Colossians 3:12-14
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Forgiveness is NOT:
- Approval of something bad that someone did to you
- Pretending that the evil never took place
- Justifying or making excuses for another’s hurtful behavior
- Denying that you’ve been hurt or offended
- Forgetting the damage done, or the act that caused the hurt
- Dependent upon the offender’s repentance
- Dependent upon the relationship being restored to it’s original condition.
- Allowing, or making it easy for, the offender to hurt you again
- Refusing to press charges when a crime is committed
- A relinquishing of consequences of the offending action[s]
Forgiveness IS:
- Surrendering my right to hurt you, or hold something against you, for hurting me
- A choice to let go of the hurt and anger by experiencing and expressing instead, sorrow and regret
- Forgiveness involves releasing another from a liability, canceling a debt owed (or thought to be owed), and offering pardon without resentment or the desire for payback
- Both an event and a process.
Colossians 1:19-20
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus], 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
1 Peter 3:18
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.
Biblical Understanding of Forgiveness
- To settle, or write off a debt
- To pay the debt
Matthew 6:15
15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will not forgive your sins.