Volume 3 Issue 6

FORGIVENESS

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ow one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him. And He entered the Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table. And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an ala-baster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet He would know who and WHAT SORT OF PERSON this woman is who is touching Him, that SHE IS A SINNER.’” (Luke 7:36-39) That this woman was a sinner is not in question. Simon, the Pharisee that Jesus was dining with, knew this, but that is not how we know she is a sinner; the narra-tive itself tells us she was a sinner. More than this, the Bible tells us, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and, “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and WHO NEVER SINS.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) The woman was most certainly a sinner, but what Simon either failed to recognize, or will-fully refused to recognize, was that he too, was a sinner. Simon, within the thoughts of his heart, rebuked Jesus for allowing a sinner to touch Him, when his proper response to Jesus should have been the response Peter gave to Jesus upon a miraculous catch of fish: “Depart from me, for I am a SINFUL man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8) Between Simon and the woman, Simon had the greater sin, for the one who recognizes his sinfulness is the one who will be forgiven. Simon recognized WHAT SORT OF PERSON the woman was; he failed to recognize what sort of person HE was. This attitude was exposed by Jesus when He told this parable: “And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in them-selves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, “God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.” But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even un-willing to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.’” (Luke 18:9-14) This Pharisee did not receive forgiveness because he did not feel the need for forgiveness. On the other hand, the tax-gatherer, a person Jews would equate on the same level as the woman mentioned above, was forgiven.

Forgiveness is a need we experience when we recognize we have failed someone in some way, whether that failure is the result of doing something wrong or inappropriate, or the result of not doing something we should have done. Nevertheless, we ALL need forgiveness whether we feel that need or not. Certainly, the woman felt that need and took the initiative to receive forgiveness. The need for forgiveness she felt within herself was so great she freely sacrificed to Jesus probably the most valuable possession she had: an alabaster vial of perfume. If this woman is the same one spoken of in Mark chapter fourteen, this perfume was valued at over three hundred denarii. A denarii was the standard wage for a day’s pay. That means this perfume was worth a whole year’s pay (three hundred days constituted the Jewish year). In America today, that perfume would have been worth several thousand dollars. This woman was willing to pay whatever price was necessary to secure the peace of mind, the cleansing of soul and spirit, that only true forgiveness could bring. Simon, on the other hand, was not even aware he needed forgiveness. Self-righteousness and GOOD WORKS had deadened his conscious to the need he had for forgiveness.

We should not despair when we have a guilty conscious. We should be thankful that our conscious is alive within our spirit, doing what it was created by God to do. Guilt is not wrong, anymore that hunger pangs are wrong. Hunger pangs alert us to the fact we need to eat in order to sustain physical life; a guilty conscious alerts us that we MAY need forgiveness. However, it should be understood that a guilty conscious does not ALWAYS indicate a need for forgiveness; it may indicate a lack of belief in the forgiveness we have already been granted by Jesus.

Jesus told the woman, “Your sins have been forgiven.” (Luke 7:48) Jesus did not say “Your sins WILL BE forgiven”, but “Your sins HAVE BEEN forgiven.” Did she feel like she had been forgiven? The text does not say. In fact, in this whole narrative, the woman does not say ANYTHING. Except for the sound of her sobs as her tears fell upon Jesus’ feet, she is silent. Thus, it is not our WORDS asking for forgiveness that cause Jesus to act in our behalf, it is what our HEART is saying, through our actions, that bring about true forgiveness.

King David, after having his sin of adultery and murder exposed, felt incredible need for forgiveness, and the Law spelled out very clearly what God required for a sin offering and a guilt offering; yet, David knew that the sacrifice of the animals without a sacrifice within his heart was useless. “For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a BROKEN AND A CONTRITE HEART, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17) This is why the woman was forgiven; not because she sacrificed a costly vial of perfume, but because she sacrificed her pride, enduring the public shame and humiliation that she, a prostitute, experienced. Simon was repelled by her and was probably disgusted at her presence in his home. The woman would have known this. Nevertheless, she recognized her need for Jesus, that forgiveness would only come from His hand, and she was willing to go to Him, wherever He was.

