The Bible has quite a bit to say about forgiveness and
unforgiveness. Perhaps the most well-known teaching on unforgiveness is Jesus’
parable of the unmerciful servant, recorded in Matthew 18:21-35. In the
parable, a king forgives an enormously large debt (basically one that could
never be repaid) of one of his servants. Later, however, that same servant
refuses to forgive the small debt of another man. The king hears about this and
rescinds his prior forgiveness. Jesus concludes by saying, “This is how my
heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or
sister from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). Other passages tell us that we will be
forgiven as we forgive (see Matthew 6:14; 7:2; and Luke 6:37, for example).
Do not be confused here; God’s forgiveness is not based on
our works. Forgiveness and salvation are founded completely in the person of
God and by Jesus’ redeeming work on the cross. However, our actions demonstrate
our faith and the extent to which we understand God’s grace (see James 2:14-26
and Luke 7:47). We are completely unworthy, yet Jesus chose to pay the price
for our sins and to give us forgiveness (Romans 5:8). When we truly grasp the
greatness of God’s gift to us, we will pass the gift along. We have been given
grace and should give grace to others in return. In the parable, we are
appalled at the servant who would not forgive a minor debt after having been
forgiven his unpayable debt. Yet, when we are unforgiving, we act just as the
servant in the parable.
