What It Means to be Forgiven

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 ESV). She was one of England’s best-known novelists and secular humanists. Shortly before she died in 1988, in what John Stott calls a "moment of surprising candor," Marghanita Laski said this on television: "What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me." The fundamental principle behind the biblical notion of forgiveness is letting go. It is as if a huge policeman chased you down, caught you securely by your collar, and turned you around. Looking into each other’s eyes, with you scared to death and him firmly in charge, he smiles and says, "I’m letting you go. Try not to do that again." Another part of forgiveness is pardon. This time you need to imagine that things have gone much farther than in the scene above. You have been caught, tried, and found guilty. Then you’ve had the book thrown at you. You are on death row, sentenced to die, and waiting for the dawn of your final day You hear the ring of footsteps and are gripped with the terror that you are about to be led to your death. When the steps end at your cell door, the warden smiles and says, "You have been pardoned. You are free to leave whenever you wish." More realistically for most of us, perhaps, is the idea of having someone remit or cancel a debt. Suppose your MasterCard statement comes by mail tomorrow. "Oh, no!" you think to yourself. "This has been a tough month, and I can’t even make the minimum payment." So you open the bill only to see "Paid in Full" stamped in red across it. There is a note saying you are the lucky winner in a random drawing that pays someone’s bill in its entirely each month. Your face breaks into a broad grin, and the weight of the world is lifted from your shoulders. Roll all these notions together in one word, and it comes out forgiven. God has paid your debt with his own funds. He had you "red-handed" and chose to let you go. He has come onto death row with a pardon in hand and announced that you can go free. Pity the person with no one to forgive her. If you are forgiven, celebrate your good fortune and tell others the wonderful name of your benefactor.