Perhaps the woman could have found a more private time to go to Jesus and offer Him her perfume, but would her SENSE of forgiveness been the same? Probably not, because even though the value of the perfume would have been the same, the value of her HEART sacrifice would have been lessened. Her willingness to expose herself to the shame her confession produced revealed the genuineness of her love toward Jesus and her belief that He could and would forgive her. No one exposes themselves to such shame and humiliation thinking forgiveness will be withheld.

Forgiveness is a wonderful GIFT given to us by the Lord. Like salvation, it is not something we earn; nor, is it something we can buy. If we possessed ALL the resources in the world, we would still fall far short of being able to come to God and purchase forgiveness; it is not for sale, BUT it is available.

In the Old Testament, sins were atoned for once a year during Yom Kippur. It was a day of fasting and prayer. “And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that ATONEMENT shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.” (Leviticus 16:29-31) The Jews looked forward to this day because it marked a new beginning for them, much like New Year’s Day marks a new beginning for us. We make resolutions to improve our lives, hoping that this year we can follow through on them. But as the days, weeks, and months go by we often find ourselves right back where we started. The Jews shared the same fate after Yom Kippur became a memory of the past. The affect of the atonement did not last. Why? The answer lies within the meaning of this Hebrew word “atonement”.

It is first used in Genesis 6:14 when Noah was building the ark. God spoke to Noah and said, “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and SHALL COVER IT inside and out with pitch.” The ark Noah built was literally ATONED for by Noah with pitch. Atone literally means “cover” and the word “pitch” is derived from the word “atone”. Thus, Noah was told to COVER the ark with a COVERING, in this case, a covering that was waterproof so that the ark would not sink when the Flood came upon the earth. It is important to realize that the pitch (atonement) with which the ark was covered (atoned) DID NOT CHANGE the gopher wood from which the ark was built. It was still an ark of gopher wood; the pitch, which covered it, was only on the OUTSIDE of the wood. Thus, we come to understand that when the Israelites observed Yom Kippur, the Day of ATONEMENT, their sins were COVERED so that they could live in a sinful world, rising above the depravity in which they found themselves surrounded. Nevertheless, having your sins covered, and having them forgiven, is two very different things.

It is very significant that the first thing Noah did having departed from the ark after the floodwaters subsided was to build an altar to the Lord and offer BLOOD sacrifices. “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every CLEAN animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.’” (Genesis 8:20-21) This is the very first time the word “altar” appears in the Bible. It was a place where blood was shed, shed for the PURPOSE of reconciling a sinful world with a holy God. This foreshadowed the time when another sacrifice would be made upon an altar for the purpose of reconciling a sinful world with a holy God, but this time the altar would be a wooden cross and the one being sacrificed would not be a clean animal, but the spotless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him (Jesus) FORGIVENESS of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is FREED from all things, from which you could not be FREED through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39) The word “freed” is more commonly translated “justified” which implies holiness, righteousness, and innocence. This is more than a covering; it is a change of nature.

The Old Testament has several verses that prophesy about the forgiveness available in the New Covenant, the Covenant that was instituted by Jesus Christ, and which we call – the New Testament. “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I WILL FORGIVE their iniquity, and their sin I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Jeremiah 31:34) “And I WILL CLEANSE them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I WILL PARDON all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me, and by which they have transgressed against Me.” (Jeremiah 33:8) “‘In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I SHALL PARDON those whom I leave as a remnant.’” (Jeremiah 50:20) These promises which were prophesied in the Old Testament are now a reality because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection three days later. At the Last Supper Jesus introduced the Covenant of forgiveness. “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, which is poured out for many FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS.’” (Matthew 26:27-28) Paul testifies to this truth when he says, “In Him (Jesus) we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the FORGIVENESS OF OUR TRESPASSES, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) The Bible is very clear about the reality of our forgiveness of sins and trespasses and the iniquity that lives within us. So, why do we often feel as if we are not forgiven when we pray for forgiveness?

