“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32

What comes to your mind when you read this verse, especially when you read, “forgiving one another”? This might mean many things to different people, but in this series, we want to learn what the Bible says about forgiveness.

First, it is helpful to get a working definition of what it means to forgive. In the Bible, forgiveness carries the idea of “release,” “sending away,” or “letting go.” The Greek word that is often translated as forgiveness has the thought of canceling a debt. So, we can say that to forgive is to “lovingly and voluntarily cancel a debt.” But, to put it another way, to forgive someone is to surrender my right to hold against you the hurt you have caused me!

Second, it is helpful to understand that there are different kinds of forgiveness mentioned throughout the Word of God. The first to consider is what is called positional forgiveness, also referred to as judicial forgiveness, which is connected to our salvation and our standing before God. Those who have put their faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross have been forgiven by a holy God: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). Colossians 2:13 adds, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”

One of the most touching scenes in all of Scripture is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, having been beaten, scourged, mocked, and spit upon, hanging on the Cross and looking out over the crowd of those who had shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! We’ll not have this Man reign over us!” Then the blessed Lord Jesus, nailed to the Cross, hanging between heaven and earth, between a holy God and sinful men, raised Himself to get His breath and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The message of the Cross is forgiveness that leads to restoration. The Cross is the prime example of the high cost of forgiveness: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18).

Anchor For Today:
In wonder lost, with trembling joy, We hail the pardon of our God,
Pardon for crimes of deepest dye, A pardon traced in Jesus’ blood.
To pardon thus is Thine alone; Mercy and grace are both Thine own.
-Samuel Davies