September 4, 2026
Friday, September 4
We’ve learned this week that forgiveness isn’t looking at the person who hurt you with “Grandma eyes,” willfully ignoring the wrong. It’s identifying with them as a fellow sinner. It’s absorbing the real cost of what they did, by choosing not to pursue vengeance or retribution. But there’s one more aspect of forgiveness that we see in Jesus’ story in Matthew 18:
Liberate them from guilt. The King in the story felt pity for the man, canceled his debt, and then set him free. When we forgive someone who has hurt us, what we’re saying is, “This is over for me. I will never mention it again. I won’t hold it against you. You are free.”
Liberating them from guilt leaves the door open for reconciliation in the future. Reconciliation is often more complicated than forgiveness. It only takes one to forgive, but reconciliation means both parties must take responsibility. And there are important questions to ask, such as, “To what extent can I trust you now? Will our relationship be like it was before, or will there need to be guardrails to keep you from hurting me again? Should there be some consequences that keep you from doing this to others?”
Taking one of our examples from yesterday, if I accidentally burned down your house, you could forgive me, but you probably won’t let me stay at your house unsupervised anymore. To cite a more painful example, if someone abuses you, you should get away from them, period. Forgiveness does not mean that you allow them to continue to abuse you, or that you refuse to file charges, and allow them to hurt someone else. Forgiveness simply means you aren’t seeking retribution. You want good for them, not evil. We’ll talk in more detail about this later in the series.
But for now, let me simply say this: Even if a crime has been committed, and justice is required, you are still commanded to forgive. Otherwise, you’re not really pursuing justice; you’re seeking vengeance. Until you can honestly say, “I am a sinner just like you. I want nothing bad for you, but only good. And I won’t hold this over your head,” you’re not ready to pursue real justice.
Tomorrow, we’ll read a real-life story of such forgiveness. But the greatest such story is the one that took place in your heart when Christ saved your soul. He completely absorbed the cost of your sin, and set you free from your guilt. That doesn’t spare you from earthly consequences of bad decisions. In fact, He sometimes uses those to discipline you, to help you grow into His image. But He will never—repeat, NEVER—remind you of your past failures. They are gone, nailed to the cross, and you are free.
“Lord, how marvelous, how wonderful is your love for me. The forgiveness you’ve purchased for me is beyond what I can ever thank you for. So help me to set others free of their guilt, as you have done for me. In your name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
