believer want to render himself spiritually useless by refusing to forgive or to repent after all that Christ did for him at Calvary’s cross?

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor