What is Biblical Forgiveness?

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

What exactly is forgiveness? And more importantly, who are we to forgive? I think Chas. Baker makes the point that if we forgive the way that the Lord forgives us, it means we do it AFTER the person has repented (changed their mind) regarding the offense.

So for example, if I say something really hurtful to you, and then later I apologize to you, which ultimately means I agree with you that I did something wrong, then that is when you should forgive me. But ONLY because I agreed with you about my offense. That is how God forgives us. It’s not until we change our mind about sin, we agree with God and admit we are sinners.

But now what about forgiving a non-believer? In Col. 3:13 Paul is discussing how we treat other believers. Am I required to forgive a non-believer? Does the Bible address that? That is what I want to find out this week.

Here’s something interesting someone shared with me. It’s taken from Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself

Biblical Forgiveness

The Greek word most often used in the New Testament for forgive is aphiemi. It means "to let go from one's power, possession, to let go free, let escape." In essence, the intent of biblical forgiveness is to cut someone loose. The word picture drawn by the Greek terms for unforgiveness is one in which the "unforgiven" is roped to the back of the unforgiving. How ironic. Unforgiveness is the means by which we securely bind ourselves to that which we hate most. Therefore, the Greek meaning of forgiveness might best be demonstrated as the practice of cutting loose the person roped to your back.


I really liked the imagery of cutting someone loose from your back. So the way I’m seeing it is that it is better for us to forgive because if we don’t it is only a burden to US. Like an extra weight bearing down on us, making us weak. I definitely don’t want another burden to carry, but still I wonder what on earth “forgiveness” really would look like if applied to someone’s life. Is it just a feeling? Or is it something that can be put into action? Does it mean I have to continue in the relationship with the person? Does it mean that the person is now somehow justified to me? So for example, if I hurt you and then you forgive me, it is “just as if I’d” never hurt you, because you wiped my slate clean.

If I make a conscious decision to forgive someone, how do I know I’ve done it? Will I feel differently? Will I still be angry, or will I have peace? Hmm… so much to think about.