“MUST I FORGIVE?”

Forgiveness is something we know, yet I don’t believe we always fully understand it. Forgiveness is important to God; He refers to forgiveness 117 times combined in the Old and New Testament. What does it mean to forgive?

I have heard Christians say, “I can forgive them, but that doesn’t mean I have to give them another chance to hurt me.” The question is, is that true forgiveness? Our human instincts are to protect ourselves, so this is a logical thought. The problem arises when we read Ephesians 4:32-Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Does God forgive us and the avoid us so that we might not hurt Him again? I think the Hebrew writer makes it crystal clear, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12). I know we struggle with forgetting when people hurt us. If we are going to forgive like God, it is something we must strive to do.

Another eye-opening verse we find after Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14, 15). Jesus says that forgiving others is a prerequisite for being forgiven!

Then the question arises, how many times must I forgive someone? Peter asked this question of Jesus in Matthew 18:21-Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Peter probably thought this was a good number since Jewish tradition held that you must forgive someone up to three times. Peter doubled that, added one for good measure. Besides that, seven was the number representing perfection in the Hebrew number system. But pay close attention to the response of Jesus, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” The idea behind this was not to actually forgive seventy-seven times, but it demonstrates infinite forgiveness. So, there is no limit to the number of times one should be forgiven (aren’t we thankful for that!).

Forgiveness is a tough teaching. We certainly want to be forgiven; however, it is often much more difficult to give forgiveness. Knowing that we will not be forgiven without forgiving others should give us strong motivation to offer forgiveness just like God offers us!

Read Matthew 18:23-35