What Does The Bible Say About Forgiveness?

Caleb Suko

Today we are looking at what the Bible says about forgiveness. This is a topic that affects everyone one of us. As we look around it’s not hard to see that our world lacks forgiveness. This lack of forgiveness causes many to live in bitterness, loneliness, and anger. Lack of forgiveness breaks marriages, separates friends, and destroys families. Lack of forgiveness is like an untreated abscess; it will grow, it will destroy, and it will kill in the end.

It’s not surprising then that the Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness. When I began to study for this sermon I was overwhelmed by the amount of passages in the Bible that talk about forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the great themes of the Bible. In Genesis we see how sin introduces all kinds of pain and problems into our world. Forgiveness, becomes man’s greatest need. In Revelation we see how God finally and perfectly meets our need for forgiveness when we read, “He will wipe away every tear.” Ultimately, it is only God’s forgiveness that can wipe away every tear caused by the pain and guilt of sin in our lives.

What is forgiveness?

Let’s first look at a few words that are often translated “forgiveness” in the Bible.

כָּפַר

To appease, make atonement, forgive, be merciful. Literally a covering: (reminds us of the covering God gave Adam and Eve in the garden after they sinned)

This is the most common word in the OT that refers to forgiveness. We see it most often in relation to the sacrifices in the Temple. These sacrifices made a “covering” for sin. That is, they didn’t really atone for sin on the heart level but rather were a sign of the need for God to atone for sin. This word shows us that whenever there is sin something must be sacrificed in order to atone for it. Without atonement sin will become something worse. In some contexts this word speaks more directly of God himself miraculously atoning for our sins and purifying our hearts.

Isaiah 6:7 NIV With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

In this verse we see a beautiful picture of the prophet Isaiah. Here Isaiah is before the throne of God when he realizes his sin and guilt before God. As a picture of the forgiveness that only God can offer, the Seraphim comes to him with a burning coal and touches it to his lips. True atonement and forgiveness from God purifies us from the guilt of sin in our life.

Let me just say here that we all need this forgiveness from God. Isaiah wasn’t some sort of “evil criminal” yet when he was confronted with God’s holiness he was able to clearly see the defiling effects of sin in his life. He realized that he was guilty and had no right to stand before God. One of the reasons that people often don’t even think they need forgiveness is because they go on comparing themselves to other people who are, in their opinion, worse than themselves. When it comes to sin and righteousness there is only one with whom we should compare ourselves and that is the Almighty, All Holy, and All Righteous God. Look to Him and you will certainly feel your need for forgiveness and find a way to obtain that forgiveness.

סָלַח

To forgive, pardon, or spare (Strongs)

This word is the most specific in its meaning. Primarily, we see this as something that God does towards us.

Isaiah 55:7 NIV Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Here we can see that for forgiveness to happen in our hearts we also must participate. Isaiah instructs us “Let them turn to the LORD.” Without a turning to God there is no real forgiveness. God’s forgiveness requires that we turn to Him. Another word we use for this turning to God is “repentance.” Repentance describes a deep change in mind and heart when we recognize our guilt before God and humbly turn to him and ask for his forgiveness, believing that he can and will forgive us.

How amazing it is to realize that God offers his forgiveness freely to those who seek it with a repentant heart. You don’t have to donate a certain amount of money to the church, you don’t have to repeat some prayer or complete some religious function. Forgiveness is offered free and without regard for race, class, or position.

נָשָׂא

To lift, to bear up (literally), to forgive (figuratively)

This word has the most figurative meaning. Most often it is simply used to describe the action of lifting up the head or the eyes, or something else. However, figuratively it can also describe the idea of our sins being lifted off of us.

Micah 7:18 NIV Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

What a beautiful thought this is! God’s forgiveness is greater than his judgement! God disapproves of your sin but he is waiting and wanting for you to repent. He loves to forgive and he will forgive. God’s forgiveness teaches us that we do not have to live in fear of an angry God. Yes, he is holy, and powerful, and he can destroy evil, but he is also kind, gentle, and forgiving when we come to him with a repentant heart.

Ἄφεσις/ἀφίημι

To let go, remission, forgiveness / to send away, to leave, to forgive

These two words are very similar in their meaning. The first literally means to release something or to remove it. The second word speaks literally of leaving or sending away. In the context of sin it describes the idea that in forgiveness we are released from the weight of our sin, that sin along with its punishment are released.

Matthew 26:28 KJV For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

In the New Testament we see this word applied primarily to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. His death and his resurrection are what release us from the power and punishment of sin.

