Forgive, as you have been Forgiven

February 26, 2007

Joe,

I thought you’d have a post up by now, but I guess things have been busy for you today. I myself am having a bit of trouble thinking of what I want to write about today. I had planned to post some overflow of my message from last night, but then we had to cancel our meeting last night because of snow. I’d rather preach it and then post it, so I will have to save that for next week. So I think I am just going to post some thoughts I had awhile back about Paul’s words in Ephesians 4, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

It’s never a bad idea to take a few moments to marvel at the miracle of God’s forgiveness in Christ. As I think about that verse in 4:32, I am reminded of the description that Paul gave earlier in Ephesians, in chapter 2, verses 1-9. The text doesn’t use the word forgiveness, but it should be pretty plain that this glorious picture is what God’s forgiveness looks like.

Here are three observations about what Ephesians 2:1-9 teaches us about God’s forgiveness. First, it is undeserved. We were objects of wrath before God intervened in our lives. We were hostile to Him, alienated from Him, pursuing the path of the enemy and were carrying out the desires of our bodies and minds. We hated God. There was nothing which would commend us to God as a likely recipient of forgiveness before God slaughtered His precious Son to purchase our forgiveness.

Second, God’s forgiveness was not first sought by the guilty party. It was initiated by the Forgiver, not the one in need of forgiveness. Twice in this passage Paul says that we were dead in our trespasses. Dead people don’t seek forgiveness, and neither were we before God mercifully raised us from the dead to bestow a kingdom upon us! Paul knew this truth well; he was on the way to Damascus to arrest some Christians when the risen Christ met him on that road and caused Paul to see the light of His glory. To be sure, we must receive the gift of forgiveness through faith; but that gift was presented to us while we were not in any way seeking it at all. In the words of a great hymn, “Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God.” Such were we when God showed us His mercy.

What implications does that have for the way we forgive one another? Perhaps you have said, “I’ll forgive so and so, but they haven’t come to me seeking forgiveness. If they come, I certainly will forgive them.” That may sound logical, but it’s not the way God forgave you; He sought you out while you were running the other way from Him to give you His forgiveness.

Third, God’s forgiveness wipes away our sin once and for all. This I take from the parallel to this text in Colossians 2:

“13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

In the death of His Son, God set aside the record of our debt and nailed it to the cross once and for all. In that moment, our sin was forgiven and forgotten. So often I hear it said, “I am willing to forgive, but I can’t forget” the wrong that was done to you. But God says, “I, I am He, who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). When Jesus said hanging from the cross, “It is finished”, He really meant it! This is the way that God has forgiven us: with gracious initiative that totally blots out our wrongdoing.

And this, Christians, is how we are called to forgive others when they offend us. May God give us the grace to truly know the riches of His forgiving love and grace, which will in turn empower us to reflect that grace to others, and so display Christ’s glory in our lives.

Larry

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Scripture Meditation 

Comments

2 Responses to “Forgive, as you have been Forgiven”

  1. on February 27th, 2007 10:19 am

    Hey Larry,

    Good post, great stuff to think about…you know this is a topic that has been close to my heart of late. Here is something I have been thinking about (in addition to the three things you already posted) with regards to the way we should forgive others. We learn in Titus 2 that the grace of God causes us to turn from our old lives and live new lives, upright and godly, as we wait for the glorious apearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. So God’s work in forgiving us is also a work of changing us. Now we obviously do not have the power to change a person, but shouldn’t our forgiveness of others many times involve seeking the best for them? Helping them however we can to turn from their sin and live new lives in Christ? Not just saying “I forgive you” and then walking away. Isn’t this how God’s forgiveness works? Just a thought.

  2. on February 27th, 2007 10:33 am

    Well Inchristalone, I am not sure if you want your identity revealed, but I will just give you an Amen to that last point! Yes, we should forgive in such a way that seeks the good of the one who needs forgiveness and strives to help them live a life that is pleasing to Christ. God forgives us, but does not leave us as we are when He forgives us. We should allow God to use us in such a way that He would transform others through us. A high calling indeed!

    And now that I think about it, the context of Ephesians 2 also supports your point: “10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

    Larry

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