Christians are called to forgive extensively
(Matthew 18: 21-22). Should they forgive those who do not apologize for their
offense? What does the Bible teach about forgiveness?
Gladys Staines, wife and mother of the
brutally burnt husband and sons, stated, "I
have forgiven the killers and have no bitterness … God in Christ has forgiven
me and expects His followers to do the same.” 1 Here is a case
of forgiveness where the offenders did not repent of their sin. Yet, can
Christian parents forgive the killers of their brutally murdered child? I think
they would struggle to forgive them – with or without repentance. Forgiveness
isn’t an easy task.
Sin, repentance and punishment are the
main factors involved in forgiveness. The Bible seems to state that God
forgives a man under three conditions. The concern, however, is that these
three conditions contradict each other:
(1) When a sinner repents of his sin (Luke
13: 3; Acts 2: 38, 8: 22 et al.).
(2) When a sinner forgives the one who sinned
against him (Matthew 6: 12).
(3) When the sinner remains unrepentant (Luke
23: 34; Acts 7: 60).
Forgiving a repentant sinner is not
difficult to comprehend. But (2) and (3) are difficult to comprehend. One could
misinterpret the Lord’s prayer thinking God would forgive an unrepentant sinner
who forgives the one who sinned against him. E.g. I don’t repent of my sins to
God. But I have forgiven a person who sinned against me. Should I now expect God
to forgive me – an unrepentant sinner? Is God’s forgiveness based on my
forgiveness of another’s sin against me or on my repentance to God? This is the
doctrinal knot we should untangle. But answering (3) would untangle the
doctrinal knot of (2). If we can infer that God does not forgive an unrepentant
sinner, then it would preclude every other situation that seems to indicate
that God forgives an unrepentant sinner.
Does God forgive an unrepentant sinner?
Although Christ and Stephen appealed to
God for the forgiveness of their enemies, the Bible does not explicitly state that
God forgave their enemies. When the Bible isn’t explicit, doctrine should not be
dogmatic. Thus we can reasonably infer that God does not forgive an unrepentant
sinner.
However, there is a tricky situation to
decrypt. Why did the Lord Jesus (God incarnate) appeal to God the Father when
HE knew (through HIS omniscience) that God wouldn’t forgive an unrepentant
sinner? Did Christ utter this statement meaninglessly? No! I think Christ would
have forgiven those who perpetrated evil against HIM from the perspective of
HIS humanity and not HIS divinity.2 (Divine forgiveness is different
from human forgiveness.3) Christ forgave an unrepentant sinner to
teach an invaluable lesson to mankind that those harmed could forgive the
sinners, so to love them, even if they remain unrepentant. So Christ’s appeal
to God does not offer us a sound proof that God forgives an unrepentant
sinner.
Would God forgive an unrepentant sinner
who forgives the one who sinned against him? If this be true, we must resolve two
problems about our understanding of God:
1. Is God sovereign? Is God’s forgiveness
predicated on man’s forgiveness (of another)? Doesn’t God have an ability to
act independently? Or is man wiser than God?
2. God cannot contradict HIMSELF. The
Bible explicitly states that God forgives a repentant sinner. But if the same
Bible also states that God forgives an unrepentant sinner, then it amounts to
God contradicting HIMSELF i.e. God is a liar.
The sovereign God’s actions cannot be
based on man, unless HE so wills it. God will not state that forgiveness of
sins is only through repentance, and in the same breath forgive those who
remain unrepentant.
Verses that imply a doctrine ought to be
interpreted in light of the verses where the doctrine is outlined explicitly (demanding
repentance for forgiveness of sins). One of the fundamental principles for
biblical hermeneutic is “Sacred Scripture is its own interpreter.”
Furthermore, if God forgives an unrepentant
sinner, we need to contend with more problems, for instance:
1. The many passages that teach
forgiveness through repentance should be misinterpreted by employing a faulty
hermeneutic.
2. Repentance loses its existence and meaning.
(There is no need to repent to God.)
