Greg Boyd calls our attention to the importance of forgiving one another. This practice plays a significant role in our call to live as God’s covenant community. We have received God’s “all-forgiven reality,” and now we are to emulate the love of Christ on the cross and extend this new reality to all.
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All Is Forgiven
• Greg Boyd
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In this last sermon of the Better Together series, Greg Boyd addresses the crucial role that forgiveness plays in our relationships. The call to forgive one another is rooted in God’s complete and total forgiveness of us. Jesus cried out on the cross for the Father to forgive his tormentors and executioners. This prayer for those directly doing him harm is also a prayer for the entire world, as Christ died for all. Paul expounds upon the death and forgiveness of Christ when he writes, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in a new all-is-forgiven reality. All the sin that enslaved us to the Powers has been eradicated, and all the sin that the Enemy accused us with has been abolished.
As ambassadors of this new reality, we represent God’s forgiveness on the cross. Our commission is to announce that God in Christ no longer holds sin against anyone. It is important to recognize that being forgiven is not the same as being reconciled. Forgiveness is about releasing someone from a debt, while reconciliation involves the offending person accepting this forgiveness.
Greg offers us four things to remember as we relate to one another in Christ’s forgiveness:
- Remember what you have been forgiven. C.S. Lewis said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable in others, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” This is illustrated in Jesus’ parable about forgiveness found in Matthew 18. There is no limit to how much you should forgive because however much you forgive others, God has forgiven you much more. The church is to be a community of people who are aware they’ve been forgiven an unpayable debt and are thus willing to forgive others without limit.
- Remember that forgiveness is the only way to be set free. Holding on to unforgiveness may feel empowering, but it is a trap, putting you into bondage to the other person. Nelson Mandela once said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” You think you’re hurting the other with your resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness, but it pollutes and corrupts you soul. This is why Lewis Smedes said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
- Remember that forgiveness is only about releasing a debt. Many are hesitant to forgive because they equate forgiveness with discounting the evil that was done. A terrible act is still a terrible act. Forgiveness is not an assessment of what another has done or a minimizing of the harm that resulted. Their actions may very well be horrible and inexcusable. It just means releasing the hold that their actions have upon you and letting God deal with all matters of injustice.
- Remember that Jesus can heal all wounds. Unforgiveness tethers you to the evil done to you to the point that you cannot move forward. That evil then continues to have power over you, even though the one who caused the harm may be out of your life. Forgiveness makes space for the Spirit to heal these hidden memories so that they no longer have power to influence your life.
We traverse the path of “better together” as we consciously choose to forgive. It’s not a one-time choice. It’s a relationship practice that will bind us together in love and teach us the ways of Christ.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Relationships
Sermon Series: Wholehearted, Better Together
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The MuseCast: May 19
Focus Scripture:
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Matthew 18:21-22
“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
