Christ Explains Forgiveness

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

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. …

Matthew 6:12; Luke 17:3 & 4

As we consider the subject of forgiveness, we ought to consider it from the teaching of Christ Himself. In the second text before us, we hear Christ setting forth His lesson in very explicit terms as it relates to our interpersonal relationships. Notice, that Christ very carefully sets forth the procedure. He declares, ‘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.’ God’s disposition is always to be ready to forgive. Having said that, He teaches us to do exactly as He does. He forgives us as we come to Him in repentance seeking forgiveness. As He forgives, so we learn to forgive in an imitation of Christ. If Christ forgave apart from repentance there would be no Last Judgment, nor would there be any eternal punishment. Because there is both, we must conclude that while God stands ever ready to forgive, He predicates His forgiveness upon repentance. So we learn from Christ to speak to the offender, regarding the offense and to remain with open hands and willing heart to forgive them as many times in a day as they ‘return’ in repentance. As we follow Christ, He teaches us to see things as He sees them. This brings us, first to seek forgiveness, and then to be willing to grant forgiveness upon the same conditions that He does to us. So we pray, ‘Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’

Our Wise and Holy Savior,
we praise You that Your Grace leads us unto repentance.
We rejoice that You teach us how to both
receive forgiveness and how to grant it.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning