What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?
Verses From Scripture on True Forgiveness and Healing
Dealing with hurt, anger, and temptations to "set things right" are common challenges faced in society today. Acknowledging the "lasting feelings of anger, bitterness and even vengeance" that wounds from friends, loved ones, and acquaintances can cause, the Mayo Clinic nonetheless warns that "when you don't practice forgiveness, you may be the one who pays most dearly" (Mayo Clinic Staff. "Forgiveness: How to Let Go of Grudges and Bitterness", December 8, 2007).
It's no surprise then that the bestselling and most influential book of all time, the Bible, has quite a bit to say on the subject of forgiveness.
Forgiving and Leaving Things Behind
In his letter to the church in Philippi, the apostle Paul wrote: "I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things, which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things, which are before" (Philippians 3:13, KJV).
Paul's statement conveyed a broad principle of turning one's back on the sins, greed, lusts, negative influences and emotions of the past, so that he might "press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14, NKJV)
Though the principle is broad, the application can be specifically applied to forgiveness, for holding onto grudges and bitterness is indeed one of the sins that Paul addresses at several points in his letters.
It's suggested that letting go of the negatives in the past is essential to one's ability to move forward. This is a truth affirmed not only by Paul, but upheld by psychologists and philosophers alike down through the ages.
Seventy Times Seven?
While Jesus was teaching in Capernaum, he was approached by one of his leading disciples with a question on forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus how often he was to forgive a "brother" who had sinned against him, and offered up the number "seven" as a possible answer.
Jesus waved off Peter's guess, responding: "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:22, NKJV)
While some scholars believe Jesus was literally setting 490 as the threshold number for how often one is forgive his brother, it seems that Jesus is simply using a rhetorical device (in this case, grossly inflating Peter's guess of seven) to illustrate that one should repeatedly, consistently, and fully forgive his brother or sister of any offense.
"No one can possibly keep count of such a high number of offenses," writes John MacArthur in reference to 490 (the result of "seventy times seven"). "But that is precisely the point! Keeping count has nothing to do with true forgiveness. If an offense is sincerely forgiven, it cannot be held against the offender." (MacArthur, John. The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness. Crossway Books, 2009)
The Nature of Forgiveness
The Bible doesn't shy away from declaring that sin exists (Romans 3:10,23) and that there are consequences to sin (John 3:36, Romans 6:23). Forgiveness therefore isn't the refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing, nor is it some kind of "look the other way" act of ignorance.
The nature of forgiveness is perhaps best illustrated by the story of the woman caught in adultery, who escapes being stoned to death, because of Jesus' compassionate intervention. The account is recorded in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John.
While teaching at the temple in Jerusalem, the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman, who had been caught in the act of adultery. They presented her to Jesus and declared that, according to the Mosaic Law, she should be put to death.
In a dramatic show of impromptu theater (one that involves Jesus writing something on the ground), Jesus demanded that the person who has not sinned should cast the first stone. Slowly, the crowd of accusers disappeared.
Jesus then turned to the woman and said: "Woman, where are those accusers of you? Has no one condemned you?" (John 8:10, NKJV).
When the woman answered that "no one" remained to condemn her, Jesus replied: "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." (John 8:11, NKJV)
Jesus accomplished two purposes in this episode. First, he asserted his divine authority, because only God had the authority to pardon someone from the divinely-inspired Mosaic Law. Second, he issued his pardon of forgiveness, while also acknowledging that "sin" had indeed taken place.
According to the Bible, forgiveness should not be offered in a way that denies the reality of sin or ignores the fact of a transgression. Rather, the Bible teaches that flawed, sinful human beings do not have the moral right to hold grudges or bitterness toward others and that granting forgiveness puts one on the road to achieving peace and emotional balance as well as discerning the mind of Christ.
Related Reading
For more on the subject of forgiveness, read Matthew 5:44; Matthew 6:14-15; Romans 12:21; and Ephesians 4:31-32.
Handshakes are Better Than Fists For Our Health
|
Latest Articles