Actually, that's not what Jesus said. He said to "love" our enemies. Two verses later, though, and in the same context, he spoke of forgiveness:
"love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:35-37, NIV)What, then, is forgiveness? My Bible dictionary lists 3 definitions:
Have you ever heard the phrase "forgive and forget?" Of course you have. How about this: "I'll forgive Frank for what he did to me, but I'll never forget!" It's my contention that the phrase "forgive and forget" is redundant -- you can't show true forgiveness without forgetting. Unfortunately, one of our human characteristics is that we simply cannot erase an event from our memory. I don't believe that's what "forgetting" means in the context of forgiveness. I've heard it said (although I do not remember by whom) that the final mark of forgiveness is when the "wronged" party can truly wish the other party well. "Forgetting" means not holding a grudge.
One of the great blessings to me in reading the Old Testament is that it defines for me God's nature and shows how he relates to his people. Just like earthly children learn important life lessons from watching and imitating their parents, we need to learn from what God has shown us through his word.
"No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:34 NIV)"Forgive and forget" is just what God said he'd do to his people. He expects no less of us, if "forgetting" means "not holding a grudge," as defined above.
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." (Psalm 32:1-2 NIV)This passage was written by David and quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 4:7-8. I remember vividly the first time I noticed that passage. "The man whose sin the Lord does not count against him?" Hold on! I read it again. Then I read it in Romans. Then I read the entire thirty-second Psalm. Then I read the entire fourth chapter of Romans. That's what it says, all right. There is, indeed, someone against whom the Lord does not charge sin! So, who is it? Let's see what "the disciple whom Jesus loved" said about it.
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." (1 John 1:7-10 NIV)I suggest that to "walk in the light" means to live a life focused on Jesus, and to follow his teachings. (In the interest of space, I will not discuss that here, but if you wish you may refer to these scriptures: John 14:15 & 15:10, Acts 2:42, Ephesians 4:1-2, Colossians 1:10-12, 1 John 5:3). Therefore, if your life is focused on Jesus, then the blood of Jesus purifies (present tense, and continuing to occur) you from all sin. That means that if you "walk in the light," you are forgiven as soon as you sin.
What about the rest of that passage, though? To summarize what it says, if I claim I am "without sin" or "have not sinned" I am a liar. That's to keep me humble. This passage ties in real well with Paul's discussion of boasting only "in the Lord" (Romans 3:27ff, 2 Corinthians 10:17, Galatians 6:14, and Ephesians 2:7-10). Of course I sin. Everyone does. When we look all around, we see sinners. When God looks at his children who are walking in the light, he doesn't see sinners, according to David (Psalm 32). He sees Jesus, because we are cleansed by his blood (1 John 1:7) and are clothed with him (Galatians 3:26-27). That's the sense in which a child of God does not have sin.
"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him." (1 John 5:18 NIV)"Hey, John, you mean that once I'm a Christian I don't sin anymore?" My friend, if that's what you get out of this article, then I suggest you start from the beginning and read it again, very slowly and very thoroughly, because that's not what the scripture says, nor did the article say that. John's phrase "does not continue to sin" is explained in the latter part of the verse. Since "the one who was born of God keeps him safe," then "the evil one cannot harm him." Because we are wearing "the armor of God," (Ephesians 6:10-18) we have extra protection against the darts of the devil. "… does not continue to sin" means that sin no longer has any lasting hold on us. We have been "crucified with Christ," (Galatians 2:20) and "Christ lives in" us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV)What's that say? Does it say that if we confess, then God will forgive us of our sins except the really bad ones? NO! Does it say that if we confess, God will forgive us of our sins unless we have sinned a lot in our past life? NO! It says he will "forgive us our sins." Period. Let me offer my opinion on what John means by "confess our sins." Since we aren't aware of every sin we commit, we can't confess them all. Sometimes we are made aware of sins after the fact, so we can't confess them immediately after committing them. I believe that in this context, "confess our sins" means to have an attitude of contrition. It means that when we are made aware of sins we have committed, we are deeply sorry and resolve not to do it again. It means that we confess our sin to God and ask for his forgiveness. It is the attitude, or lifestyle that is constant, though, and not the confessing. God does not expect us to go through the day constantly looking over our shoulder waiting for him to throw a lightning bolt at us because we didn't realize we sinned and failed to pray for forgiveness. Here's an example I like to use, because my temper is a little fiery and I can relate to it:
Let's say I'm driving down a mountain road and someone passes me very recklessly and nearly forces me off the road. I get very angry and do the same to him, but when I cut in front of him, I turn and look at him and shake my fist at him. In doing that, I lose control of my car, go over the cliff and am killed in the ensuing collision.Now, I firmly believe my action in that example would be sin. However, if the focus of my life was on Jesus prior to the accident (i.e., I was "walking in the light"), I don't believe I would be condemned to hell for that sin. I believe that is true even though I didn't have time on the way down the cliff to say "Dear God, I'm sorry I have such a raging temper and choose such inappropriate times and ways to vent it. Please forgive me. In Jesus' name, Amen."
I believe God is a keeper of his word. I believe he will condemn those who "do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thessalonians 1:8). I also believe that God wants us all "to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). I have offered my opinion and used the phrase "I believe" several times in this article. Please understand, though, that when judgment day comes, your salvation won't hinge a hoot on what I believe, or on what your minister or priest or anyone else tells you. What should matter to you is what the Bible says. It is my hope and prayer that if I've written something with which you disagree, you will search the scriptures with an open heart to find out what is written in the inspired word of God about this subject, and will have the courage to obey what it says.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the subject of forgiveness, or any other subject you care to write to me about.