Christian Forgiveness and Repentance
The words of an old song well illustrate a common incorrect view of God's forgiveness. They go, 'He'll always say, I forgive!'
What is wrong with those words? Understand that God doesn't overlook and forgive the bad actions of people who aren't sorry enough for what they have done to ask Him to forgive them, or to try to correct their way. For, the Bible is filled with examples of how God has taken strong action against deliberate wrongdoersÉ putting many to death and cursing future generations of their families. Note the example of the wrong actions of the Amalechites, as found at Exodus 17:14: 'Then the Lord told Moses: Write this in a scroll so it will be remembered: Tell JoShua that I'm going to totally blot out all memory of the Amalechites from under the heavens.'
Why, repentance is what the Kingdom message is all about, for Jesus said (at Luke 24:47): 'Then, in his name, [the message of] repentance for forgiveness of sins is to be preached in all the nations, starting from JeruSalem.'
On the other hand, the Bible is also filled with stories of how He has forgiven even the worst of sinners because they they were repentant (King David is a prime example), and of how He has blest future generations of families because of the righteous actions of a single ancestor (the blessing of AbraHam's descendants is proof of this).
Forgiving the Unrepentant?
However, we have often heard of cases where people who are trying to show a 'Christ-like attitude' have publicly told someone who actually murdered a loved family member, 'I forgive you,' even when such a person has never asked for forgiveness. Is this really something that Jesus expects of us? Well, let's consider what Jesus actually said about the matter. Notice, for example, what he told us about the condition of unrighteous people who don't understand 'the mystery of the Kingdom,' at Mark 4:12: 'So, although they can look, they can't see. And although they can hear, they don't listen and understand, so they can ever turn back and be forgiven.' Notice that 'turning back,' or 'repentance' was required to be forgiven.
You can see exactly what Jesus said was required before forgiveness should be shown from his words recorded at Luke 17:3, 4: 'If your brother should sin [against you], go to him and discuss it. And if he repents, then forgive him. Even if he sins seven times every day; If he returns seven times to say I repent, then you should also forgive him.' So, although Christians must forgive the errors that repentant ones may have committed against us, some signs of repenting (or repayment) is required of the wrongdoer.
Third-Party Forgiveness
Jesus told his Apostles (at John 20:23): 'If you forgive anyone's sins, they will remain forgiven. But if you don't forgive their sins, they won't be forgiven.' Doesn't this mean that righteous men can offer forgiveness of sins to others? Yes, it does mean that. But notice that the sins being spoken of are our sins against God. Yet, neither God nor man can forgive us on behalf of the offended person; and to be forgiven, especially by our friends, family, and Christian brothers, requires that we go to them and try to correct the problem. Notice, for example, how the tax collector ZacChaeUs showed his repentance for his past unrighteous actions (Luke 19:8): 'But ZacChaeUs stood up and said to the Lord, Lord, I will give half of my belongings to the poor; and whatever I got from anyone by extortion and false accusations, I'll repay four times over!'
However, despite all the clear explanations in the Bible about what is required to obtain forgiveness, many religious leaders feel that they have the power to offer God's forgiveness without clear signs of repentance. Such actions are a sham if the sinner has not first spoken to the person against whom they have sinned and shown signs of repenting the error.
It illustrate; We were made aware of a case where a Christian 'brother' extorted the entire life savings of a poor widow. However, he was later 'forgiven' his sin by a religious group whose representatives claimed to make this decision in behalf of God. Yet, he never returned her money. So we ask: Was this really God's decision? Obviously not! And it is our conclusion is that the religious body took on shared responsibility for the sin by claiming to speak for God, excusing vile act, and by saying that the man had been forgiven, leaving him with a clean conscience.
We are also aware of religious organizations that require the confession of serious sins (such as murder, rape, adultery, burglary, etc.), and those religions thereafter claim to forgive the offender on behalf of God, although no correction for the error (other than 'penance') is required, and the crime is never reported to local authorities. In fact, they require no admission of guilt, expression of sorrow, repentance, or compensation to be given to the injured party.
So, is a sin against another person forgiven just because some religious person says soÉ and may it be repeated many times and still overlooked? We think not, and good sense says that the religions that condone and forgive such crimes become sharers in the sins of the person they forgive. We also question the validity of secular laws that allow such crimes to go unreported. The Bible view? Notice the words of Proverbs 29:24: 'He who shares with a thief, is one who hates his own life. And if he should hear public cursing, he will never report it.'
But, didn't Jesus forgive sins? Yes he did. However, notice that in each case, the guilty person had already paid a heavy price for what he had done (see Matthew 9:1, 2, for an example).
Paying for Forgiven and Unintentional Sins
Understand that good sense and law require that serious crimes be reported and punished. And God expects everyone to bear the weight of their own sins. So, even when a person is repentant and asks forgiveness of God, this doesn't necessarily mean that he or she will not have to pay for the results of his/her actions. For example; although God forgave King David's sin of having righteous UriAh killed so he could cover his adultery with UriAh's wife BathSheba, the baby that was born from that immoral union died, and David's reign was thereafter plagued with problems and rebellions.
Also, even though a serious sin is unintentional, a person (though forgiven) may still have had to pay a heavy price for the results of his/her actions. Notice, for example, what was required in God's Law of a person who accidentally killed another (Numbers 35:22): 'However, if someone is accidentally stabbed (where no anger is involved), or something hits him (other than from ambush), or he is accidentally hit with a rock and he dies when no enemy was looking to harm him; then the court must use these rules to judge between the one who did the striking and the blood avenger. And [if he is found innocent], the gathering must save the slayer from the blood avenger and allow him to stay in the refuge city that he ran to, and he must live there until the High Priest (who was anointed with the holy oil) dies. But if the person who did the killing should ever leave the city that he ran to for refuge, and the blood avenger should find him outside the refuge-city limits, and the blood-avenger kills him, he has done no wrong. Because, the man should have stayed in the refuge city until the High Priest died. For, only after the death of the High Priest may the slayer return to his homeland.'
Unforgiven Sins
Jesus also said that there are sins so serious that they won't be forgiven. For he told us (at Matthew 12:31, 32): 'So, I'm now telling you this: Men can be forgiven for all their sins and blasphemies, except for blaspheming [God's Holy] BreathÉ that will not be forgiven. If someone speaks against the Son of Man; this can be forgiven. But if someone speaks against [God's] Holy Breath, he will not be forgivenÉ no, not in this age or in that to come.' So, God doesn't always say, 'I forgive.'
To see why the need to repent is the most important message of our time, see the Note in Matthew, The Gospel Message.
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