Forgiveness is a sweet word to the heart of a believer. How often has the thought of what it cost the Father to forgive us our sins gladdened and humbled our hearts. Faith delights to personally appropriate the Lord’s words: “And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:4848And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. (Luke 7:48)), and, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:55When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2:5)). And when self-will has caused the believer to sin, what comfort to claim the divine promise: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)).
We find it difficult to understand Cain’s refusal to accept God’s offer of forgiveness (Gen. 4:77If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (Genesis 4:7)), choosing rather to go “out from the presence of the Lord,” and Joseph’s brethren who seemed unwilling to believe that their brother, whom they had so wronged, really had forgiven them and desired only their blessing (Gen. 50:1717So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. (Genesis 50:17)).
What joy to the soul in reading Luke 15 to see ourselves pictured in the returning prodigal who was thrilled at the thought of the Father’s forgiveness and love so freely given.
While we usually have little difficulty seeing ourselves as those who are recipients of God’s divine, matchless forgiveness, we are in danger of forgetting that the “forgiven” is to show the spirit of a “forgiver” to others. The account of the ten-thousand-talent debtor in Matthew 18 gives us a striking picture of this principle.
According to one calculation (at current rates), the first servant owed his master the equivalent of nearly three million U.S. dollars. The second servant owed the first less than twenty-five dollars! We can well understand the indignant reaction of the master to this ungrateful servant-debtor’s treatment of the second servant.
The first, having been graciously forgiven such an immense debt, ought to have found it the joy of his heart to imitate his master’s kindness to a fellow servant-debtor. Though the amount he was owed by the other was small, his unforgiving spirit ought not to have been! The greatness of the debt he had been forgiven should have been the standard by which he measured his forgiveness to others. “Take heed...: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:2424And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. (Mark 4:24)).
This has a seasonable application to our hearts today. The Spirit of God would lead each believer to look at himself as a “ten-thousand-talent” debtor. What a price our blessed Lord Jesus Christ paid to secure our forgiveness! When He cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me,” each one, in humbleness, must answer, “It was for me, a guilty sinner, He was forsaken.”
When this reality exists in the heart, there will be no looking upon another fellow-sinner who may have wronged me, demanding in an unforgiving spirit that he “pay me that thou owest”! A forgiven “ten-thousand-talent” debtor has no right to display a self-righteous, demanding spirit towards another.
However, we want to notice that there are two things in our verse in Ephesians 4 which precede forgiveness: kindness and a tender heart.
Kindness is the opposite of harshness. Those so richly blessed by the “kindness and love of God our Saviour” (Titus 3:44But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, (Titus 3:4)) should never be characterized by a harsh spirit. How unsuited harshness is to one who has been blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:33Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)).
A tender heart suggests the thought of compassion. How often did our blessed Saviour show compassion on “them that [were] out of the way” as He walked through this world. And He has left us an “example, that [we] should follow His steps.” How unworthy of a forgiven sinner to lack compassion for others.
We would suggest that these three lovely qualities cannot exist apart from each other. Each one is needed in order that we walk as children pleasing to the Father, who has forgiven us for Christ’s sake. May God grant that we “ten-thousand-talent” debtors find it the joy of our hearts to display a forgiving spirit towards others!
Ed.