Stick with Forgiveness

Being ready and willing to forgive are immutable marks of following Jesus. We do not have the option of holding grudges, fostering bitterness, or acting as if we are God. We must stick with forgiveness.

Matthew records a forgiveness-themed discussion between Jesus and Peter. “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘For, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ ‘I tell you, not as many as seven,’ Jesus said to him, ‘but 70 times seven.’”¹ Later in the same passage Jesus likened forgiveness to showing mercy.

No Quota on Grace

Ben Mandrell in Bible Studies for Life gets to the heart of the conversation, “Peter was basically asking if there’s a quota on grace. How many times are we called to let the same person slide off the hook?”²

Isn’t this too often the way we think? How few times can we comply with God’s commands before we get out from under them? Without saying it, at times we are looking for the minimum requirements for godliness. This is especially true when we are called upon to forgive others.

The rabbis of Jesus’s day required followers to forgive three times. Peter, who must have thought he was going well beyond what was expected by suggesting seven times, found out was mercy was really about. Jesus’ teaching that forgiveness was to be extended 490 times (70 x 7) was not about an extension of the law. It was about going far beyond into a new law of grace, love, and mercy.

Grace upon Grace

When we think of “minimalist Christianity” we do not reflect the One who extends to us grace upon grace. Our goal as believers is to be filled with the Spirit, extending grace, love, and mercy to everyone in our sphere of influence.

When the disciples asked Jesus for lessons in praying, He included, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have also forgiven our debtors.”³ Extending forgiveness to others is woven into the very fabric of the Christian life. The holding of grudges and harboring of bitterness are things Jesus has saved us from, not for.

There is No Pit so Deep that He is not Deeper Still

Corrie ten Boom survived the horrors of the same Third Reich that consumed members of her family. Corrie survived Ravensbruck concentration camp, where her sister Betsie died. Betsie’s last words to Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still” provided guidance for Corrie as she had to forgive those who had persecuted her and her family.⁴

Can we stick with forgiveness? Can we extend to others that which God has extended to us? Forgiveness can be a key to opening a door to the gospel. It is a door we cannot allow to be pinned shut by a lack of mercy. This is why we must stick with forgiveness.

Yours for the Great Commission,

Ronnie W. Floyd

Senior Pastor, Cross Church

General Editor, Bible Studies for Life

President, Southern Baptist Convention

 

References

¹– Matthew 18:21, 22 (HCSB)
²– Bible Studies for Life, Like Glue, Ben Mandrell
³– Matthew 6:12
⁴– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom