We looked yesterday at the principle of forgiveness. If you didn’t get yesterday’s, please read it before this one. Click here to read it. I looked at what I left out of yesterday’s email, and decided maybe it needed to be included.

We started with this verse:

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

This is not the only place where we are COMMANDED to forgive other people. Here’s one more example:

Colossians 3:13

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Notice, you don’t get to pick and choose who you forgive. It doesn’t say, “whoever has a complaint against someone who is really sorry, or someone who gives us a good apology.” Anytime you have a complaint against ANYONE, you are to forgive them just as the Lord forgives you.

This brings up one troublesome principle, which Jesus spoke about right after He taught the disciples their prayer. (Remember, in what most people call The Lord’s Prayer, it says “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors?”) This is the next verse:

Matthew 6:14-15

14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

The same principle is in Mark 11.

Mark 11:25-25

25 "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

Forgiveness of other people is not a goal we should strive for. It’s a REQUIREMENT. God has completely and totally forgiven us for our sins, and He expects us to exhibit that same forgiveness to other people, no matter how terribly they have wronged you.

Don’t take this to mean that if you have trouble forgiving someone, that you are going to have to pay for your sins. That’s not what Jesus is saying. The problem is that when you don’t forgive, you have sinned again! If you are unable to forgive someone who has done you wrong, then you don’t understand how you have been forgiven. When you have trouble forgiving someone, the solution is to understand and concentrate on how God forgives you – totally and completely.

Psalms 103:1-3, 12

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits;

3 Who pardons all your iniquities, (Don’t you just love that word, ALL?!)

…

12 As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As God has forgiven you, so you are required to forgive others. You are to pardon ALL their iniquities, and treat them based on that wrong being completely removed from the situation. Only by reflecting on the forgiveness that God has given you can you truly forgive other people.

For more study on this principle, see Matthew 18:21-35.