Forgiveness
Always a Given
Forgiveness is a word that carries a lot of baggage in evangelical spaces. Much of that baggage is due to an idea of forgiveness which is foreign to the word and to scripture. But, it is the predominate idea of forgiveness within many churches. It may help to define forgiveness at the outset.
Forgiveness is the release of resentment or anger. Forgiveness doesn’t mean reconciliation. One doesn’t have to return to the same relationship or accept the same harmful behaviors from an offender. (Psychology Today)
Just as important as defining what forgiveness is, though, is understanding what forgiveness is not. Experts who study or teach forgiveness make clear that when you forgive, you do not gloss over or deny the seriousness of an offense against you. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you, or release them from legal accountability. (Berkeley)
These two explanations of forgiveness are helpful for the rest of this discussion. Interestingly, the definition is similar in Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias such as the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. But, Baker goes on to make a mistake that seems prevalent in Western evangelicalism. Baker conflates forgiveness and salvation. “The ethics of forgiveness in the NT insists not only on penitence as a condition for forgiveness (2 Cor 7:10), but also on the need to forgive others (Mt 6:14, 15). Let’s look at the scripture reference given for evidence of the claim that forgiveness requires penitence. I’ll expand out for context.
For although I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it (for I see that that letter caused you grief, though only briefly), 9 now I rejoice, not because you were grieved but because your grief led to repentance, for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. (1 Cor 7:8–10 NRSVue)
Do you see the problem here? The passage from 2 Corinthians never mentions forgiveness. It does mention that Paul grieved the Corinthian church with a letter that caused them to repent. But paul also says they have been guiltless in the matter mentioned in the other letter. There is an assumption made that is not in evidence. But this is the prevailing attitude in evangelicalism is which forgiveness is often said to be offered and that humanity must repent to receive forgiveness. But that is a conflation of the ideas of forgiveness and salvation or reconciliation. The explanation from Berkeley is helpful here. “Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you, or release them from legal accountability.” Forgiveness does not entail reconciliation as it is given from the aggrieved party freely and without expectation of reciprocation.
But let’s look at more scripture for an understanding of forgiveness. In the Gospel of Luke chapter five we read a story of the healing of a paralyzed man. This is a fascinating story of persistence and faith. The paralyzed man’s friends bring him to Jesus but are unable to get through the crowd. They then go to the roof of the house in which Jesus is teaching and lower their friend down right in front of Jesus. When Jesus sees this act his response is key to an understanding of forgiveness. “When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’” (Luke 5:20 NRSVue) Do you notice anything about this statement? Go ahead and look at the passage in greater context just to make certain. But, Jesus forgives sins with no repentance or recognition that such is needed. The act of the man’s friends is faith that Jesus can heal their friend. That faith is the faith Jesus mentions, but no act of contrition is necessary.
What is going on? Forgiveness is the prerequisite for reconciliation, but it is not an offering of God that must be claimed. Rather, forgiveness is freely given by God. When Jesus tells Peter he must forgive seventy times seven times it is not a request that God does not also share. The example is that forgiveness is a divine gift. There is a response to forgiveness, but that response is necessary for salvation, not forgiveness.
This may seem counterintuitive because of how forgiveness is often preached or taught as a conflation of salvation. But forgiveness is a realty whether we repent or not. We are not absolved of any consequences of sin as is evident in our living hells. The absolution, cleansing in a Wesleyan context, comes when we recognize that we are forgiven and then repent by turning our mind to a new direction which is trusting God as the healer of sin. Even if we see this in a legal dilemma, we can see that God strikes the record of sin and that the prior forgiveness makes striking possible. In other words, forgiveness is not attained through any act of humanity, it is our recognition of forgiveness which enables us to see God in truth and love. We are then open to the love and mercy of God which are already there through forgiveness. Repentance enacts reconciliation in the broken relationship between humanity and God.
The scriptural descriptions of the work of the cross say that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sin. The cross accomplishes forgiveness and our recognition of that through repentance allows us to be reconciled as Jesus drags all creation to the cross for reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t offer forgiveness, Jesus forgives. May our eyes be opened to that truth.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/forgiveness/definition
James M. Houston, “Forgiveness,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 811.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/forgiveness