Forgiveness
Luke 17:3-4 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
Forgiveness
is at the very heart of the Gospel – it is the product of Divine love and
mercy.
In
fact the Greek words translated “forgive” in the N.T., speak of pardon,
release, and grace.
Pardon
is the Greek word Aphieme (af-ee-ay-mee: apo + hieme) which means, “to
send apart or away”.
It
is the divine pardon that casts sins as far as one horizon is from another and
speaks of God’s dealings with redeemed man.
It
is the word used throughout the Gospels but of all the epistles, it is only
found in 1John 1:9.
Another
word translated as “forgive” is the Greek word “apoluo”.
It
is the root word for “apology” and it is translated “forgive”, only in Luke
Grace
is the Greek word “charizomai” and it is used for “forgive” in all the epistles
of Paul except for Romans 4:7 where the word used is “aphieme:” “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered…”
Charizomai means favor and comes from the root “charis” which
means grace.
It
is a word that demonstrates agape love.(1Cor
So
there are 3 Greek words used for “forgive” in the NT –
Aphieme: To send away;
Apoluo: release or free fully;
Charizomai: Favor – the Divine influence on the heart and its manifestation in the life.
Forgiveness
is a principle or a quality that flows out of the character of God.
That
is why the concept of forgiveness is unique to Christianity.
(Interesting
to note that in the OT the Hebrew word “nasa” is used – I believe that it is a
cognate of Nazarine – to separate)
It
was accomplished through the Levitical Law of blood sacrifice and had to be
repeated because it was only a shadow of what Jesus would complete with His
Cross.
True forgiveness and sanctification can only be achieved by inviting Christ to take up residence in the life of a believer.
Hinduism
and Buddhism teach the law of Karma (cause and effect) and seek to escape
reincarnation through perfection by human effort.
Even
highly ethical religions, such as Zoroastrianism (Persian), allows no hope of
redemption.
The
concept of forgiveness can be found in Islam, but it is based on works and is
relatively unimportant to Muslims.
(I
might add that Judaism also seeks acceptance by works.)
But
it is God and His work through Jesus that is the source of all
forgiveness.
He forgives at
His own expense through Christ’s sacrifice.
It is not what
we do but what He has done through Jesus.
This
is why John
God
is good. And when you associate with
goodness the result is blessing.
But
the Devil is evil (destructive), and when you associate with evil the result is
cursing.
1 Cor
Open
to Luke 15:11-32.
"A certain
man had two sons. "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father,
give me the portion of goods that falls
to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. "And not many days after,
the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there
wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
"But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."' "And he arose and came to his father.
But when he was
still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell
on his neck and kissed him. Luke
"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring* out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
"Now his
older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard
music and dancing.
The
prodigal went to a far country (where he would learn the value of his father's
love by being separated from it).
While
he was in the world, he discovered that he was not really of the world.
The
elder brother, though always at home, was never really at
"home".
He
thought he was secure, but he was more lost than his younger brother.
He
was too self-involved to share his father's concern for his lost brother.
The
son who was in his father's kindom found that he was really not of it.
Luke 15:26-28 "So he
called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. "And he said
to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound,
your father has killed the fatted calf.'
"But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
T
E
The
elder brother was so fixated on the outward observance of the law that he was
blind to the love contained in it.
He
considered his father's commandments to be a burden and imposition - a thing to
be despised.
He
saw them as controlling and confining rather than as the loving restraints of a
concerned and orderly father.
The
elder brother reveals himself to be quite unlike his father.
Whereas
the father is generous, merciful, forgiving, and kind; the elder brother is
self-righteousness, selfish, vindictive, and mean.
Are
they really kin?
In Luke
Although
the elder brother is quick to call for justice, one can't help thinking that he
would be shamefully begging for mercy in his time of trouble.
In Luke
The two brothers in this parable also represent the difference between fearing to anger the Lord and seeking to please the Lord - two different motivations for obedience.
One
is grounded in love; the other in fear.
One is selfless; the other is selfish.
'It was right
that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is
alive again, and was lost and is found.'" Repeated from verse 24.
In
the end the son returns in rags and in despair to his waiting father’s open
arms.
What
a picture of God’s willingness to restore everything to a repentant
sinner. One who has abandoned his
rebellion to return to the love that he so callously took for granted.
And
this same quality of forgiveness is part of the new nature that God gives to
those He adopts.
It
should manifest in the life of every believer.
It
is God’s method of defusing a volatile situation – it goes along with turning
the other cheek – it brings peace to conflict and order to confusion.
It
acknowledges that God is the ultimate authority – Romans
It
is God who pardons – I believe that’s why the specific word “aphieme” (affiame)
is used for Divine forgiveness – it is a
Godly attribute that casts away sin as far as the east is from the west.
When
Jesus forgave the people from His cross He was speaking from both His humanity
and His Deity.
So
on the Cross He forgave both the personal offense against Him, and the moral
offense against His righteousness.
At
the Cross, Jesus was forgiving all mankind – it was the Father calling His
children home.
In
Adam (the old nature) we turn our backs on the Father as the prodigal son
did.
Adam
was the first to offend God, but the offense continues to the present day in
the natural man.
In
Adam we turn away from the Father – But in Christ we are reconciled to the
Father.
The
first nature is self-conscious – the new, God-given nature, is God-conscious.
And
it is only the presence of God in His adopted ones that can “apolou” (release
or free) offenders of their offenses.
This
is not a pardon.
They
still stand responsible to a Holy God even as King David said in Psalm 51:4, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done
this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And
blameless when You judge.”
Repentance
is absolutely essential for Divine forgiveness.
Without
it God’s holiness would be compromised and the righteousness of the Kingdom
would be threatened.
Recognizing
our fallen condition and calling out to God is what it means to repent and is
absolutely essential to receive Divine forgiveness (aphieme)
When
Phillip was stoned he could forgive his executioners of their personal offense
against him.
But
they remained responsible for the moral offense committed against God.
So
forgiveness (release) on the believer’s part is for his own benefit because it
cancels out revenge.
Revenge
fragments your energy and blurs your focus which is to be on God rather than on
wrongs committed against you.
Forgiveness
separates you from the consequences of the sin which your offender will suffer
– it detaches you from the situation.
1 Cor
Acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord is repentance and brings Divine pardon.
2 Peter 3:9 assures us that, “The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.
God
pardons all who return to Him – and He tells His adopted ones to do the
same.
So
now I complete this message with something that might explain the difference
between releasing a sin debt and forgiving a sin debt.
Remember
that in Luke 17:3-4 Jesus admonishes
us, "Take
heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a
day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall
forgive him."
This
is an important Scripture because the word used for “forgive” is the word
“aphieme” meaning to cast away.
This
same word is used in Matt 9:6 and is repeated in Mk
Do
you suppose that these verses are telling us that as sons and daughters of the
Most High God (even as Jesus is called the Son of Man) we have the authority to
pardon repentant sinners in the Name and authority of Jesus.
In Matthew 16:19 Jesus told His disciples, "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Forgiveness
is a Godly quality and it glorifies God when it is revealed in His children.
So
let us take a little time to reflect on what wrongs we have been holding on
to.
Is
there unforgiveness in your life?
Let
each of us who have been reborn into the Family of God let go (apoluo) of any
offenses that we have suffered form others.
Release
them to the Father now and let Him lift the burden of consequences from you and
give you peace.
And
be ever ready as Christ’s ambassadors to forgive those who are truly repentant.
Amen.