God did not forgive sin without requiring it to be atoned for. Atone is a contraction of at and one. Its archaic meaning is to agree. Without atonement, there is division. Anything disagreeable will not allow harmony. God being pure holiness cannot ignore anything that goes against His perfect order for creation. It may appear as if He is forgiving and forgetting mankind’s imperfections, especially during these times when injustice abounds. But that’s only because the time of God’s judgment has not arrived yet. Today is still when we can come before the throne of God Almighty and beg for His mercy and grace before His wrath is let loose upon this world.
Begging for forgiveness is an act of humility involving a person persistently entreating another whom he or she did wrong¹ in order to make amends. Christians are not to hold malice against those who trespass against them, but to forgive them requires a condition to be met. If this was not so, Luke 17:3 would omit, “rebuke him; and if he repent” and instead say, “If thy brother trespass against thee, forgive him.” God requires a contrite spirit and a broken heart before He will forgive someone.
God describes in Matthew 18:15-17 His will for His children in handling a trespass done by a Christian brother or sister,
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.²“
Today, if a church excommunicates a member because of his or her refusal to repent, it can result in a lawsuit. That’s to be expected when churches surrender to the kingdom of human government by becoming a legally recognized corporation instead of trusting and obeying God by refusing to yoke itself to the world’s ways.
Two or three ‘church’ witnesses also include God, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Even though Matthew 6:12 (“forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”) omits the condition of repentance stemming from a contrite spirit, God still brings it to our attention in Luke 17:3. 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us to rightly divide the word of truth (i.e., rightly view the verses in the bible) and 1 Corinthians 2:13 requests that we are to compare spiritual things with spiritual (i.e., compare scripture verses with other scripture verses). When all of scripture is studied, then Matthew 6:12 can be seen as saying, “We (i.e., Christians) forgive our debtors because we know we have Christ as our redeemer.”³
The Latin past participle of contrite is conterere; to bruise, grind. Rebuke will grind (rub) someone the wrong way (be offensive), because it bruises pride. Pride lusts after being on the throne of self, so anything that strikes against it will either callous an already hard heart or it will break one’s pride resulting in repentance. Remorse brings regret, but regret that comes from a selfish motive does not lead to genuine repentance. On the surface, it can appear as if it does. However, true repentance will always result in atonement (at-one-ment).
The kind of repentance needed for the salvation Christ brings can only be acquired as a gift of God. It is not in mankind’s natural disposition (i.e., heart) to desire holiness. Man may want to appear holy to himself and/or others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to be holy. Christ became sin so that those who will be broken in their heart and contrite in their spirit can exchange their identity of sin for an identity of Christ. Christians are still human beings just like everyone else, but the difference is we can be Christ beings manifested in our human body, soul, and heart.
Christ beings are the most properly motivated individuals to be corrected by rebuke, because self-consciousness no longer thrives to rule in a saved individual. When Christ abides within an individual, self no longer lusts after constant emotional gratification. Godly self-denial is a process of bringing self constantly to the cross of Christ. No one is willing to die to self unless a greater love exists than one for self. No one can abide by the second commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” unless the first commandment, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” is adhered to. Loving others is a symptom of loving God. No one can love God unless he first knows God loves him, as said in 1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Those who don’t love us (especially those who are used to being in control of a relationship) will be resentful, angry, and feel revulsion (i.e., intense aversion) towards rebuke coming from someone who challenges their perception of reality. That’s why God tells us to shake off the dust under our feet when people refuse to hear about God’s message of salvation through Christ. In situations where truth is denied recognition, there is no relationship because there is no harmony (i.e., agreement).
What clues are there to know who to shun when it comes to personal relationships? One good indicator is when someone rebels from seeking the forgiveness of another by subtly twisting who the humility should come from. Instead of the wrongdoer admitting to any wrong done by him (or her), he (or she) will say things like, “At least I’m willing to forgive.” or he (or she) may say something even more blatant like, “I’m willing to forgive you.” or “I forgive you.” What one most likely should not hold his (or her) breath waiting for a proud person to say is, “I’m sorry for ______________________(the wrong I did to you that I would not want you to do to me). I hope you will forgive me.”
While we are not to hold our breath helplessly waiting and hoping for a loved one to repent, we are to be involved in vicarious intercession. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them. We know not what to pray, but God does and that alone should be enough for us to know.
It’s no wonder that the modern version of how to become saved is as popular is it is. To say salvation immediately comes merely by accepting Jesus Christ as your savior implies that God is the one who must submit by waiting for people to decide whether or not Jesus is worthy of acceptance into one’s life. That’s the ultimate distortion of truth!
¹Do not mistake speaking the truth as having done something wrong merely because it might have hurt someone’s feelings (i.e., offended him or her).
²A heathen or publican was not allowed to be a member of the Christian church if he or she did not repent. Christians shunned those who claimed to share the same faith while clinging to sin. The Amish still shun those (from being a member of their community) who refuse to submit to God’s will. Horses will also shun a misbehaving herd member. The banished horse is only allowed back into the herd once he or she has shown signs of respect and submission.
³This is not to say that unsaved people will not forgive others. Satan is too clever at counterfeiting Christian behavior in unbelievers. The key (as with most things) is motive. In the case of Christians forgiving, it is a symptom of salvation. With the non-elect, it is a symptom of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is required in order for self-deception to increase, especially when a ‘higher level’ of self-realization (i.e., an imaginary perception of reality about one’s self rather than what God tells us about ourself) is pridefully sought after.
