The meaning of Forgiveness

 

Some people assume FORGIVENESS means to forget about it, or to stop hurting, or to diminish whatever was done against them. However, the FORGIVENESS of God is not like any of those definitions.

In the OT, almost every instance of God forgiving others is defined as to stop blaming or taking an offense into account. We might say it means to not hold that offense against them, even if it still hurts, even if we cannot forget it, and even if we continue to recognize the seriousness of what was done.

Sometimes the Hebrew word used is about accepting the other person or conceding to mercy rather than retaliation. Sometimes it is from a word that means to “lift up or remove” but all variations mean the same thing: forgiveness is refusing to hold against a person whatever offense they committed. It is found many times in Scripture. Some examples:

2 Chronicles 7:14. if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Psalm 25:18. Consider my affliction and my trouble and forgive all my sins.

Jeremiah 31:34. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

(In this verse, remember means to “to keep something in mind for attention or consideration.” God says here that rather than total forgetting something, He will not think about it as something that needs attending to or responding to. Really, God cannot forget anything!)

The NT idea of forgiveness is the same. Almost all the NT references define forgiveness from a word that means “to stop blaming or taking an offense into account.” This includes these well-known verses:  

Luke 23:34. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Some examples use a word that refers to forgiving a debt or a release from a financial obligation, suggesting that God’s forgiveness erases our sin debt, forgiving us for not being able to repay Him what we owe Him — that is, our total love and obedience. With His forgiveness, He gives us the Holy Spirit who can help us live as He intended when He created humanity in His image.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Another word for FORGIVENESS has the idea of being gracious. It is defined as “to forgive someone on account of the goodwill one has toward a person.” This goodwill is rooted in the idea of conceding to someone else. I know how difficult it can be to forgive others who have deeply wounded me, yet when I think of Jesus doing that for me, I also know I cannot forgive without God outpouring His Spirit to enable me. This gracious forgiveness word is used in these verses:

Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Colossians 3:13. Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

For this, I must keep my eyes on Jesus, remembering all He has done for me and the forgiveness I experience because of His grace and mercy. Without His forgiveness, forgiving others would be impossible.