Some Restrictions Apply

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

In response to Colossians 3:13 being posted on the social media page of a Bible App, I wrote, "Past tense. We were forgiven of all our sins at the cross. There are now no more sins to sacrifice for, seek forgiveness for, or that separate us from God. It is finished. We now forgive others with the forgiveness we have received from our God." As is the case with the open forum of social media, someone took the opportunity to "contribute" to what I wrote. They replied to me by saying, "... and forgiveness is a command, not a choice. Although offenses take many different turns, we as followers of Jesus Christ, forgive our offender and often live with the scars and the hurt, until we can "release it all," to our Savior the best we can, and He can heal our scars if He chooses to! God is Sovereign. He knows it all, from the beginning to the end. Amen! Alleluia!" Most people may just gloss over these comments as being supportive of what I said. However, what I see are the signs of legalism popping up in what was shared. They wrote, "forgiveness is a command, not a choice." This tells me that they are under the law. If you are commanded to do something and don't have a choice as to whether or not you obey that command, then there must be some penalty for disobedience. Furthermore, a command implies that this is directed at a person's flesh and not their heart. They continue with we "live with the scars and the hurt until we can "release it all," to our Savior the best we can ..." To me, this is not someone who appears to ever have found any rest in their soul regarding those who have hurt them. It makes it seem that God is punishing them for being hurt. It is like saying to them, "You have been hurt. Now, go forgive that person for hurting and bear the burden of the pain they have caused you for as long as you can." Where is the love of God? Where is casting your cares on Him? Where is His light burden? But, worst of all is the last part where they say that God "can heal our scars if He chooses!" If He chooses? I know that God told Paul that His grace is sufficient. However, this comment makes it seem like God wants us to suffer or to meet some condition before He relieves us of our suffering. We are too quick to forget that God no longer remembers our sins against Him any longer. If He did remember them then something will eventually have to be done about them. However, we know that the Bible reminds us that when Jesus Christ returns He "will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28)." God doesn't deal with our sins any longer so we don't have to deal with the sins of those who have sinned against us.

Yes, sins have consequences for us in this life, but that doesn't mean that we are obligated to carry the burden of that sin in our heart until God chooses to "release" us from the heartache. Forgiveness of sins is unconditional. Nowhere in the New Covenant do you see God putting conditions on His forgiveness. That is why Colossians 3:13 says to "forgive as God forgave you." We forgive others with the forgiveness that God has provided to us. That doesn't mean it is easy, but it is possible and it is available. Do you remember when you were a kid and you received a gift? The instructions would often say, "Some Restrictions Apply." That meant that the product you received could only be used a certain way, that you may have to assemble it before using it, or purchase batteries separately. In other words, the product had conditions that had to be met prior to its use. There are no such restrictions with the forgiveness of God. If we are commanded to do anything it is by the Apostle Paul who said for us to "be reconciled" to God. This person I encountered appears to not be reconciled to God; still believing that forgiveness is conditional and that there is something they must first do to experience full reconciliation. This is just a lie. It was with this thought in mind that I responded with the following: "For me, forgiveness is not a command because a command is synonymous with law and I am not under the law. Forgiveness is a fruit of the Spirit. God has forgiven me and now I forgive others with the forgiveness He has provided me in His love. Love is the fulfillment of the law and keeps no record of wrongs. I don't forgive because I'm commanded to do so. I forgive because I want to do it." When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, He comes to live in you. This life He gives to us is the very life of God that meets the deepest desires of our hearts. One of those desires is the desire to be unconditionally loved. Only God can love us like we require because that is the way He designed us to be. One of the attributes of His love is forgiveness. The neverending quest we have to find love, acceptance, meaning, and purpose to our lives has led us to more failures and more people failing us in an effort to get those same desires met in us. It is in those failures that we sin and are sinned against. But, nothing compares to the sin of rejecting God. Yet, in His love, God has restored us to Himself in Christ Jesus. When you realize how much you have been forgiven you will discover that one of the things you want to do is share that with others. There are no restrictions with His love and forgiveness. There need not be any to apply with those people we encounter in our daily lives who sin against us.