Paul's Passing Thoughts

“And the blank check approach doesn’t reconcile the whole counsel of God… Eventually, the forgiven enemies feasting together skip the food fight and draw swords in a battle of unresolved conflict. The debate over the color of the carpet is just an excuse.”

I have upset a lot of people for what I am writing about forgiveness, and particularly here and here. But at the very least, my detractors have to admit that blank check forgiveness is the emphasis and not the obvious importance of repentance that paves the way for it as strongly emphasized by Christ. Though I might leave some room for blank check forgiveness in sanctification, it should be a rare instance, but my detractors make it the norm.

Come now, let’s be honest with ourselves, compare the practice of Matthew 18 with the incessant calls from the pulpit for blank check forgiveness. Rather than conceding that there has been an unbiblical emphasis in the American church for years, my whole construct is disregarded out of hand and I am labeled “bitter” lest anyone would have to engage in the hard task of reevaluation. For the most part, blank check forgiveness is a tool for lazy pastors who don’t want the hard work of laying the building blocks of repentance. Making it easier for people to forgive is hard work.

And the blank check approach doesn’t reconcile the whole counsel of God:

Revelation 6:9 – When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Houston, we have a problem. Furthermore, consider King David’s deathbed instructions to his son Solomon:

1Kings 2:5 – “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war[c] on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6 Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

Robert Alter described David’s last will and testament as that worthy of a dying Mafia capio, and in fact, this biblical account was copied by Francis Coppola for use in The Godfather (King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel; Jonathan Kirsch, p. 277).

Moreover, as mentioned before in the other arguments, the Bible commands us to love our enemies; but in contrast, blank check forgiveness presumes that we are not unreconciled to anyone. Hence, we don’t have any enemies to love, and that is most unfortunate because it circumvents future opportunity for true reconciliation. Blank check forgiveness enables us to pretend that there is nothing to be reconciled. This simply does not work in the real world of anthropology. Blank check forgiveness is easily responsible for 90% of church splits that we see because the pseudo-forgiveness chickens finally come home to roost.

Let me explain: in Exodus, we read the following:

Exodus 23:4 – “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

Returning your enemy’s lost ox or donkey, which were vital for economic survival in that day and something that most could ill afford to replace, clearly showed ones character to the enemy and lent opportunity for reconciliation. If we do not allow none-repentance to create enemies, the possibility for true reconciliation is circumvented. Is it any wonder that there is so much strife in the church? While assuming that blank check forgiveness creates unity in the church—it in fact does the opposite. Eventually, the forgiven enemies feasting together skip the food fight and draw swords in a bloody battle of unresolved conflict. The debate over the color of the carpet is just an excuse.

As far as overcoming evil with good, and blessing our enemies (ROM 12), this is curative, and I have experienced it firsthand. But in the past, I have misinterpreted my likable feelings towards my enemies in that circumstance as “forgiveness.” I suppose that loving our enemies can also lead to a silent repentance in which they stop persecuting you (that was the case in my particular circumstance), but I never extended forgiveness for what they had done to me. In this reality, judgment by God for the unreconciled offence looms. Always:

1Thessalonians 4:6 – that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

James 5:4 – Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

You can say that you have given carte blanche forgiveness till the cows come home, but in reality, you are placing the offender in a position where he/she may be judged by God because the assumption is that the same forgiveness that was wrought for justification is also wrought in sanctification: ie., “forgiving the same way we were forgiven.”

Churchy soundbites and Christian bumper stickers will not give life. Only truth sanctifies.

paul