“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4)

     Trespasses are not the same as acts of sin. Trespasses are personal failures within a relationship that cause other people to mistrust us or to think that we inconsiderate of them. Although “trespasses is translated from the Greek word hamartano (ham-ar-tan'-o), which usually is used in the context of sin against God, it merely means to miss the mark. In the context of Luke 17:3-4, the idea is one of missing the mark of the expectations of us by someone we have a relationship of some kind with. I believe it is correctly translated “trespass” (rather than sin) because, we only sin against God. I can never forgive another person’s sin. I can forgive another for how that sin affects my life.

“1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:1-4).

     However, in our sin against God, we can also “trespass” against someone else. Our sin against God can cause emotional pain and hardship to others. In fact, within family relationships, our sin often brings disgrace, shame and pain to many family members. The same is true within a local church family. Other believers can be disgraced within their community by the public sins of someone in their local church. The whole congregation can be brought to public ridicule and reproach brought upon the Name of Christ. Luke 17:3-4 is dealing with the issue of trespasses on this very wide and diverse scale of human influences.

     Notice in Luke 17:3, that the first warning of the text is “take heed to yourselves.” This is an area of this text that is seldom mentioned or commented on. Yet it is the real focal point of the text. The subject of the warning has to do with the subject of these two verses, i.e., unforgiveness. The words “take heed” are translated from the Greek word prosecho (pros-ekh'-o), which should be viewed as a CAUTION sign as we proceed into what the rest of the text says. Notice it is a caution to the person being trespassed AGAINST, not the person doing the trespassing.

     Why is this caution necessary? People do not understand the spiritual danger to them that is involved in their unwillingness to forgive the trespasses of others against us. There is REAL and serious danger in this act of willful disobedience to God’s expectations. Secondly, people do not understand what God expects of us when He commands us to forgive trespasses against us. Forgiveness involves a number of commitments to the person being forgiven and, primarily, to God. Although another person may have sinned against God and trespassed against us, we enter into sin against God when we do not do all that is involved in the work of forgiving that person.

     When an offended person agrees to forgive a trespasser, he usually does so because he understands it is the necessary and right thing to do, even though his heart may not be in it. It is very important to understand that forgiveness of trespasses/offenses is usually more beneficial to the one forgiving, than to the one being forgiven. Unforgiveness is sin and to continue to live in unforgiveness to anyone for any reason is to continually live in sin. Therefore Christ begins, “take heed to yourselves.”

What is Involved in Forgiving Someone?

     Forgiveness is the commitment to yourself and the offender, not to dwell on the offense that is forgiven.

     Although forgiveness is directed to someone who has committed a trespass against us, the first and primary focus in the action of forgiving must be on the area of self-discipline. There is a major commitment involved in forgiving someone. Therefore, in order to do so properly, we will need to grab our Old Man (our Sin Nature) by the throat and drag him to the altar of living sacrifices. Our Sin Natures do not want to forgive. There is no compassion whatsoever in the selfish seed of Satan that that rides roughshod over our flesh. The Old Man wants to get even. The Old Man wants the Trespasser to hurt as much, or more than the hurt he caused. The Old Man wants to take that trespass and jam it down the throat of the Trespasser and he wants to do that every time he sees him. And, if you do not take that Old Man by the throat and take him to the altar of living sacrifice, his hatred will eat you up you from the inside out.

     Forgiveness is the promise not to raise the issue again to the offender, to others, nor even allow yourself to dwell on the trespass in your own mind.

     There will be many trespasses of everyone in any long term relationships. The unwillingness to forgive will be the death of any hope for a long and continuing relationship with anyone. How long would God’s relationship with you last if it was dependant upon you never again failing in His expectations of you? When we are unwilling to treat others in relationship with us the way God treats us in our failures with Him, we are manifesting a major area of selfish, sinful, hypocritical duplicity. The fact is if someone continues to bring up a trespass he has agreed to forgive, he has not forgiven that trespass. Believers receive absolute forgiveness by God in the grace of the Cross. That merciful grace continues to us as children of God after we are saved.

“8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:8-14).

     Forgiveness is the desire to deal with the offense as past history; not as a present condition.

      Unforgiveness is a selfish way of forcing those who have trespassed against us to constantly live in the guilt and shame of past failures. It is a wicked tool of satanic, carnal selfishness whereby Satan continues to maintain a hold upon a sinners life even though God has forgiven those sins, which should remove the guilt and shame of those sins. Uniquely, the vehicle for removing the grace of the Cross in the practical forgiveness and cleansing of sin in a believers life is often the unforgiveness of the trespass as it affects the life of another believer. This wickedness of this is almost unimaginable. It may, in fact, be a manifestation that the unforgiving person is really not saved. After all, forgiveness is one of the primary ways that we express love towards someone. The reality is that unforgiveness is a manifestation of hatred, not love. Continuing in such wickedness as unforgiveness towards another believer (or anyone for that matter) manifests an unregenerate heart.

“7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (I John 2:7-11).

     Forgiveness is the promise to avoid holding the offense over the offender’s head.

      Unforgiveness is often a tool of manipulation. Satan is the ultimate manipulator. People who hold past trespasses as means to manipulate people are being used of Satan. Sin is like a ball and chain that holds us in despair of yesterday’s failures. Forgiveness is intended to remove the ball and chain from our lives and allows us to have a new beginning. God is the God of new beginnings. Holding past failures over the heads of offenders is re-attaching a ball and chain that God has loosed. Forgiveness is intended to loose. Unforgiveness is intended to bind. The love of God looses sinners from their past failures through forgiving those failures. Unforgiveness seeks to bind again what God has loosed.

“23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt” (Matthew 18:23-30).

     Forgiveness understands the need to work at forgetting the offense.

     For God, forgiveness is not a work. Forgiveness is of grace. God can control His emotions and actions by the mere decision of His will. As fallen sinners, we can forget just about every decent thing someone does for us, but we just can’t seem to forget the things they do to cause us pain or sorrow. Unforgiveness takes this one step farther. Unforgiveness is not WILLING to forget. Everyday of history that takes the unforgiving person beyond the event of a past trespass against him finds him dragging the trespass into the new day. It takes just as much work to drag that past trespass into the new day as it does to leave it in the past. It is just a matter of the will.

     Unforgiveness is taking a past failure of someone and making it a piece of furniture in the living room of our minds that we can come and sit in regularly. Forgiveness is the desire born of mercy and love to take that piece of furniture and burn it once for all. Then it becomes a matter that has been purged by fire from our minds. Once this perspective has been achieved, we not be able to raise that issue again without the taste of the ashes of our own unforgiveness.

Forgiveness is something granted, not felt.

     If we wait until we feel like forgiving someone, we will never forgive them. Forgiveness is like every command of God against sin. To avoid sin, we learn to obey God rather than our sinful desires. Forgiveness is a determination to love like God loves you. Unforgiveness is a determination to hate.