Hebrews 10:16-17 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; {17} And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
What is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is the release of debt or penalty of the debt; release from bondage; letting go as if never committed. When we are forgiven, God releases us from the penalty of the sin that has brought us into criminal status with Him. The sentence of death upon us is placed upon Christ Who died for us in our place (Gal 3:13; Col 1:14; Matt 26:28).
When we forgive another we do basically the same as God did for us. We release them from bondage to us and in most cases letting go of our part of the consequences. In cases involving extensive offense of the law of society, we only release our part. We are not able to pardon their guilty standing before the law. We send their offense away (Jn 20:23).
Forgiveness on our part is really something that is beneficial to and for us more than for the other person. If we refuse to forgive or allow God to work in us to forgive (Heb 12:15), then we endanger our own standing before God (Mk 6:15), the health of others (He 12:15) and our own welfare.
What forgiveness is not
Forgiveness is not forgetting. It is not that we do not remember what happened, but we do not remember it against the person. Through time many offenses can actually be placed into “inactivity” in our memories, only to be recalled if it happens again or a similar incident occurs.
Forgiveness is not saying that what happened is or was not of consequence or without pain. It is not declaring that it does not or did not matter to us. It is not saying that what was done was not wrong or a violation. It is not saying that it was not important to us. When we forgive we take the pain on our self and not inflict it upon the other – we suffer. Making the other (offender) suffer would be vengeance. In the same way when God forgives us He suffers the price for our sin, Jesus paid the penalty and suffered for our sin so that we may be free.
Why we forgive:
We do not forgive because it is our human nature to do so, but because God’s Spirit and divine nature now indwells us and we are new creatures in Christ. We do not forgive because the offender deserved to be forgiven, just as we did not deserve to be forgiven, but we forgive because we have experienced forgiveness. God forgives us for Christ’s sake (Eph 4:32).
Is God able to forget anything?
When God says He will remember their sins no more, He is not declaring that He is unable to recall our sin, but that He will not recall them against us because we have entered into His new covenant. It is impossible for God to not have the ability to recall or remember anything. Just as He is able to make people get saved or make them do things against their will; He refuses to do it because of the limitations He has placed upon Himself. He does not force people to bow to Jesus now, but He will one day (Phil 2:10; Rom 14:11).
When we refuse to forgive as the man in Jesus’ parable, (Matt 23:18-35) we place ourselves under divine judgment of being unforgiving. God declares that if we will not forgive, neither will He forgive us, which places us under judgment of God. In the parable the man is given over to the tormentors (one who elicits the truth by use of the rack, jailer, one who tortures) until all that owed the lord was paid. Since he was jailed the indication is that he would never be able to repay.