Forgive and Forget. Is that found in the Bible? Are we really expected to wipe the slate clean every time we forgive someone? When someone does you wrong, you have a Biblical responsibility to offer forgiveness, but does that require us to forget about the offense forevermore? As Jesus taught in both parables, through the Lord’s Prayer and through direct examples, the forgiveness we are to offer others is intrinsically tied to the forgiveness we receive from God the Father. So, we better understand a few things about how forgiveness works.

We should forgive FAITHFULLY - God forgives when we ask for forgiveness. This is a false understanding of the nature of God. We know that God is love, but God’s does not just automatically ignore sin and offenses against Him. God’s love means that every time we come to him with a heart of repentance, He will be faithful to respond with love and forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 tells us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us”. This is the

We should forgive FULLY – When God forgives, he completely removes the offense and no longer holds it against us. The Psalmist tells us this about our forgiven sins – “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12). Does this mean that God no longer understands your nature to sin? The next time you sin, is He surprised by it? Of course not. It means that He no longer will dredge back up your old sin when dealing with the new sin you have just committed.

We shouldn’t forgive FOOLISHLY – Forgiving people faithfully and fully sometimes leads us to the wrong conclusion that God becomes blind to our true motives, nature and intentions. God KNOWS we are sinners. God KNOWS when we will sin again. But God is not fooled into believing that when you pray “God this will be my last time – please forgive me” – that it will really be your last time. He knows your heart and your future and the sway of your sin nature. He chooses to forgive you time after time and to love you through it (and calls us to do the same…. Matthew 18:22) – but it would be foolish of Him to view you with complete trust and confidence in your character. Think about this – if you forgive a thief for stealing from you, do you then leave your valuables laying on the table when he comes over? If you forgive someone who has abused you, should you not take steps to prevent future abuse? If you forgive someone who has betrayed your trust, do you continue to tell them your secrets? In other words, you shouldn’t assume that forgiveness restores all trust in a person. Forgiveness does not mean that you have to become a doormat to someone who would take advantage of you or abuse you. That would be foolish.

Unlike God, you don’t know a person’s motives, inner compulsions or true character. But you still need to be willing to love them. God’s love requires a heart which is willing to offer forgiveness faithfully to ANYONE who asks you for it. When you forgive them, you should put that particular offense behind you like water under the bridge. Don’t set it aside to bring back up again in the future. Forgiveness should offer freedom from the threat of that offense being brought up again. But in all of this, don’t be fooled into believing that you should become a victim. Forgiveness promotes unity and healing – but should expose you to future harm and distress. So, forgive and forget – but don’t be foolish!