To Err Is Human, To Forgive Divine

In the model prayer taught by our Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples, and for that matter to all believers, after making a petition on the daily bread for the physical body, he dealt next on the forgiveness of sins which concerns the spiritual condition of man. He said, “and forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us” (Matt. 6:12 NLT). Then, he continued to instruct them, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (vss. 14-15).

It is easy to ask God for forgiveness of our sins but very difficult for us to do the same to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for our sin, we should ask ourselves, have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?

Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness. If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Actually, one can forgive others only when Christ rules the heart. Thus, the Apostle Paul said, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32 KJV).

Joseph of the Old Testament proved that this virtue of forgiveness to our neighbors or others can be done. Although he was stript of his multi-colored coat; thrown into a deep pit with no water by his brothers and later sold to some Ishmeelite merchants for only twenty pieces of silver, who, in turn, sold him to Potiphar as slave, and much later suffered imprisonment for two full years (Gen. 37:23-28; 39:20; 41:1), he did not retaliate against his brothers when he was already the Prime Minister of Egypt, then the most powerful country in the known world, and was second in command to the Pharaoh. Instead, he treated his brothers very kindly. Joseph said to his brothers. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you (take care), and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them” (Gen. 50: 20-21 KJV).

One day Peter asked, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus answered, “I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” This is equals 490 times. The Lord Jesus was speaking figuratively. He actually meant, keep on forgiving as long as your brother repents and asks for forgiveness. Then the Lord Jesus, to demonstrate vividly his figure of speech, related the parable of the unforgiving debtor.

“For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.  In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  He couldn’t pay, so the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. But the man fell down before the king and begged him, ‘Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’  Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.  But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full.

“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him what happened.  Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’  Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny.

 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart.” (Matt: 18: 23-35 KJV)

The Lord Jesus is saying that our individual sins against God and our fellowmen are as numerous and heavy as that of the first servant in the parable, yet when we confess our sins to Him and accept Him as our only savior like the second servant, he forgives us. We should do likewise to those who have done wrong against us.

The Lord Jesus said to his disciples. “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17: 3-4 KJV).

Again here, Jesus was speaking figuratively. He gave this instruction because we usually count only up to a maximum of three times in a lifetime. We forgive in words only but not in our heart or in deed. We forgive in words but we do not forget. We are historical! We keep on repeating in words the mistakes of others. He wants us to be patient, humble and forgiving more than the usual three-time limit that we traditionally impose upon ourselves. If we do, we will likewise be forgiven for as many as, and for as long as we confess our sins (1 John 1:9), and by God’s grace we shall be with Him in heaven together with our love ones who also passed the test, forever and evermore.

How do we ask or pray for forgiveness? The Lord Jesus again related a parable to demonstrate how we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, in this wise:

“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’  I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.” (Luke 18:10-14 NLT)

Notice that in the first parable, the Pharisee was proud and unrepentant, but in the second, the publican (sinner) was humble and penitent. There is no blessing for the proud and unrepentant sinner.

We have nothing to be proud of because no one is perfect: we all commit mistakes or sins and must repent of our sins. We have to be humble, understanding and forgiving like our Lord Jesus Christ. He is God in the flesh, and He is our model. To err is human, to forgive is Christlike and divine. (FGBMFI Davao City Chapter Bulletin July 17, 2012)