p. 6 | The Measure of Forgiveness by W. W. FLETCHER

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 18, 1912

The Measure of Forgiveness

By W. W. FLETCHER

W. W. FLETCHER

“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Rom. 4:7, 8. The realization of this blessedness is in proportion to the sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. As liberty to the captive, sight to the blind, bread to the hungry, or water to the famished, so is the knowledge of sins forgiven to the repentant soul. And the blessedness proceeds from a knowledge of the character of Him of whom it is written that he will not impute sin.

A young woman studying for a degree in music is unmoved by adverse criticism from persons ignorant of that accomplishment, provided her work meets with the approbation of the best judge of music in the land. So the seeker after righteousness covets not the praise of the drunkard, or the worldling, nor is moved by his blame.

But the confidence and esteem of men that know righteousness is of great value to him. Even here, however, he finds not the blessedness spoken of, for the judgment of even good men is fallible, and their knowledge of one another limited. There is One who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” who can not “look on iniquity;” the Lord, that “searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” Who can measure the blessedness of the man upon whom the King of righteousness looks and sees no evil? Yet God has made this possible. He even offers it to, and urges it upon, men and women steeped in sin and condemnation. What a blessed exchange!

The depths of God’s forgiving love are unsearchable; yet the Scriptures clearly express certain well-defined characteristics of divine forgiveness that enable men to grasp somewhat of its meaning.

Eternal Silence

“None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him.” Eze. 33:16. The Holy Spirit speaks to men of their sins only to lead to repentance. When once the soul turns to God, the reproof ceases.

Eternally Unseen by God

“Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Isa. 38:17. The significance of this promise is that the Lord casts our sins out of his own sight. He sees no sin when he looks upon his people, not even when he looks over the past. Israel grieved him sorely in the wilderness; and yet when they turned to him, he covered the past as well as the present with these wonderful words, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.” Num. 23:21.

Eternally Hidden From Men

“Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19. Man’s perfect happiness depends in some measure upon his relations with his fellows. God will cast the sins of his people out of the sight of every created being. In the great ocean depths perpetual darkness reigns. Men have brought to the surface some of the creatures inhabiting the deep caverns of the sea, and, lo, they have no eyes. The Lord will place our sins where there are no eyes to look upon them. Even the eyes of the saints may not scan the books of heaven until first all forgiven sins are blotted out.

Eternally Forgotten

“Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Heb. 10:17. It is difficult for us to conceive that the One who knows the end from the beginning, can forget anything. But “hath he said, and shall he not do it”? Throughout the ages to come our miserable sins will have no existence even in the mind of the Infinite. O the blessedness of the assurance, and of the people to whom it is given!

Without this assurance, heaven itself would be of no value even though we should gain it. Eternal life would become worse than worthless to us had we still consciousness of sin. How supremely important then that we hold fast daily and hourly this blessed knowledge of sins forgiven.

The Blessing Lost

Vast and illimitable as is the storehouse of God’s forgiveness, there is still this proviso written over the doorway, “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you.” The Saviour who taught us to pray has put such words on our lips that we dare not even so much as ask to be forgiven one whit more than we have forgiven our brethren. “If ye forgive not, . . . neither will your Father forgive,” is the only comment Jesus offers on the Lord’s prayer.

If God has placed one golden rule in the hands of men by which their conduct one toward another must be regulated (Matt. 7:12), he has reserved another for himself to control the issues of the judgment (Matt. 7:2).

The righteousness of this reserve placed on the mercy of God was strikingly illustrated by the Lord Jesus in the parable of the debtors. Matt. 18:23-35. The man who, when loosed from a debt of ten thousand talents, had no mercy for the one that owed him a hundred pence, was delivered to the tormentors till he should pay all. Ten thousand talents of silver would be worth about $9,000,000. So great is the debt freely forgiven us of God by his infinite grace! A hundred pence at the same rate would amount to $15. So small in comparison are the wrongs and grievances we may be called upon to forgive our fellow men! To pay the former, should a man, working for the wages prevailing to-day, save and pay at the rate of $10 weekly, it would take 18,750 years to wipe out the debt. To pay the latter on the same basis would require ten days. The wrongs we may suffer from one another are but as the mote compared to the beam of our transgressions against our Heavenly Father.

But the lesson is not so much in the amount of the debt as in the measure of forgiveness. It is not “till seven times,” but “until seventy times seven.” Let us compare our measure with the divine standard before our own cases come up for judgment. For if the forgiveness we mete to others is not so full and free and abounding as what the Lord offers us, he will certainly mete to us again with our own measure. It may be we think in our souls we have forgiven others, but let us see if our mercy contains the elements of the divine forgiveness.

1. Silence. It is an awful thing for men to censure and criticize and comment on the faults and failings of souls who are seeking to be hid in God, speaking things that God himself has covenanted not to mention. This is but the first step in the divine forgiveness, and yet how many who ask the Lord for pardon will fail at this test. Is there not danger that the sins of such souls will be “proclaimed upon the housetops” at the last day?

2. Do not behold. Some will say, “We can not help seeing imperfections.” And yet the God of heaven beheld not iniquity in ancient Israel! It may be that if we would follow the Lord more implicitly in the first step, silence, our eyes would not be so sharp to discern what our lips have been trained not to utter concerning those seeking to walk with God.

3. Do not expose. True love will prompt us rather to hide a brother’s failings. Fear lest, failing in this, the Lord may in the end “lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee,” together with that great accuser of the brethren.

4. Do not remember. It is not easy for us to forget at will, but the first three steps faithfully persisted in will in the end erase a brother’s faults even from the memory. And the God who is able to remember no more will give the same grace to his children also. Forgiveness of this kind is not born of the carnal heart. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” “Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

Adelaide, South Australia.