“For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you . . . ” Matthew 6:14, TLV

One of the Scary Verses.   Jesus said some scary things. Scary because they hold us accountable for our own actions. They might, on the surface, seem counterintuitive to who we believe our Messiah to be because they seem harsh, but they are necessary.

Today’s verse is the gentle reminder, but the scary, accountable bit follows:

“But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:15, TLV

Does that really mean if we don’t forgive the horrible offenses and sins others commit against us and against those we love or care about, our Father won’t forgive us?

Yes.

See what I mean by scary?

If you’ve followed my blogs over the years, you know that forgiveness has nothing to do with wanting to forgive someone, it has to do with obedience and choice. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean we treat the sin lightly, on the contrary, forgiveness is counting the cost — a great cost. We don’t offer forgiveness because someone asks for it first — or ever repents and asks for it. Always, forgiveness is not holding ourselves as judge over another’s soul, especially since that’s not our job.

Forgiveness does not mean we condone the sin. When we forgive, it does not always mean we return to a close fellowship — if only that were true. After we forgive we may not feel anything, and we may have to forgive in layers like an onion because the wounds are so deep. Keep forgiving and the healing will come.

Remember, before we ever repented and asked for forgiveness, our Father sent Yeshua to atone for our sins. How can we not make the choice to forgive another? He’ll give us the strength to continue to walk forgiveness through — difficult though it may be. But, it is worth the freedom, my friends. Let it go and forgive.

Yom Kippur — Day of Atonement

Today, many are preparing to observe Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement. Repentance and forgiveness play an important role because it is the second arm of the feast. The first arm? Atonement. Which literally means covering, as in covering our sin. Our repentance and reflection on our struggles with certain sins reminds us of the cost for that atonement — our Messiah’s sacrificial death on the cross (Leviticus 16; Hebrews 4; 9; 10). Our forgiveness for others’ sins against us is commanded by Yeshua as we see in these verses.

Whether you observe this Biblical feast or not, we are challenged to repent for our forgiveness and forgives so that we might receive forgiveness.

Even though this is a scary verse, it is also a freedom verse. Freedom from bitterness, pride, and torment. I guess that’s not so scary.

G’mar chatimah tovah (גְּמַר חַתִימָה טוֹבָה), “a good and final sealing,” in The Lamb’s Book of Life.