Forgiveness – Part 3

(The following is the third part of a five-part series. I want to preface this article by saying it is a compilation of thoughts that began in February or March of this year. What started as a 3-word phrase “jumping off the page” one morning in my personal devotions has continued to develop over the past seven or eight months via further Scripture reading, Bible commentaries, King James Bible preaching, and devotional books, as well as personal experiences. This is certainly not an exhaustive study on the subject of forgiveness but rather a glimpse into what the Lord has been teaching me this year.)

The Benefits of Repentance

In Second Corinthians, chapter seven, we read a clear description of what produces repentance as well as the benefits of repentance.

“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” II Corinthians 7:10, 11

C.H. Spurgeon’s comments on verse 10 are as follows:

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“Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature’s garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature’s thorns never produced a single fig. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”
True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of His love.
True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally—as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it—shun it in everything—not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against Him.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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Speaking from personal experience, I know what repentance toward others has done in my life. Going to an individual and admitting my wrong-doing as well as asking for their forgiveness has caused me to hate the sin of which I was guilty. This humbling experience has made me more careful in my words and/or my actions of not committing that same trespass again. It has held me accountable. I find it more difficult to repeat a transgression toward someone to whom I have had to repent. That doesn’t mean I never have or I never will…it is just more difficult to do so when the humbling experience of apologizing to this same person is looming in the back of my mind. Repentance has also made me more sensitive to the feelings of others. When I have had to look a person in the eyes and say, “I am sorry…I was wrong”, so often my apology will bring tears to the eyes of whom I have offended. It is then that I fully realize the hurt my sin has caused.

These are just some of the benefits of repentance. In Part 2 of this article, as I shared about an incident with an older GRAND, I confessed my temptation to let the offender “off the hook”. I’m afraid this soft “Nana heart” just about got the best of me. But, if I had intervened as the GRAND slowly made their way to apologize, would I have been doing this child a favor? No. For me to have intervened and dismissed the matter would have deprived this GRAND of some very valuable life lessons such as:

1. I am responsible for my words and/or actions.
2. My words and/or actions can hurt others.
3. Repentance is NOT fun!

I wonder…what valuable lessons are we missing out on in our adult world? Perhaps, we would finally get victory over some besetting sins – if we practiced this humbling but biblical principle of repentance toward others.

But, not only are we missing out on valuable lessons, we are missing out on genuine fellowship – with the one(s) we have offended as well as with our Heavenly Father.

“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matthew 5:23,24

In reference to the above verses, from Barnes’ commentary we read:

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“Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, etc. The Pharisees were intent only on the external act in worship. They looked not at all to the internal acts of the mind. If a man conformed to the external rites of religion, however much envy, and malice, and secret hatred he might have, they thought he was doing well. Our Saviour taught a different doctrine. It was of more consequence to have the heart right, than to perform the outward act. If therefore, says he, a man has gone so far as to bring his gift to the very altar, and should remember that anyone had anything against him, it was his duty there to leave his offering, and go and be reconciled. While a difference of this nature existed, his offering could not be acceptable. He was not to wait till the offended brother should come to him; he was to go and seek him out, and be reconciled. So now, the worship of God will not be acceptable, however well performed externally, until we are at peace with those that we have injured. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” He that comes to worship his Maker filled with malice, and hatred, and envy, and at war with his brethren, is a hypocritical worshipper, and must meet with God’s displeasure. God is not deceived; and he will not be mocked.

Thy gift. Thy sacrifice. What thou art about to devote to God as an offering.

To the altar. The altar was situated in front of the temple, see the representation on following page and was the place on which sacrifices were made. Cmt. on Mt 21:12. To bring a gift to the altar, was expressive of worshipping God, for this was the way in which he was formerly worshipped.

Thy brother. Any man, especially any fellow-worshipper. Any one of the same religious society.

Hath aught. Is offended, or thinks he has been injured by you in any manner:

First be reconciled. This means to settle the difficulty; to make proper acknowledgment, or satisfaction, for the injury. If you have wronged him, make restitution. If you owe him a debt which ought to be paid, pay it. If you have injured his character, confess it, and seek pardon. If he is under an erroneous impression; if your conduct has been such as to lead him to suspect that you have injured him, make an explanation. Do all in your power, and all you ought to do, to have the matter settled. From this we learn,

(1.) That in order to worship God acceptably, we must do justice to our fellow-men.
(2.) Our worship will not be acceptable, unless we do all we can to live peaceably with others.
(3.) It is our duty to seek reconciliation with others when we have injured them.
(4.) This should be done before we attempt to worship God.
(5.) This is often the reason why God does not accept our offerings, and we go empty away from our devotions. We do not do what we ought to others; we cherish improper feelings, or refuse to make proper acknowledgments, and God will not accept such attempts to worship him.”
~ Albert Barnes

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Today, are we avoiding seeking reconciliation with a brother or sister in Christ and thus missing out on the benefits of repentance?