Forgiveness and Our Position in Christ

By Justin Lonas

To err is human; to forgive, divine,” so the saying goes. There is much truth in that. Christ’s atonement on the cross is the supreme example of forgiveness—the intrusion of God’s love into a sinful world. Through the Spirit, believers are able to reflect God’s forgiveness to those around us. Too often, however, the church is a place of dissent and division rather than the representation of Himself which Christ called us to be. If we are to be a unified body that glorifies God and works for His purposes, we must be a people of forgiveness.

Scripture explicitly commands forgiveness (Matt. 18:21-35, Eph. 4:32, etc.), but, more than that, it describes it as an implicit theme of our life together as believers. If a church cannot practice restorative forgiveness among its members, there is precious little that will distinguish it from the surrounding world.