Forgiveness

No one is without sin. We all have failed, and will continue to fail, while trying to do God’s work of profiting his kingdom. Some of these failings seem to be minor instances that appear to have little impact upon others or ourselves while others often create a ripple effect that impact many people in many different negative ways. Regardless of the “severity” of the sin it still is sin if it does not profit God. But the good news is that, as Christians, we have accepted Christ our Lord as our Savior and Redeemer of our sins and, as long as we ask for forgiveness Jesus Christ will forgive us, right? Well, sort of.

John 3:16 -- ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Yes, it is true that, as Christians, our sins are forgiven when we humbly bring them to the cross and ask for forgiveness. However, there seems to be a catch. We must bring our sins to the cross as “Christians” living a “Christian Life” and profiting God’s kingdom. So what if we are falling short of living a Christian Life. Well, maybe we won’t be forgiven, particularly if we are falling short in the forgiveness department ourselves.

My Trespasses Against Others
I know that I have done some major trespassing against others during my life that has caused many people much grief, pain, and suffering. My intent was never to do so, but because of my selfish, earthly life style I was blinded to the effects my actions would ultimately have. And still it seems that each day I say something hurtful or do something that I ought not do that has a negative impact on someone at that moment. These usually have a minor impact; yet, it is a trespass that fails to profit God’s kingdom. I can only pray that those people who I have trespassed against can find it in their hearts to forgive me. I can ask for their forgiveness, but it is their decision to make. I have no power as to whether or not they forgive me. What I do have power over is whether or not I can find it in my heart to forgive those people who have trespassed against me.

Others’ Trespasses Against Me
I tend to let little things bounce off of me. Maybe it’s because I’m a private kind of person, maybe it’s because I always try to avoid confrontation, or maybe it’s because I’m simply insensitive. Whatever the reasons, little trespasses against me affect me for a very short period of time (moments, minutes) and then I forget them. I don’t know if this is good or bad. I would like to think that this happens because I can understand what led to the trespass and “forgive and forget” quite easily. Yet, there has been what I consider to be some major trespasses against me from others that, in one way or another, have affected my life in a not so pleasant way. Some of these are decades old. There aren’t many of them, just a few, but I can recall each one and lament over the impact they have had on my life since they occurred. I carried a grudge with me over each one. These people remained unforgiven.

Forgiving Those Who Trespass Against Us

Since I was diagnosed with my cancer I began to turn my studies toward salvation and earning eternal life in Heaven with God. As you might expect, my first “action” was to rush to our Lord Jesus Christ and beg for forgiveness of all of my sins and trespasses. I tried to recount them all. Impossible. But those I could recall I lay at His feet and prayed. I thought all was well. I believed that the slate was cleaned and that I could start living a Christian life with no record of my offences. Since that time, after more study, I know I was wrong. The record still existed.

I am sure you are familiar with the phrase, “Don’t ask anyone to do anything you are not willing to do yourself.” Well, that is exactly what I had done. I asked the Lord Jesus Christ (of all people) to forgive me, while at the same time I could not find it within myself to forgive those few who had trespassed against me. Man, how self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-righteous could I have been to do that! Yet, I had done it. Not really understanding what a hypocrite I was and not realizing that perhaps I was not the Christian I thought I was. What is really ironic is that the first standard prayer that I learned as a small child over half a century ago contains the explicit command to forgive others. You know the prayer. “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Matthew 6:12 -- And forgive us our debts (trespasses), as we also have forgiven our debtors (those who trespass against us).

Jesus is really serious about this one. He gave us this prayer Himself when asked by His Disciples how they should pray to the Father. They are the words of Jesus. I think I had better pay attention to them. Here are a few more of the words of Jesus.

After giving his disciples this entire Lord’s Prayer he went on to say:

Matthew 6:14-15 -- For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Disciple Peter, always the one to “push” Jesus a bit, then asked a question and Jesus responded:

Matthew 18:21-22 -- Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church* sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven* times.

Luke, in his Testament, quotes Jesus as saying:

Luke 6:37-38 -- ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you...


Forgive Then Ask for Forgiveness
So there it is. It’s pretty clear. If we expect forgiveness for our sins and trespasses we must first forgive those who have sinned or trespassed against us. You can bet I have now. I no longer carry that grudge against those few who have, in my opinion, done some major trespassing against me. I have forgiven them (and I feel much better for it). No, I haven’t told them. What’s really funny is that they likely wouldn’t know what I was talking about anyway. Once I had forgiven these folks I returned to Jesus and humbling asked once again for his forgiveness of my sins. I pray that my record is now clean.

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