As I continue my discussion on the characteristics of a Christian, I want to focus this week on the topic of forgiveness. Since I have discussed forgiveness in many previous posts (which I would encourage you to also read), I will have a very narrow focus today on being forgiving as a characteristic one would expect to see in the life of a Christian. My intention is to identify a forgiving heart as central to our faith through elaborating on the importance of forgiveness in our salvation, in our confession of our faith, and in our sanctification. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that a forgiving heart is what specifically makes us a Christian, for we are only saved from eternal punishment for our sins by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast”).
However, my first point here is that forgiveness is an important aspect of our salvation and therefore having a forgiving heart provides evidence of our faith in the saving grace of our Lord through the forgiveness of our sins. Although our salvation is solely a gift from God, we can either reject that gift and receive the punishment for our sins that we deserve, or we can accept that gift through faith in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life (Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord). An important aspect of accepting the gift of salvation is to recognize and confess our sinfulness as an affirmation of the need for a savior from our sins (1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”).
So, confessing our sins recognizes our depravity and separation from God, and our need for forgiveness to be saved. But there is another aspect of forgiveness related to our salvation that should not be ignored, and that is that we are also called to forgive others of their sins against us. When Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray, He stated we are to ask God to “forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12, NASB). Jesus elaborated on the meaning of the verse by noting that “For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses (Matthew 6:14-15). I have already established that our salvation is based on faith, so I am not suggesting that we also need to forgive others to be saved. However, forgiving others is a demonstration of our understanding that although we do not deserve forgiveness, God offered us forgiveness through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. So, although others also may not deserve our forgiveness, we are also to forgive those who have offended us (Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses”). Forgiving others, even though they may not be deserving, is an illustration of our salvation, and it is also a demonstration of a forgiving heart.
Forgiving others is an also a component of our Christian walk because it is an aspect of our outward confession of our faith. Certainly, explicitly confessing our faith in Christ Jesus is an essential aspect of our salvation as noted in Romans 10:9-10, in “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation”. But our confession is also in part to act in such a way that others can see the love of God in all that we do (Matthew 5:16 “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven”). John MacArthur, pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church and chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary, notes that the purpose of our good works is for others to see God through us and that “the way we live should lead those around us to glorify the Heavenly Father” (MacArthur, 1985, p.247). And our light needs to include forgiving others because Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:31-32 “All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you”).
And finally, a forgiving heart is an important aspect of our Christian walk because it exemplifies our ongoing sanctification. John MacArthur states that “We are to forgive because it is a characteristic of righteousness, and therefore of the faithful Christian life, to forgive” (p.394). Forgiveness is an aspect of the righteousness of our Lord, and we are to emulate that forgiveness as a demonstration of our ongoing faith in the saving grace of Christ, and of our ongoing growth as a Christian (Colossians 3:12-13, NASB, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also”).
As noted in a previous post, since we know that our justification (Justification is being seen as righteous in God’s sight and is related to our salvation) is directly related to our faith rather than our ability to forgive, it seems reasonable to see the development of a forgiving heart as connected to our sanctification (Sanctification is related to our becoming holy and is connected to our Christian walk). John MacArthur, noted that we have eternal forgiveness through justification, but that we need to be forgiving toward others as part of our sanctification (Macarthur, Fundamental Christian Attitudes: Forgiveness).
I would also suggest that we need to be very careful here in being so overly confident in our being forgiven, and therefore ignore the importance of demonstrating our faith through forgiving others. For our faith and understanding of being forgiven is in part demonstrated in our willingness to forgive others (see James 2:14-26). For we know that our faith and our actions work together to make our faith complete (James 2:22, NIV). Being willing to forgive in all circumstances is an understanding and demonstration to those around us of God’s willingness to forgive us for anything we have done, including those most horrible acts we may have committed, and those things only known to us in the deepest recesses of our mind. Voddie Baucham, pastor and Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia noted in a sermon on forgiveness that God uses the offenses against us to help conform us to the image of Christ through developing our heart of forgiveness (“The most significant issue in the Christian life”). Therefore, forgiveness and forgiving others are significant components to our Salvation and profession of our Christian faith, and they are essential to our Christian walk and sanctification (see Seitz, Rise and Shine 9-15-21).
“The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him” (Daniel 9:9 NIV)
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12, NIV)
Resources
Baucham,Voddie: The most significant issue in the Christian life (sermon)* https://www.voddiebaucham.org/sermons/the-most-significant-issue-in-the-christian-life/
MacArthur, John (1985): The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 1-7.
MacArthur, John: The fundamental Christian attitude of forgiveness (sermon)* https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/johnmacarthur/sermons/323171524193/
*I would encourage listening to these two sermons!