God wants us to be forgiving when others wrong us.

Part 3

So far we have learned what Jesus meant when He taught:
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:”
“Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:”

Now let’s learn to forgive.

“Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”
Do forgive – It is not our place to hold a person’s sin against them.  The ancient Greek word translated here as “forgive” is an interesting word.  It means, “1) to set free  2) to let go, dismiss,…3) to let go free, release…”1

Simply put, when I refuse to forgive someone, I think I am keeping them as my prisoner, my captive.  I think of them as under my power because I owe them payback for what they did to me.  No, this is wrong thinking.  Jesus taught that we forgive them, “release them.”  It does not matter who has offended us, Jesus said we must forgive them.

Can you see how forgiving someone who has wronged you is doing the opposite of what Jesus just commanded that we should not do?  He just said, “condemn not,” and forgiving those who wrong you is the opposite of that sin.

If you are hesitant to forgive others, think about your relationship to God.  The debt any person owes you is minimal in comparison to the infinite debt you owed God.  If God has forgiven you your sin debt, won’t you forgive that person their wrongs to you?  Release them, let them go free, and two people are free.

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye,” (Colossians 3:13).

“Forgiveness is a funny thing; it warms the heart and cools the sting.”2 (William A. Ward)

Don’t be Judgmental
Don’t Condemn
Do Forgive! 

1.  J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
2.  Downloaded: September 25, 2018. From: https://bible.org/illustration/quote-43.