By Bob Barney-The Plain Truth
Suppose you owned a very valuable automobile, and someone comes in and steals it. Then your next-door neighbor catches that person and calls the police. The policeman shows up and asks the person who robbed and crashed your beautiful car, “are you sorry?"
The thief responds to the officer, “yes, I am". The officer arrests the man and goes to court and testifying on behalf of the man says he has personally forgiven the man for the crime and asks the judge to do the same. Since the judge being a fine Christian, sees the sincerity in the criminal, also forgives the person and lets the person go.
Now you are out of a car that was destroyed, and you have now had a situation where someone who's done you harm gets off Scot free because he has been forgiven in the name of the goodness in God.
A person comes in and robs your house, rapes and kills your wife and children and then gets apprehended by the police leaving your home covered in your family's blood. Now, your focus is on being a very good Christian, and you decide to forgive the animal that did all this. You then go to court, and you ask the judge and God to forgive the person for the crime he has done against your wife and your children. The press reports the situation as if you are some sort of saint! In this example, yes, by societies standards, you have practiced real Christianity to have forgiven the person who has harmed your family!
You feel great about yourself, and others marvel at your faith and courage – but how will that go down with your wife and family in the next life? Do you think they will think you had the right to forgive what happened TO THEM?
You may think that the above cases that I just used our little absurd, and granted I agree they are. However, those cases are exactly what mainstream Christianity tries to force feed its population of what to adhere to. We are told we are to forgive others their sins. Believe it or not, nowhere in the Bible – nor from the word of God or Jesus Christ, are we told to forgive people that sin against other people. There are examples that Jesus gave us to forgive those who sin against us. We have the right to ask God to forgive for someone who harms us, but we do not have the right to forgive people that harm others. It is simply not our right to do so.
The simple plain truth on the topic of forgiveness is this: Only God can forgive sins. We cannot forgive sins. We have the right, and maybe the obligation to ask God to forgive those who sin against us; however, we have no right to ask God to forgive the sins of those who have harmed others – loved ones or not. Yet this is exactly what we are told we are to do.
Brace yourself for this truth…The Bible says that to forgive people of their sins yourself is blasphemy! You don't have the right to forgive sins, a Catholic priest does not have the right to forgive sins, nor the Pope! Only God can forgive sins… All you can do is ask God to forgive those who sin against you, not others. Here are some quotes, and brief explanations from the Bible:
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
Matt. 9:9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
The simple fact is that the scribes knew the law. They knew what blasphemy was, what they didn't know is that Jesus was God and only God can forgive sins.
Here is Jesus' famous little primer on proper prayer. It's found in Matthew Chapter 6:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. (Notice the Kingdom of God will be on earth!)
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us. (Notice not for sins against others!)
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
How did the Apostles forgive sins after Jesus was gone, did they forgive peoples sins and heal them? In Acts Chapter 3, we read:
3 Peter and John were going to the Temple courtyard for the three o’clock prayer. 2 At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard. 3 When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout.
4 Peter and John stared at him. “Look at us!” Peter said. 5 So the man watched them closely. He expected to receive something from them. 6 However, Peter said to him, “I don’t have any money, but I’ll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!” 7 Peter took hold of the man’s right hand and began to help him up. Immediately, the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 Springing to his feet, he stood up and started to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyard. The man was walking, jumping, and praising God.
Did you notice the apostles forgiving the man, as Jesus did? The simple answer is no, they did not because they understood the truth is that God alone forgives sins. We have the right, and yes, the duty to forgive those who sin against us, but not those who sin against others. The best one can say would be, “May God forgive you for the crimes you have done against others,” but you do not have the right to do so. In fact, doing so is blasphemy.
One last point. God does allow us to collectively or singularly ask for the forgiveness of others who have WRONGED GOD, but not other people other than ourselves. We see examples of Moses praying for the sin of the people against God to be blotted away. God can, and often do this – we are not to try and do the same. Moses never forgave the people himself but asked to do so.
Exodus 32:30
Moses Begs the Lord to Spare the People
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a serious sin. Now I will go up the mountain to the Lord. Maybe I will be able to make a payment for your sin and make peace with the Lord for your sin.”
Don't be fooled by others to conform to a Christianity that is really paganism and satanism in the disguise of Christ and God! Read the Bible from cover to cover and learn what it says to do. Follow those words that you read, they are from God and not from men, and you will be shocked to learn The Plain Truth that will set you free from the shackles of so-called “Christianity!"
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The point needs more depth – see below.
John 20:23
If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Again, this does not mean you have the right to forgive every sin. Do you read this verse that the church has the right to forgive the sins against the devil? Do we have the right to judge God, and ask God in prayer to spare the Devil from eternal punishment? The comment applies to those sins we are able to forgive – which again the definition is found in the Bible: Jesus DID NOT DISPUTE: Luke 5:21. The sin of blasphemy. “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
Jesus also said concerning blasphemy: Mat 12:31
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
So we can over rule God and forgive the unforgiveable sin?
Going on with this; Jer:15 (Remember the LORD here speaking is Jesus) Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!
And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says:
“‘Those who are destined for death, to death;
those who are destined for war, to war;
those who are destined for famine, to famine;
those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
God has given us the ability to forgive all sins, against US. Perhaps even the sins against other members of the church (yet I see no where that this is the case). In Luke we are instructed to forgive sins against us:
“and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation”
Jer 18:23 ——- “LORD, you know all about their murderous plots against me.
Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins.
Let them die before you.
Deal with them in your anger.”
I guess Jeremiah missed the forgiveness thing…. OR, according to the original statement “what we forgive on earth is forgiving in heaven,”…. The rest is what we don’t forgive WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN… It seems that God allows us NOT to forgive some?????