If nobody ever did you wrong, or owed you a debt, you would never have to forgive. Wouldn’t that be great? Not going to happen, of course. What other possibilities are there? How about just not getting offended or hurt, not even taking account of it, when somebody does you wrong? No need to demand an apology, and therefore no reason to respond with “I forgive you,” …unless of course, they come to you, and repent, and ask your forgiveness.
The Bible has a few “instructions” on what to do if your brother sins against you. Jesus even taught a couple: “Rebuke him”, -Luke 17:3; and “Tell him his fault” and “get 2 or 3 witnesses”, -Matthew 18:15-16, and of course, “if he repents, forgive him.” Are these commandments?… or options?
God wants to take us to a higher level than just following the law. When we read commandments or instructions in the Bible, we know they are written there for a reason, but we need to look for the heart of God behind them. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day made a big error in following the letter of Moses’ allowance for divorce. They were following God’s word, but missed God’s heart. Jesus said that Moses gave them the divorce option because of the hardness of their hearts, but “from the beginning, it was not so.” (see Matthew 19:3-9 & Mark 10:2-12)
A good way to know God’s heart on something is to look at Jesus, who lived perfectly in accord with His Father’s heart. Yes, Jesus definitely rebuked people, and told them their faults, but I don’t find a single time where He did so because He felt personally wronged. Even when He rebuked Peter, and said he was an offence to him, it wasn’t a case of Jesus feeling some personal damage. Peter needed help. So, although the rebuking may have a time and place, if I’m given the option, I want to take my actions to Jesus’ level. (Who wants to make their own life miserable, by rebuking, and telling people their faults, and getting witnesses, and demanding repentance, anyway?)
I also searched, and was surprised that I could not find anywhere that Jesus ever said, “I forgive you.” Plenty of times, He said something like, “Your sins be forgiven you”, or “I don’t condemn you”, relating to their sins against God, but it was never because of some personal injury he felt as an individual. Jesus didn’t have to “rebuke him, or tell him his fault, or get witnesses”, or even say “I forgive you”… because He was not getting personally hurt, and offended. Even when He physically felt the pain of the whip, and the nails… He wasn’t “taking it personally”. He cried out “Father, forgive them”, NOT because He felt cheated, or mistreated, or wronged; but because He knew those people were in real trouble with His Father; and He loved them, and didn’t want to see God’s wrath poured out on them.
That doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with saying “I forgive you.” On the contrary, when there’s sorrow and repentance, those can be the words of life that bring closure, and healing, and restoration. Those who crucified Jesus, however, were not repenting or asking for forgiveness. By praying, “Father, forgive them”, instead of “I forgive you”, Jesus was showing that He was not thinking of Himself, and not even taking account of a personal wrong. He was showing how to take forgiveness to an even higher level.
How can we live like that? Jesus said, “if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Then He adds, that he must “lose his life”. (See Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; & Luke 9:23-24) That’s it! When you have denied yourself, and lost your life, there is nothing left in you that could be hurt or offended! No matter what anybody did to you! Your only concern would be for the person who did wrong, and is now in trouble with God. And you would be praying, “Father, forgive them!”
It all comes down to being like Jesus. He did it, and so can we! Look at Philipians 2:5-8 [KJV]:
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
See that line, “made Himself of no reputation”? I searched it out. It literally means, ‘made empty’, or ‘made void’. He was made empty… void… so there was nothing in Him to get personally hurt or offended. He had “denied himself”, and “lost His life”. There was nothing left in Him, but GOD! God’s love! God’s mercy! God’s power! And His life was all about the Father’s will, and man’s need… Not HIS feelings, HIS needs, and HIS welfare.
Those are the steps of Jesus, and THAT is the level I want!!! Amen??
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