What Is Forgiveness?

Romans 4:5-8 "5But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (NKJV)

Forgiveness, what is it, and what is it not? There is so much you can say about forgiveness that we may have forgotten in our modern world what it really is all about. There are many facets to forgiveness. The word goes back to the Old Testament and has a similar meaning in the New Testament. It is the cure for transgressions.

What are transgressions? Transgression means breaking trust. Transgression is one of three words both in the Old and New Testaments and New that describe the word sin. Hamartia, a Greek word meaning missing the mark, is one word we looked at several months ago. Pasha is the Hebrew word and paroptoma the Greek word for transgression. They both mean the same thing. Transgression in some cases is translated rebelion, and as trespass in older versions of the Bible. The idea is to cross lines or boundaries. It means to break trust with others. It is a violation in of relationships.

What are the effects of transgression. One Biblical example of transgression is thievery. When a person is away from his house and a thief breaks in and takes something that is stealing. However, if it is a neighbor, that is pasha, a transgression (Exodus 22:7). "“If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double."

Wanting something you cannot have is also considered idolatry (Colossians 3:5). In the Old Testament there was no forgiveness for thievery, but only restitution made by the thief. Numbers 15:30 (New International Version) in the Old Testament describes how forgiveness did not even apply to intentional acts of sin and transgression. “’But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel."

Pasha, or paroptoma destroys relationships. It contributes to the making of a crazy and mixed up world. This is why sin is more than just the thievery itself. It is more than just about our sinful nature. Transgression destroys the boundaries and unwinds the very fabric of society. It means there are no more boundaries, and violates trust not only between people, but also between you and God.

How is forgiveness the cure for transgression? There is a cure through Christ.

Paul says that blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. How can this be? How can forgiveness mend the breach in boundaries, and heal the mistrust? Humanly this is impossible.

Jesus teaches in the Lord's prayer that you and I are to forgive those who have sinned against us just as God has forgiven us. What is going on here? How is it even possible? The word for forgiveness that Paul uses is the word to lift, to carry away, or to send away, release, or remit. Both the Hebrew of Psalm 32, nasa, and the Greek in Romans 4, aphiemi, mean close to the same thing. Jesus says further in Matthew 6:14,15, 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” These trespasses are paraptoma.

God lifts the burden of the mistrust and wound. Jesus took those wounds on the cross. When He did He carried them away. The prophet Isaiah says," Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed... He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:4,5,12b)."

What God did was that when He forgave not only are you able to trust Him, but He gives you a brand new opportunity in which He trusts you. When Jesus bore transgressions He bore them away. When our trust is violated it is hard to have that trust again because we remember. Forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean you and I forget, but it does mean that trust is a possibility again. You can release someone from the guilt of that transgression, and relationships can begin to heal. It may even take quite a long time. The relationship may not be exactly the same. It may even be quite a bit different than it was before, but ever so slowly it is possible to begin to heal.

You and I can only do this through what Jesus did on the cross when He shed His blood, and the work of the Holy Spirit making this possible by applying His blood to our lives. Do you need to release someone? You might not be ready? You might even resist? Christ Jesus is just simply asking us to start the process by being open to the work of His Holy Spirit. Atonement for sin is the first part of the process where you meet God again. It's the place of the very beginning to deal with sin in our lives and others. Forgiveness for transgression is another step where we release the offender of the transgression. Dealing with iniquity is another step. Forgiveness is a process. No one can hide the sin, but it can be dealt with even on a human level with God's love. Transgression may be real, but the solution is real. There is real forgiveness.