Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

In the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15), Jesus instructed Christians to ask God to forgive them their sins in the same manner or to the same extent that they themselves forgive those who sin against them. He elaborated on this by telling His followers that if they did not forgive others, God would not forgive those followers their own trespasses. Nothing in those teachings conditions Christians' forgiveness of others upon those others recognizing their sins, or asking for forgiveness.

In addition, I would say that it is safe to assume that even the most devout Christians have sinned against God and others (possibly even including those against whom they hold grudges for things those others have done to them) in ways that they themselves have not acknowledged, or of which they may not even be aware. 

Jesus also characterized the sins of others against us as being "pocket change" in comparison to the amount of the sin debt that each of us has been forgiven by God for Jesus' sake (Matthew 18:21-35).

It is by keeping those considerations in mind that Christians can (with the Holy Spirit's help) find the strength to forgive others even the worst offenses, and even when those offenses are committed by those who are closest to them.

Also, Jesus tells us to forgive others for our own earthly benefit. Holding a grudge against someone causes stress and anger, which have adverse physical effects -- not to the other party, but to ourselves! This can be alleviated by letting those emotions go through forgiveness.

Finally, the refusal of a Christian to forgive indicates a lack of trust or faith in God's ability to deal appropriately with the other party's actions (Romans 12:19; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 32:35).

May 14 2017 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report