Years ago, though I do not remember exactly when and where, I heard a definition of grace that would cement itself into my memory. That definition stated, “Grace is the unmerited favor of God.” Grace is the action of God extending His favor in spite of the fact that our behavior had not merited said favor. Grace is very simply God giving to us what we do not deserve. While we certainly understand what it means to receive grace, there yet remains a more challenging concept of grace within the Christian life: how do we extend grace to others? How do we extend unmerited favor to others just as God has to us?
Among several practical answers to this question, I believe forgiveness is perhaps near the top of the pile for Christians to examine. We have all experienced injustice, mistreatment, and offences against us. Because these issues are common experiences that we all share, the spiritual dilemma of forgiveness is likewise a common experience. Is it fair to call forgiveness a spiritual dilemma? In order to examine forgiveness in this way, I believe it is necessary to compare the nature of forgiveness to the nature of grace. Since no one questions the importance of grace in the life of the believer, and because Christ emphasized the value of forgiveness personally (Matt. 6:14-15), it is logically demanded that we understand how grace and forgiveness are interwoven.
Forgiveness happens when a person relinquishes their right for vengeance for an injustice done to them and extends a pardon for the offence to the offender. In some sense, forgiveness is a transfer of power to God as the primary administer of justice when I might be justified to retaliate. To forgive another’s offence is to exchange the chains of anger and bitterness for the freedom of peace. Perhaps most importantly, forgiveness is not dependent on the offender’s penitence. It is extended not conditionally for the benefit of the offender, but independently for the benefit of both the offender and the offended. One might say then, forgiveness is an unmerited expression of pardon. Is this not what grace is to us? God extends His grace out of love for us and in spite of our offenses. As Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matt. 6:14). In salvation, a person experiences the grace and forgiveness of God simultaneously. In forgiveness to others, we both experience God’s grace more deeply as well as becoming a channel for others to experience God’s grace through us. In summary, grace is what God gives us because He is good. Forgiveness is what we give others because God is good.
Written by Pastor Clay Cloud