Jesus said that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations (Luke 24:47). The good news is that God has already forgiven us of all our sins—past, present and future. That is truly good news. While we were still sinners, Christ has already died for us (Romans 5:8). God has already forgiven us even before we were born. God has already forgiven us before we asked him for forgiveness — before we were able to say, “Sorry.” Christ did it for us some 2,000 years ago. It’s an accomplished fact and reality. And it’s for everybody.
The good news that is to be preached is that God through Christ has already forgiven all of humanity’s sins. Everyone is invited to respond by changing their minds (repent) and believe this great good news!
Why Is It Hard to Forgive?
But why is it hard for us humans to forgive our fellow human beings in the first place? Christ wants us to learn a lesson in Matthew 18:21-35.
In this story, a king wanted to have an accounting and he called one of his servants who owed him millions. This servant begged for mercy and extension to be able to repay his debts. The king had mercy and actually cancelled the debt! He was freed from all obligations.
And yet this same servant could not extend the same love and mercy to a fellow servant who owed him just a few coins! Aren’t we all like that when we don’t forgive our fellowmen who trespass against us? Why?
The reason we can’t forgive is because of our pride, our sense of justice, our need for vengeance—revenge! Christ warns us against this kind of attitude. We would rather hang on to our pride than give it up. We wouldn’t want to lose this something we “value”—our pride and the need to take revenge.
Let Us Learn to Forgive
Christ teaches us to forgive others unconditionally just like he forgave us even before we asked for his forgiveness. The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31) illustrates this wonderful truth clearly by the Lord himself. Even before the lost son could say “I’m sorry,” the father has already forgiven him. This is the gospel. This is truly good news. The gospel is also about the gospel of forgiveness. God our Father through Christ has already forgiven us. Let us forgive others too.