The Most Dangerous Prayer
Forgiveness is a very high bar with eternal consequences in the balance
This is Dave Scherrer and I hope this works! We are talking about forgiveness.
The word used most often in the Gospels and the New Testament letters is aphesis: it means "to release, as from a debt." We referred to the parable Jesus recorded in Matthew 18 the last time we got together here at Kingdom Offerings. In this parable, Jesus uses a judge forgiving a financial debt to make his point regarding this divine act of forgiveness.
It is about mercy – it is about not collecting on a debt even though you have every legal or moral right to do so. This spiritual application that Jesus is making from this financial word picture is in regard to the forgiveness we have in Christ over the release of our debt as sinners from God's legally and spiritually just earned penalty. He gives a blanket verdict of no longer guilty before the throne of God for our insults to His Name and Character. Jesus, by His obedient sacrifice on the cross allows for the complete dismissal of all charges against us.
Romans 8:1-2 states it so clearly:
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
I think in our 21st century our culture sees forgiveness as weakness or letting an undeserving person off scot free. We say there should be consequences. "Bad behavior should be punished or even worse things might happen."
There are a couple of things for us to remember.
First, in the case of our forgiveness before God – sin did not go unpunished or 'scot free' - there was a terrible payment for our sin. It's just that Christ made the payment in His blood, and therefore, sparing ours.
And second, forgiveness is not an emotional act as we sometimes see presented in the movies. Instead, forgiveness is an act of the will. Forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven. No one deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a deliberate act of love and mercy and grace. Forgiveness is a decision to not hold something against another person, despite what he or she has done to you.
