← Back to sermon library

Okay, next question. Can you 
forgive someone who has not apologized or asked for forgiveness? Yes, yes. Now we would all like 
to think that if someone wronged us, that they would come to us 
and apologize, because that's how it should function and how 
it should happen. Just like if we've wronged someone, 
we should go to them and apologize, but that doesn't always happen. And I think there is a New Testament 
text that does speak to this. I also have an Old Testament 
example as well, but in Mark chapter 11, as Jesus is teaching 
on the lesson of the fig tree after it is withered, he's just 
cleansed the temple. He does say in verse 25, and 
when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, 
forgive him. And so the implication there 
is you're in the middle of worship. You think of somebody who's got 
something against you and who sinned against you, and you just, 
you need to forgive them in that moment. I don't know if that 
means you have to be the bestest buddy with them again, but certainly 
we ought to forgive because we have been forgiven much. And 
I'm sure there's a myriad of sins I've not asked for forgiveness 
for, and God has forgiven me of those. And I think Judges, 
I think it's Judges 13 highlights this, as Israel continues in 
their cycle of Sod, their sin, their oppression, and then God 
delivers them. We see that typically they cry out to God for deliverance, 
but just as Samson's about to come on the scene, we see they 
don't do that. and God raised up a deliver anyway to save them. 
And so, like I said, we should, if we've sinned against someone, 
go ask for forgiveness. We should be able to own our 
sins and be able to say we're sorry, just like we would want 
other people to do that as well. But if someone doesn't, there 
is some sort of, there is some biblical warrant for forgiving 
them if they don't do that. Yeah, as I say, the alternative 
is holding on to bitterness and hatred and anger. And that's, 
that's no good either. It's unhealthy and just wrong. It's hard. It's hard to forgive. 
I understand. It's hard. It's easy to hold 
on to those. But you feel better afterwards. Yeah. I think that's 
a good illustration for the interpersonal dynamics that Christians find 
themselves in. I would make a distinction in 
terms of crime. If somebody rapes my wife and 
doesn't ask for forgiveness, I need to guard against bitterness. 
I need to guard against a vigilantism, but there's a breach, a serious 
breach, and he demands, or I believe it is demanded that he's be punished 
for that. So I would wanna make sure that 
we, we locate where we're at in terms of if I cut you off 
on the way into church, and I don't repent, I hope you forgive me, 
but if you are a criminal in society and you violate my person 
or people that I love, I don't feel that it's right to do, well, 
I just forgive everybody. Well, no, I think there's consequences 
or there should be consequences. for, you know, criminal activity. So, the Christian insistence 
on forgiveness is not at odds with a demand for civic righteousness. We don't suspend, you know, large 
portions of God's Word because we just need to forgive. I think 
that has been used against Christians. Well, you just need to forgive. 
What do you mean forgive? They brutalized my entire family. I do need to guard, as I said, 
against bitterness and vigilantism. And this is why I think we should 
have a robust civil magistrate. I shouldn't wanna go out and 
punish criminals. The civil government should do that. And so when you 
look at a society like ours where crime is rampant, where prosecutions 
and punishments are very lightweight, people get vexed. The absence 
of justice and the absence of righteousness provokes people. And so within our community, 
we forgive even if we don't repent. Outside of our community in terms 
of the civil arena, yeah, if somebody commits a crime, they 
should be punished for that crime. And I think it's perfectly consistent. 
If the criminal is on death row and I go visit him and he says, 
please forgive me, I'll forgive you. But you've still got to 
pay the price. That's just, you know, part of 
living in God's world. Yeah. And I'm thinking of some 
of these stories like Voice of the Martyrs, other places where 
wives have had their husbands killed brutally by Muslims or 
whatever, but they forgive and it's that that was a witness 
and brought more people to Christ. Yeah. By completely, instantly, 
completely forgiving. Amen.