“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15 NLT)
Isn’t it almost comical how quickly we want to receive forgiveness, but how reluctant we are to offer it? And yes, of course, it sometimes depends on what we’re being asked to forgive; however, think of what we’re asking the Lord Jesus to forgive us – a lifetime of sin, disobedience, rebellion, and utter disregard of the clear teachings of the Scriptures.
Is our mountain of debt to God EVER less than what we’re being asked to forgive? It’s very doubtful, yet we get so rigid when someone’s sin affects us personally. Why is it our sin always looks smaller in comparison with someone else’s? It doesn’t seem such a big thing when we gossip about someone, but it’s a completely different animal when we’re the subject of someone else’s gossip.
A man came to John Wesley, a passionate preacher from the 1700’s, and said: “I could never forgive that person.” Wesley said, “Then I hope you never sin. When you are unforgiving, you’re burning the very bridge you need to walk across.” Jesus clearly stated in the verses above that to fail to forgive others is to block the Lord’s forgiveness of us.
What are the implications for us today? The same as they were when Jesus spoke the words. It’s not unlike asking the Lord for forgiveness in the first place. The Lord cannot and will not forgive a sin for which no forgiveness has been asked, yet He consistently asks us and invites us to ask. Matthew 7:7 in the New Living Translation conveys clearly: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.”
Unforgiveness is like drinking a cup of poison and expecting the other person to die, it has little or no bearing on the other person, but it kills us spiritually. At some point we must decide what we want most, to get even or be forgiven, we can’t have it both ways. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:19: “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say: ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord.”
There’s no vengeance we could ever take that would equal how effectively the Lord repays someone for hurting us. We have to learn to trust Him to do what He has asked us never to do. When we draw lines in the proverbial sand and determine there are certain things we will not forgive, we have drawn the line beyond which the Lord will not forgive us.
The bridge to forgiveness can only be crossed by those willing to forgive others. In some sense unforgiveness is the unpardonable sin, the sin for which there is no forgiveness, unless and until it is released to the Lord by a willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us.
We’re always looking for loopholes, an exception, something so great and for which we could never be expected to forgive someone. Is there a sin for which the Lord will not forgive us? And immediately we think of the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Further study will show that that sin is essentially growing so callous to our own sin we find no reason for which to ask forgiveness. A sin for which no forgiveness is asked can’t be forgiven!
An unforgiving spirit will result in a blindness to our own sin that blocks our repentant heart from seeking forgiveness from the Father who alone can provide what we need: deliverance from ourselves.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 