Introduction
Christianity is defined by understanding and adherence to the theological teachings and concepts. The Bible is the universally accepted foundation of the Christian values, upon which all theological concepts are based. One important concept of Christian living that occurs across the entire spectrum of the Bible is forgiveness. The debate on the nature of human vs divine forgiveness has been part of many theological scriptures (Bash, 2015). As Alexander Pope asserted that “To err is to human, to forgive is divine,” it is important to evaluate the applications and implications of forgiveness to the Christian life.
Forgiveness Definition
According to Bash (2015), the theological definition of forgiveness is the giving up of hurt caused by one’s transgression and the restoration of the relationship between the offender and the offended. Forgiveness is the heart of Christian ethics and the embodiment of the Biblical teachings to the Christian life. Divine forgiveness is the restoration of the relationship between humans and God following offence against God’s holiness and teachings. The divine character of forgiveness is founded on compassion and grace, being slow to anger, and steadfast love and mercy. Theological readings describe God as being lenient towards his people and do not regard them as sinners. The virtue of forgives is described as a character trait, with which forgiving persons view their offenders. Apostle Paul described this view as the “eyes of the heart”. Both divine and human forgiveness require the eyes of the heart to see beyond the offence of their transgressors.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Biblical Foundation for Forgiveness
Both the Old and New Testaments depict divine and earthly forgiveness in various aspects. God’s attribute of being merciful forms the foundation of forgiveness in the Christian life (Bash, 2015). God is depicted as being lenient towards his people, compassionate and willing to forgive their wickedness. During the Exodus, God made a covenant with his people, in which the people of Israel were expected to do everything by the covenant, including worshipping only him (God) as their Father who had delivered them from the bondage in Egypt. However, the Israelites transgressed a turned to idol worship prompting God’s wrath. God instead forgave the people and made another covenant with them (Exod 24:1-8) that was later renewed the next generation of Israelites 40 years later (Deut. 27-30). In some instances, God has shown more leniency than he perhaps should, forgiving individuals with grave transgressions. He forgave David for taking Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and orchestrating the death of Uriah (2 Sam 11). The New Testament teachings are rooted in two central themes, forgiveness and love. God’s love for humankind is demonstrated by his forgiveness of their sins through the death of his son Jesus Christ.
Practical Application of Forgiveness
In real life practice, forgiveness is the promise or the decision to relieve oneself of the burden of anger or grudge due to someone else’s offence, by releasing the person of their mistake of cancelling their debt. Sin is that bad and accords an eternal punishment from God, was it not for his forgiveness through the death of Jesus Christ. Similarly, forgiveness is the barrier to punishing someone for their negative actions. In the day to day life, people offend others in various ways. A trusted friend, for example, may break the trust by stealing valuable items. A husband/wife may commit adultery and cheat on their partner. A country may invade and attack the citizens of a neighbouring country without any due cause. All these actions among others warrant condemnation, retaliation and punishment from those offended. In life, however, people may choose to forgive the offences committed against them. Retaliations would certainly lead to broken relationships had it not been for forgiveness.
Conclusion
Theological teachings encourage forgiveness among Christians as the virtue is the heart of Christian teachings. According to the scriptures, forgiveness may be divine or earthly, both of which are founded on the Biblical concepts of leniency, mercy, the will to forgive, and having an “eye of the heart” towards the offenders. God showed his mercy and forgiveness to his people, both at as a nation and individual level, in various ways. It is, therefore, the responsibility of Christians to extend the hand of forgiveness t their neighbours, regardless of the transgression committed against them.
References
Bash, A. (2015). Forgiveness: A Theology (Vol. 19). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
