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What Does Forgiveness Mean?
What Does Forgiveness Mean?
How would you define the word “forgive”? Answer the question in your mind. Give a very precise definition. If you’re tempted to google it, DON’T (I bet I caught some of you red handed)!
The word has a variety of definitions. The New American Oxford Dictionary defines it this way: “stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.” That’s a shallow definition, to say the least. At the other extreme is a more comprehensive definition I heard a gospel preacher give once: “to restore the offender back to the former affections of the offended one.”
Given the fact that Jesus requires us to forgive others if we are to be forgiven by God (Matthew 6:14-15), wouldn’t you say it’s pretty important that we understand forgiveness like Jesus did? Otherwise, we could think we’re forgiving people when we really aren’t.
How, then, can we formulate a Biblical definition? We could look at Greek and Hebrew words used for forgiveness, but that would only get us so far. Ultimately we have to look at context. Words are always defined by the context in which they are used.
To start, consider the passage referenced above, Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Whatever “forgive” means on God’s part, it has the same meaning on our part. What does it mean for God to forgive us? Merely to stop feeling angry about our sin? No! It means He removes our sins and regards us as if we had never committed them. That’s exactly what it means for us to forgive others: we must treat them as though they had never committed the sins. (This doesn’t rule out any and all consequences for their sins, however.)
Next, consider Matthew 18:23-35. Jesus tells a parable about a king who forgives a massive debt which a servant had incurred. That very servant then refuses to forgive a relatively small debt incurred by a fellow servant. As a result the king, in his anger, severely punishes the unforgiving servant. The point of the parable is, again, to forgive others like God. However, in this passage we gain new insight into the meaning of forgiveness. It means to release a debt. Sin is “debt.” In the model prayer Jesus taught to say, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” When someone sins against you, they’re indebted to you. They owe you something. To forgive is to mercifully erase the debt ledger, no longer requiring what, by right, is due to you.
Therefore, a good starting point for a Bible definition of “forgive” is this: to willingly clear the record of the offender, regarding the individual as if the transgressions had never occurred. If you define it differently, your definition will fall far short of the Word of God. And so will your life.