Matthew 6:12, 14–15

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. … 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We also see that this is used in our personal relationships. As people we love to hold on to the sins of others, especially when they have sinned against us. Sometimes it can be very hard to let go of a sin and to forgive someone. How appropriate it is that at the end of the Lord’s prayer we have these words from Jesus about forgiving one another. One thing we see clearly in the Bible is that if you and I have been released from our sins, we must also release those who have sinned against us. A willingness to let go of sins, to forgive those who have sinned against us is one of the greatest sins that God’s grace is working in our lives.

Forgiveness defined

After looking at theses words in the Bible we can conclude that forgiveness is:

“The release from guilt and punishment from wrong done towards another.”

Biblical forgiveness includes both a relational aspect as well as a judicial aspect.

Forgiveness can be relational and judicial

In some cases forgiveness is purely relational. It means simply overlooking an offense in order to restore a relationship. This is most often the case in our personal relationships. If my brother or sister offends me, I don’t have the authority to legally punish them for that offense, but I can withhold my grace and mercy from them, I can give them the cold shoulder, I can treat them with disrespect, I can ignore their presence in my life. But when I forgive, then I chose to treat them with love and care as if they didn’t sin against me. I choose to give them grace, I choose to do what I can to restore my relationship with them.

In other cases forgiveness is judicial. That means a pardon is given and the punishment for the offense is removed. Only individuals with authority can forgive in this way. A judge can grant a pardon for a crime but he can’t restore the relationship between the victim and the criminal.

However, in some cases we see both relational and judicial forgiveness are offered. This can happen only when the person sinned against has the authority to punish. This usually doesn’t happen in the court system. Why? Imagine a criminal murders a child. He gets caught, put in jail and is waiting for trial. A few weeks go by and he’s brought before the judge. When he comes into the courtroom he realizes that the judge has the same last name as the child he murdered. He looks at the judge and the judge looks at him and the Judge says, “Sir, you are on trial for murdering my son!”

What do you think the outcome of that case would be? Most certainly that judge, that father, whose innocent child was murdered would do everything in his power to make sure this murderer received the maximum sentence.

This is the situation God is in. He is the Judge and the one who has been sinned against. If we were in his place we would certainly bring the law down. Yet, God in his great mercy says, “I will forgive!” Only God can say these words and have the legal and moral authority to do it. God wants to pardon us from the punishment from sin and restore our relationship with him!

Why do we need forgiveness?

Simply put, we need forgiveness because we have sinned against God and against others. Our sin causes unspeakable damage. God’s forgiveness is the only remedy to the destruction that sin causes.

Sin destroys us

Have you ever met an angry and bitter person? That person lives in a swamp of unforgiveness. That person is more angry and more bitter within themselves than what you can see from the outside.

Hebrews 12:14–15

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

To fall short of God’s grace is to live in the shadow of unforgiveness and bitterness. It means you have somehow failed to understand and accept God’s grace for yourself and as a result you can not and will not give God’s grace to another. The author of Hebrews describes this as a “bitter root.” A bitter root is something that is deep within your heart. It defiles every other aspect of your life.

There are two types of bitter roots that can poison our hearts and distort our understanding of self.

1. Holding a grudge because someone sinned against you and not resolving it.
2. Sinning against others and not resolving it.

Leviticus 19:18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Bearing a grudge

Seeking revenge

Trying to punish with a “cold shoulder”

Being self-righteous

All of the above are self-destructive behaviors.

I once heard someone say that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. Unfortunately, that’s true. Unforgiveness primarily hurts me when I don’t seek it in my relationships.

Both of these distort our view of self. Here are a few signs unforgiveness has poisoned your heart.

1. I always view myself as a victim
2. I am constantly frustrated
3. I am angry and don’t know why
4. I lack peace

A bitter root is just that, it is a root, which means the source is deep down in our hearts. You can’t remove a root by just ripping off the visible part above ground and then shoveling a pile of dirt over the top of it. Eventually, it will sprout again and this time it will grow faster than before. A root must be taken care of below the surface.

The only solution to this kind of bitterness is to lay your pride aside and seek God’s grace once again. Seek it for yourself first. Don’t make your joy, your peace, your wholeness rely on another person’s forgiveness. If that person who sinned against you doesn’t seek forgiveness and restoration, know that you can personally find freedom from that unforgiveness in Christ. If that person whom you sinned against won’t accept your apology, know that Christ does accept you and will forgive you.

