Illustrating Forgiveness: Understanding Biblical Forgiveness and Reconciliation

By Bill Ricksecker

This book illustrates a deeper understanding of biblical forgiveness and reconciliation by going through the bible both Old and New Testament explaining various passages of scripture with real people who experienced real issues in a real point of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664273627

Bill Ricksecker

Bill an aspiring writer that has studied under the teachings of John MacArthur, RC Sproul, Steven Lawson and the like since 2018. He currently holds his Bachelors of Divinity from Christian Leaders Institute and plans to proceed later on into his MDiv. as he continues his ministry journey.

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Copyright © 2022 Bill Ricksecker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7363-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7364-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7362-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022913647

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/04/2022

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Selflessness of Forgiveness

Self-Healing

The Father

The Friend

The Brothers

Reflection

Chapter 2: The Greatness of a Child

Whoever Receives Me

Related to Christ

Receive Me

To Drowned in the Depths

Reflection

Chapter 3: Rescuing the Sheep

Reflection

Chapter 4: Restoring the Sheep

Bring in the Witness

Bring It to the Church

Where Two or Three Gather

Reflection

Chapter 5: Pardoning Sin

Reflection

Chapter 6: Removing the Unrepentant

Sin in the Church

Judge the Church

Reflection

Chapter 7: The Runaway Slave

The Letter

Reflection

Chapter 8: The Condition of Forgiveness

Divine Forgiveness

Horizontal Forgiveness

Chapter 9: Additional Resources

Common Questions

Closing Thoughts

Study Resources

To all the hurt and brokenhearted who desire restoration

To those who seek to restore relationships

To the Christian who desires to live faithfully in love for our Lord Jesus Christ and bring Him honor

INTRODUCTION

In my first book, Desperation of Doctrinal Reformation, I discussed some common ideas the Christian Church has come to believe, all of which can be dangerous to the Christian faith when not properly understood. I also discussed the concept of forgiveness, which may have raised some questions or left other questions unanswered. In this book, I hope to resolve those concerns and questions.

This book’s focus will be on various passages that speak on forgiveness. We can find a number of passages throughout the scriptures to help support the claims and give further illustration of restoration and redemption. As you read this book, I encourage you to use your own Bible as a personal guide.

I shared in Desperation of Doctrinal Reformation that I had a moment in my life when I struggled with what forgiveness truly looks like, which led to a study of the topic. What does it look like? Could I be wrong? I had a battle within to correct myself of my wrong and perhaps sinful understanding. I struggled throughout my studies on the issue, trying to get out of that mindset and into a right frame of mind that aligned with what was being argued with me. I could not win that fight. I concluded that forgiveness was, in fact, something that is unconditionally available but conditionally given.

In this book, I will share what I have learned and provide an in-depth and exhaustive teaching of how and why we must relearn what forgiveness is. What does the Bible say and show us about forgiveness?

I do not argue that Christians should not forgive others; rather, I will discuss what that forgiveness truly looks like. What is the process? Is it more for ourselves or for the sake of others?

You may believe that we should always forgive unconditionally and that it is for self-healing, while someone else may believe that we forgive for the sake of others. You may believe that God forgives us from the beginning, while others may say that we are forgiven only after we repent. Ultimately, this debate depends on how we look at forgiveness. Are we basing forgiveness on God’s timetable or humankind’s?

I am comforted by knowing that two men who disagreed remained good friends—Pastor John MacArthur holds to a self healing view,, while his late friend R. C. Sproul (1939–2017) held to the sake of others view. Both men had Reformed or Calvinistic views on scripture, and both men worked together faithfully in ministry for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While they may have disagreed with each other’s view on the issue of forgiveness, they were able to agree that the Christian should always have a heart that is ready and willing to forgive the offender.

I hope that you find as much joy in reading this book as I have writing it. May the Lord open your heart to a deeper understanding of forgiveness and the great value it holds.

CHAPTER 1

Selflessness of Forgiveness

A heart without forgiveness is a heart without love.

M ost of us have heard such a statement, or perhaps we have spoken similar words ourselves. If we were to discuss the topic of forgiveness, we might begin by saying something such as, We must forgive as the Lord has forgiven us, Jesus on the cross showed an act of forgiveness to those who have not repented, or We must forgive out of love for them and to prevent ourselves from becoming hard-hearted.

