Forgiveness, part 1: Forgiven for what?

(listen to the podcast version from January 20, 2019)

Simon the Pharisee was a poor host. He invited Jesus to dinner, but he showed no care for him. To make matters worse, a woman invaded the meal and poured out her tears and expensive oil on Jesus' feet, expressing her love intimately to Jesus. Simon was appalled, and Jesus answered with a parable:

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” 

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:41-47)

"He who has been forgiven little loves little"

Teachings from Jesus and the rest of the New Testament tells us that we forgive out of our overwhelming gratitude for how God has forgiven us. But Simon the Pharisee didn't think he needed much forgiving, so he didn't show much love. And if we don't really grasp how we have been forgiven, we will find it hard to have the kind of love for God and others from which forgiveness comes.

So as we begin to think about forgiveness, we have to start by looking at sin. In Jesus, we find great forgiveness, but that doesn't affect us if we say, "I don't need forgiveness; I'm a good person." So what is sin, and why do we need forgiveness? Forgiven for what?

Sin is ingratitude

The serpent's temptation in the Garden of Eden began, "Did God really say..."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

This temptation takes our eyes off God's blessings to his boundaries. The idea starts creeping in, "Is God holding out on me?" We don't want what God gives and start looking for something else instead. Paul also wrote about humanity's descent into sin in his letter to the Romans:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

What starts as ingratitude turns into doubt and mistrust. Doubt turns to a wandering eye. We don't trust God's goodness to give us the best, so we look around asking, "What am I missing?" And this wandering eye turns into unfaithfulness. 

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:22-23)

Sin is ingratitude, like a kid who looks at a Thanksgiving feast and throws a fit when he can’t eat a cold Pop Tart out of the pantry instead. Sin is doubt and mistrust, like a hamster who wants to escape from its cage, not understanding there's a dog ready to eat him. Sin is unfaithfulness, like a wife who abandons her marriage vows for the excitement of an affair.

But Satan's temptations don't stop there:

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. (Genesis 3:2-4)

Sin is defiance

Satan's lie is "You will not surely die." We internalize this temptation when we believe we can live life our own way without any accountability before God. The Psalmist says that "The fool says in his heart there is no God" (Psalm 14:1). This isn't about him being stupid but wicked and reckless. Paul calls this the darkening of our foolish hearts (Romans 1:21).

We convince ourselves there is no God, no accountability, and this self-talk leads to lawlessness and trespass, defiantly living your own way in spite of the boundaries God has set. You live by your own rules, maybe trying to be a "good person," but always on your own terms.

You've become your own god, just like the serpent promised:

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Sin is rebellion

This accusation from Satan is that God is not just holding out on you; God is holding you back. So to live your best life, you need to cast off his restraints and take charge. Rebellion comes from pride; you decide in your heart that you make the best god for your own life, or you turn that job over to something or someone else of your own choosing.

Sin is not a simple mistake. A mistake comes out of clumsiness or ignorance: "an innocent mistake." The truth that “all are sinners” is not the same as “nobody’s perfect” and “we all make mistakes." God will condemn no one for mistakes made out of ignorance or clumsiness. God judges sin, and sin is not a mistake. It is a revolt.

Adam & Eve heard the lie, “You can be your own god; you should be your own god… God is in your way.  He’s holding out on you because He wants you under His thumb. He won’t stop you.  He can’t stop you. Rise up and take what’s yours!” And they did.

Do you see why this is not “Oops I ate the wrong fruit” or the breaking of an arbitrary rule? It’s an attempt to usurp God’s rightful place in their lives and become their own god. It is appalling ingratitude, disdainful defiance, flouting God’s command as if they could do so with complete impunity, open revolt against God’s place as their Lord. And all of us--each one of us--has done it. The rebellion of Adam and Eve had a profound effect on human nature: we are sinful both by nature and by our own free choice. 

The Romans used crucifixion to publicly execute criminals, particularly rebels against Rome. Jesus died on the cross originally meant for a man who led an insurrection named Barabbas. But that rebel's cross really belonged to each of us, rebels against the great King. Jesus took that cross on our behalf, and because he did, we are forgiven.

I have not been forgiven little; I have forgiven much. When we meditate on how vile our sin really is, we can't help but stand in wonder, gratitude and love for God, who has cancelled our debt. 

Now that we've considered what God forgives, our next blog will be about the way God forgives.