I’m a Christian, It’s Required of Me That I Forgive

February 25, 2015

I’m a Christian, It’s Required of Me That I Forgive

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Matthew 6:12 NIV

Terry Anderson is the American journalist who was captured in Lebanon in 1985 and held hostage by Hezbollah militants until 1991. In an interview after his release from captivity, he was asked whether he could ever forgive his captors. He responded, “I’m a Christian, It’s required of me that I forgive, no matter how hard it may be.” (Time, December 16, 1991) Our passage for today is often used as theological support for Anderson’s statement. Paul’s letter to the Colossians also addresses this issue: “Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13b). Both of these interpretations may imply a quid pro quo ("this for that" in Latin), which is an exchange where one transfer is contingent upon the other. Is God’s forgiveness of me contingent upon my forgiveness of others?

No! “While we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus modeled this truth when he said from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The forgiveness of our sins rests solely on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We are forgiven by faith through grace, not by our performance. When we ask God for forgiveness, He doesn’t hold our request in abeyance until He sees whether we have forgiven others: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9).

How are we to understand, “forgive us, as we also have forgiven?” I believe this statement is an affirmation of the life in Christ as our way of life. As followers of Christ, we are letting our relationships with one another arise out of our life in Christ (Philippians 2:5), and our willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us is a fruit of the life in Christ. Jesus shows us what this looks like in his Sermon on the Mount. He said when we come to make an offering to God and remember that another person has an issue with us, we first seek to right our relationship with the other person before we make our offering to God. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Because we have been forgiven, because we have received new life in Christ, because God our Abba is head-over-heels, passionately in love with us, we want to be in a right relationship with other people. I believe the witness of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers calls forth a “Yes and amen” to this assertion. If you do not have that witness, I offer the counsel of St. Paul, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NRSV).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ  is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.