I heard all these arguments when others explained that forgiveness is to be unconditional.

Father, forgive them. These words ring loudly every time we speak about forgiveness. In Luke 23, we see Jesus’s compassion on the cross as He is being crucified. The men at the foot of the cross are guilty of the most unthinkable crime ever committed—the murder of God Himself. If God in flesh, the prophesied Savior from the shoot of Jessie, could be so bold as to forgive the people as the crime of the century was being committed, how can we possibly hold any sins against others? We have no right to hold anything against anyone, if this is the standard. Did Jesus forgive them right then?

As Jesus looked down from the cross, He saw such a wretched and ignorant lot of people—a scene so heartbreaking that it caused Him to pray to the Father on His own deathbed. The Roman soldiers were gambling off His clothes (John 19:23–24). Criminals to His left and right, both suffering the gruesome agony on the cross, found the strength to criticize Him (Matthew 27:44). The religious leaders mocked Him (Matthew 27:39).

That is not all—the same people who, just a few days ago, had heralded Him as the prophesied King now joined in with blasphemy as well (Matthew 27:39). If anyone in the world should have been unworthy of the Lord’s compassion, it should have been this bunch who stood at the foot of the cross.

The words Jesus spoke were an expression of compassion. This does not mean that everyone was forgiven unilaterally and without repentance, but this does show that the Son of Man was willing to extend forgiveness to them. His compassionate love was on display for the worst of sinners. Forgiveness was the reason He was on the cross. These words, Father, forgive them, show the merciful heart for those who would repent.

Connected with the willingness to forgive His persecutors was that they had no idea what they were doing. The sinners who were guilty of putting Jesus on the cross were ignorant of the consequences of their actions—clueless, blind, and mute. They also had seen people like Jesus before. Theudas was a man who attempted to lead a revolt against Judea. Likewise, Judas, a Galilean, rose up during the time of the census in 6–7 BC. Both of these men had a handful of followers, all of whom scattered after their deaths (Acts 5:37).

To the Romans, this new movement was nothing more than a pagan religion, just like all the other religions they’d had to deal with in the past. Jesus was a radical who made a mess of the system they had in place. He was nothing more than a leader of some uprising who had to be stopped. These Roman soldiers had nothing against Jesus personally; they were simply men who were following orders. The flogging, harsh mockery, and hanging on the cross was routine for them for the guilty. In their understanding, they believed that Jesus was in the same rank as the previous rebellions. He was nothing special.

The cry Jesus sent out does not mean these men were forgiven immediately. Jesus never said, I forgive you, for the immediate sin being committed. Rather, He knew that He would be buried in a tomb, and His divine schedule would demand that He speak to His disciples and other followers following His Resurrection, after which Jesus would ascend into the heavens to sit at the right hand of the Father. Did Jesus have time to speak to the soldiers? Possibly. Did this happen? We do not have any records that confirm or deny that idea.

Jesus lived His life and ministry on earth doing the will of the Father. None of it was of His own accord (John 6:38). Even in His last hours on the cross, He was within the Father’s will. He was both 100 percent man and 100 percent God, for only God can save us of our sins, and only a man can die. Erwin Lutzer, in his book Cries from the Cross, explains that although Jesus exercised His divinity by forgiving others throughout His entire three years of ministry, when He was on the cross:

He refused the role of deity. He was God to be sure, but chose to suspend His divine rights. He so completely identified with us that He temporarily withdrew Himself from a position of authority.¹

At that moment, Jesus had chosen to withhold any divine authority to forgive their sins. He may have had that divine right, but rather than saying, I forgive you, He asked the Father to forgive them. He didn’t just carry the sins of the saints of the past but also of the present and future saints to come.

On a spiritual level, Jesus was the most sinful, disgusting wretch you would ever find. So filthy was He that the Father, in His glorious perfection, could not bear to look at Him (Matthew 27:46). The Greek word for forsaken (egkataleipō) means to totally abandon. At that moment, Jesus was left helpless and alone, taking the full punishment of those who rightfully deserved it. There was no love from the Father for Him. Jesus took the full weight of the wrath of God.

Were they forgiven? As the crucifixion continued, and through the events that would begin in the early church we see evidence of this. The evidence does not support the idea that all people have been forgiven at every point in time but that if and when they repent of their sins, then