Sin destroys our relationships with others

Unfortunately, sin is part of every relationship. People often don’t recognize the destruction sin does in their relationships. One of the reasons they don’t recognize it is because we all tend to see the sin of another clearer than our own sin.

I once heard it said that sin is the garbage of a relationship. You must take it out often and regularly. If you don’t, your house will start to smell. Eventually, that garbage will attract all kinds of terrible critters into your home and your home will be ruined.

We must learn to take out the garbage in our relationships by learning to forgive quickly, and by having an attitude of forgiveness with each other.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The main reason we often find it so hard to forgive others is because we fail to realize how much God has forgiven us. Self-righteousness is a barrier to forgiveness that can only be broken down through humility and admitting our own sin to God. Once I have done this, forgiving others becomes much easier.

Sadly, many people would rather stand firm and stand alone in their self-righteousness rather than forgive and allow others to have good close relationships with them. The simple act of forgiveness is one that can save marriages, heal families, and create harmony around us.

Sin destroyed our relationship with God

Most significantly our sin has separated us from God and does not allow us to have a life giving relationship with him. God is our Creator, our Heavenly Father, he gives us life and he alone gives us the moral standard for our lives. Thus, every sin you or I commit are first and foremost against God himself.

After King David sinned by having an affair with Uriah’s wife and then murdering Uriah. He came to God in repentance.

Psalm 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Because all our sin is first against God, all sin destroys our relationship with God. Thus the only way to have a relationship with God is by restoration through forgiveness.

How do we get forgiveness?

We have all in one way or another sinned against others. We have disobeyed our parents, said unkind things to our siblings, stolen or cheated someone. We may have done worse, but the point is that we are all guilty of sinning against another person. In order to get forgiveness we must have a repentant heart, that is, we must change our heart attitude about what we did, and we must seek and ask for forgiveness.

This can be a very difficult thing to do and, frankly, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes the other party is willing to forgive, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes that person is no longer in our lives, or maybe they have passed away and it is impossible to seek forgiveness from them. While we can’t always be forgiven by those we have sinned against, we can always find God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

The power for all forgiveness comes through Jesus Christ. Peter explains is clearly at the end of his sermon to the Jews after Jesus ascended to heaven.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance is the process of humbly turning in faith to Jesus Christ, believing he and only he can offer you true forgiveness and eternal life.

John also puts it this way:

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

Confession doesn’t mean going to some priest but, rather, honestly acknowledging your sin before God. When we come to God in faith and repentance, we can be sure that he will forgive us.

How do we give forgiveness?

Receiving God’s forgiveness is wonderful and beautiful but what about giving it? This also an important part of our Christian faith. Remember we read from Jesus prayer, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” If we have been forgiven then we have a responsibility to forgive others as well.

Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiveness. He wanted to know if there were some limits on how much or how often we should forgive others.

Matthew 18:21–35

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

How glad and thankful we are that God’s forgiveness is limitless and free! Yet, it’s ironic how we often want to limit our forgiveness of others. Peter probably thought he was being generous by offering to forgive someone seven times. After all, if they have to ask that many times, then they probably aren’t really sincere, right? Unfortunately, Peter was looking at the wrong side of the equation. Instead of looking at it in comparison to the forgiveness he had received from God he was viewing himself as the righteous defender of justice who had been overly merciful.

We can save several things about our responsibility to forgive based upon Jesus’ teaching.

1. We must always be ready to forgive
2. We must forgive quickly
3. We must forgive repeatedly

If we put these three things together we see that we must live with a constant attitude of forgiveness.

According to Jesus’ teaching here we must always be ready to forgive others, even if we suspect that they are not sincere. You see, we don’t see the heart like God does and we are not called to judge the motivations of the heart. In the end it’s much simpler to forgive than it is to hold back your forgiveness. How freeing it will be to your own heart to let go of the offense and let God take care of it.

We should mention here that in this context Jesus is talking about offenses in personal relationships. He isn’t saying that the court system should just open up all the jails and let the criminals out into the streets just because they asked for forgiveness. Here Jesus is speaking about relational forgiveness. The State has a right and responsibility to punish crimes. Also in this we must use wisdom. We can and should forgive people who have harmed us. However, if that person presents a real danger and is still struggling with a certain sin, then we should take wise precautions. We might not put them in a place where they could easily commit the same sin again. We might not have the same close relationship with them as before. Yet, even then our hearts ought to be ready to forgive.

Questions to reflect on

1. Have I received God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ?
2. Am I bearing a grudge against anyone?
3. Have I offended anyone and not taken care of the matter?
4. Do I live with an attitude of forgiveness to those around me?