3. Promotes willful disobedience of man against
a holy God. What holds me back from sinning willfully, if I am forgiven though
being unrepentant?
Hence I submit that God will not forgive
an unrepentant sinner. Therefore, we summarize as follows:
1. God forgives a repentant sinner; the
forgiven person will not be punished.
2. God does not forgive an unrepentant
sinner; the unforgiven person will be punished.
3. The sinner in the Lord’s prayer prays
for forgiveness of his sins (repents) primarily.4 So God would
forgive this sinner, since he repented of his sins.
Thus, from the divine perspective, repentance
is necessary for forgiveness. If repentance is necessary for God to forgive
man, how should man practice forgiveness in a human relationship? Asking a few leading
questions could provide us with answers:
1. Should man forgive only those who
repent? If the answer to this is ‘no,’ then how can love be ignited inside a
broken relationship?
2. How do we identify a genuine
repentance from false?
When a person repents of his sins, we
ought to forgive (Luke 17: 3-4). We should also forgive an unrepentant sinner
for love to be reestablished and for hatred and bitterness to disappear. This
is in obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor as Christ loves us (John
13:34; cf. Hosea 3:1). A model for this forgiveness is provided by Hosea, Christ
and Stephen. We should not speak maliciously or take revenge of any form or
size against the one who wronged us. But restoration of relationship is only
predicated on genuine repentance (cf. Hosea 3: 3). If someone has wronged me
and remains unrepentant, I should forgive and not harbor bitterness or hatred. But
unless this person genuinely repents, I cannot resume a perfectly normal
relationship!5 By forgiving an unrepentant sinner, I am paving way
for love to be reestablished in the relationship. Genuine repentance paves way
for restoration of a normal relationship.
Distinguishing genuine from false repentance
consumes time. The blessed Holy Spirit will guide us through life situations to
recognize the genuineness of repentance. If someone has falsely accused me and eventually
repents of that sin, I will definitely resume a normal relationship. After some
time and in a similar situation, if this person makes another false accusation
against me, it would prove that his/her repentance was false.
Forgiveness ought to proceed from the
intrinsic to the extrinsic - from the heart to the mouth. It is quite possible to
say that we have forgiven the perpetrator of evil, but to forgive the person
from the heart is another spiritual battle that needs to be won through prayer
(for forgiveness does not come easy to many). From this perspective, one cannot
take Gladys’ words for granted, but only God knows the true state of a human
heart. However, by issuing a statement that she has forgiven the killers,
Gladys Staines did something extraordinary which an ordinary Christian would
find very difficult to do. In Christian life, we ought to take small steps to monumental
spiritual achievements.
To conclude, I submit the following:
1. God forgives a repentant sinner. HE
does not forgive an unrepentant sinner.
2. A Christian ought to forgive the one
who repents of his sin.
3. Even if the offender remains
unrepentant, the Christian ought to forgive him for love to be reestablished in
that relationship.6 However, restoration of a normal relationship is
predicated on a genuine repentance. (Christian parents can forgive the killers,
through prayer, and by God’s power.)
I bless you in the name of our Lord.
Amen.
References & Notes:
Repentance: A
heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to
forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology,
p1253.)
1 http://www.hindu.com/2003/09/23/stories/2003092305471200.htm
2 My
assumption is based on the explicit assertion of the Bible that God does not forgive an
unrepentant sinner. Understanding of “Incarnation” or “hypostatic union” is
mandatory to understanding the concept of Christ’s humanity and divinity in one
hypostasis.
3 The divine forgiveness is an instance
where the perfect God forgives an imperfect human. God forgives man from within
HIS attribute of omniscience and eternality. Human forgiveness is from the
perspectives of a temporal and an inadequate knowledge. This subject should be
examined in isolation and not within the scope of this blog.
4 Will God not forgive a man who
genuinely repents of his sins to HIM, but hasn’t forgiven his debtor? We could
consider this subject at a later point in time.
5 The unrepentant man would not have
changed his offensive / sinful ways. He will continue in his sinful ways.
6 In God’s perspective, this could be
correlated to the “common grace” of God.