Perhaps the greatest reason we still feel unforgiven is because we know ourselves too well. We do not understand how God can forgive us when we cannot even forgive ourselves. We look upon the blackness of our hearts, and see all the evil that lies there, all the sin, the lies, the lust, the anger, the greed, the UNFORGIVENESS we have toward others, and think that if anyone knew us like we know ourselves, they could not, not only forgive us, but they would not even like us. We can talk a good talk, but we feel like a hypocrite because our walk, our real self, lies exposed to the searching eyes of God. We feel God can forgive everybody else (because, surely they are not as wicked as we are), but our sin is so great, so evil, so overwhelming, that it is impossible to forgive. After all, I am a Christian, and Christians are suppose to know better, they are suppose to have the Holy Spirit living within them, empowering them to overcome sin, but all I find in my life is defeat and the fear of more defeat. In truth, in know ourselves too well. The Apostle John understood this. “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, in whatever our heart CONDEMNS us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” (1 John 3:18-20) The word “condemns” is the Greek word “kataginosko” and literally means to “absolutely know down against”. It is a knowing that holds something against us. It is a perfect word for condemn. We condemn ourselves because we KNOW OURSEVLES TO WELL. We know of all the imperfections, all the corruption, and all the evil that is hidden deep within our hearts. No one else may know, but we do, and it is that level of knowing that causes us to doubt God’s forgiveness. Is there any hope? Is there anyway we can experience God’s forgiveness in a way that casts all doubt aside as to its reality? Yes, there is.

In the story of the woman caught in adultery, after Jesus had shamed the crowd (by causing them to remember they were as guilty of sin as the woman), He said, “‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ And she said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn (Greek – katakrino – to judge down against) you; go your way. From now on SIN NO MORE.’” (John 8:10-11) One reason we do not feel forgiven is because we DO sin more. It is one thing to be forgiven once or maybe even twice, but when the sin becomes a habit, how can we be forgiven then? Listen once again to the Apostle John: “Little children, let us not LOVE with word or with tongue, BUT IN DEED AND TRUTH.” (1 John 3:18) If we wish to have the sense of condemnation removed from us, that is, experience forgiveness in a way we can know beyond a doubt, we must learn to love ourselves. This is not a prideful love, a boastful love, but a love that comes from knowing the uniqueness we possess as human beings. We have been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), created with infinite care and design (Psalm 139:13-18), are of more value than the animals (Luke 12:24), and are destined to rule and reign with Christ (Daniel 7:27). Feelings of unforgiveness cause us to hate ourselves, and this is wrong. At its very core unforgiveness and self-hatred are forms of self-worship. Worship comes from the word “worth, or to give WEIGHT to”. Thus, when we give more weight to our sins and failings than we do to God’s forgiveness, we are worshiping self. We confess our sins to God, yet deep within us, we know we will do the same thing again. This is loving ourselves with word or with tongue only and it will never result in a forgiveness that satisfies the hunger we have within; we will still feel unforgiven. What is necessary is love toward ourselves that is expressed in DEED AND TRUTH.

The first deed we must do is to forgive others. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how they were to pray, a part of that prayer was, “And forgive us our debts, AS we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) The word “as” is a comparative adverb and means “in proportion as”; that is, the degree of forgiveness we receive from God is directly proportional to the degree we forgive others. Do others wrong us? Do others hurt us? Of course, but those wrongs and hurts pale in comparison to the wrongs and hurts we have done to God. Often our sense of not being forgiven has its roots in our lack of forgiving others. That does not mean what others have done to us is right or that they do not necessarily deserve to be punished, but what it does mean is that whatever punishment they receive should come from God’s hand and not our own. “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) Our vengeance is ALWAYS wrong because it proceeds from a sinful heart; God’s vengeance is always right because it is just and proceeds from a heart of love.

The other deed we must do is perhaps even more difficult than forgiving others. “Therefore, CONFESS your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) Some sin is so deeply rooted within our being, so shameful, that we hide it. The result is guilt that strangles the spiritual life from us. To be free requires us to find a TRUSTED Christian brother or sister (someone of the same sex) and confess our sin. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” (Proverbs 28:13) When we find the right person(s), the shame and humiliation of confession will burn away the heaviness that rests upon us because of our sin, and will be replaced with a lightness within that comes from knowing, your “sins, which are many, have been forgiven.” (Luke 7:47)

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