Yesterday I heard someone talk about his uncle who has been incarcerated for 47 years for a triple homicide of police officers. His uncle fiercely denies ever committing this crime and has steadfastly maintained his innocence all those long years, right up through today.
He’s still incarcerated and is now on up in his eighties and in a wheelchair. During his incarceration and absence the family that he left behind became dysfunctional and fell apart.
His nephew, (who is concerned about his relationship with God), states that his uncle angrily maintains that he will never forgive those who falsely accused him and put him behind bars, ruining his and his family’s lives. Considering what has happened to him, that seems quite natural.
His nephew went to his pastor and asked if he thought his uncle would still go to heaven if he continues to refuse to forgive those who have caused him and his family so much pain.
The pastor answered that he did not think he could go to heaven unless he forgave them.
Hmmm… It is a sin not to forgive someone and the Bible is very clear about it. In Matthew 6:15 it states: But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
It also states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death“. So if we sin does this verse mean we will die in our sins and not see heaven? The rest of the verse reads: “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Critical in the foregoing verse are the words: “the gift of God”. Grace is about God’s gift to humanity through Jesus Christ. Romans 7:19 states; “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing”. Here Paul was distinguishing between the Spirit that indwelled him and his weak flesh. He observed that the evil actions were done, not by him, but by sin dwelling in him. Sin dwelling in a man, does not prove that it has dominion over him. In Galatians 5:17 we learn: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”.
It has been said, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” There is a truth in this. When God says we should do something that is reasonably within our power, then we often mistake our own puny self-efforts as being Spirit-led obedience. But when we hear Him say something impossible like “be perfect” (Mat 5:48), we quickly realize that we cannot. It is only by grace that we are saved, through faith in Him, who alone has the qualities God requires and demands; (“Lest any man should boast”).
I believe that of the things Jesus told us that we must do, perhaps just below His demand of “perfection” as being impossible to attain in our own resources… is “forgiveness”.
So what can we do in order to comply? We must rely on God. John 15:5 states: “For without Me you can do nothing.” It is through grace we are saved and it is Jesus Christ who is perfect and it is His sinless life and death on the cross that allows us entry into God’s presence. His blood covers our sin. We cannot be obedient enough or good enough to make it on our own. It is what He did on the cross and not what we do in the flesh. We must put our complete faith in Him and our hope of seeing heaven lies solely upon His grace.
That is not to say we should not forgive or obey His commands as best we know how. I have found that forgiveness is more about “us” and not the other person; (in fact they may not even want our forgiveness.) Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, said, “Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.”
We will know the work of forgiveness is complete when we experience the freedom that comes as a result. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment, and hurt that previously imprisoned us.
It took me many years of Christian faith to reach a point whereby I could forgive some folks in my life who had greatly wronged me. I firmly believe if I had died before I reached that level of Christian maturity I would have still gone to heaven. My life dramatically improved when I did forgive them and I realized even more that obedience to God is directly proportional to my being capable of enjoying life in this fallen world.
This man’s uncle is no doubt imprisoned in more ways than one. His unforgiving stance is a prison of its own. His hell is on this earth and consists of being chained by bitterness and resentment in his mind and sadly he is also locked up in a cell surrounded by dangerous men. I do believe that if he has accepted Christ as His Savior that the grace of God will set him free; if not in this life than surely in the next.
Philippians 1:6
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.