MORE THOUGHTS ON FORGIVENESS

I have learned for my bible and John Piper that God has called us to be forgiving people, because He is a forgiving God.

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Micah 7:18-19

In God’s world there is a much deeper motive for forgiveness than being forgiven. It is true to say that we should be forgiving because we have been forgiven by God when we did not deserve it: “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” But the bottom of this motive is not forgiveness, but what God’s gracious forgiveness gives us. God’s forgiveness gives us divine forgiveness. As a result we are able to give to others both the forgiving God and His benefit, the forgiveness of God. Is there any deeper more wonderful benefit than that?

There are things which benefit a person that can come from forgiveness that can be received and cherished without ever receiving and cherishing God. For example, we can receive the healing of a guilty conscience, the avoidance of hell, going to heaven to be with deceased loved ones, no more pain, sorrow, and suffering, or restored relationships with others. Each one of these benefits forgiveness can all be received without ever receiving the greatest benefit of all, God himself. Yet if God is not ultimately in these gifts of grace, than we do not know what forgiveness is for. Not only that, but to me if God is not in those gifts of grace, then where do they lead me? What do they gain for me? What is a clean conscience, restored human relationships, heaven, etc. without God Himself?

Thankfully, each one of those benefits is a bridge to cherishing the Lord Himself. A freed conscience liberates the eyes of the soul to see the beauty and worth of God. (Matthew 5:8, “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”) The deliverance from hell by the blood of Jesus glorifies God for His justice, righteousness, and great mercy and frees us to enjoy Him forever. No more pain, sorrow, and suffering enables us enjoy the wonders of living forever in perfect resurrected bodies in the presence of the risen Christ. Restored relationships enable us to both share the fellowship of Christ together, to minister the grace of Christ to one another, or to be able to bring the gladness of God to their souls through the gospel.

Forgiveness is fundamentally God’s means of removing the ultimate barrier that keeps us from enjoying the pleasures of knowing Him. He has removed our sin and paid for it by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, thus opening the door to enable us to see and enjoy Him forever. This is the ultimate goal of God’s forgiveness, God Himself. The aim of the cross is fellowship and intimacy with our Father in heaven.

Therefore, when the Apostle Paul says to “forgive one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you” (Col. 3:13), we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. This means that God has forgiven us in a way that brings us into the infinite joy and pleasure of His companionship. He is the goal of all forgiveness. Our forgiving of others is meant to lead them to the forgiving God. He is the ground of all forgiveness and the means of all forgiveness. Forgiveness comes from Him; it is accomplished through His Son, and it leads people back to Him with their sins cast into the depths. As a result, we can be forgiving people because we live joyfully and freely in communion with our merciful gracious God. We can forgive others so that they too will be able to experience the joy and freedom of communion with God.

He has given us by forgiveness what we needed most: Himself! That is why forgiveness is so wonderful an d amazing: it gives us God! No wonder why the Apostle Paul cries out, “Because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:14-15 NIV

The freedom and joy that we can know in forgiving people is the freedom and joy we have from the forgiving God. It is not just the joy of being forgiven; it is the joy in God the forgiver. By knowing this forgiveness we become more than benevolent men trying to build bridges between one another by forgiveness; we have a higher motive to become God centered bridge builders between men and God. That forgiveness carries us with love, joy, gratitude, mercy, compassion, and grace into a world of sin, sorrow, loneliness, broken relationships, and suffering. Our aim will be more than righting our relationships with people; it will be righting people’s relationships with Jesus Christ to find forgiveness and everlasting joy.

To be continued...