For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-16
I read an article this past week where the author made the audacious case that Christians are hypocrites if they are not willing to extend forgiveness to ISIS (Islamic State). He drew that conclusion based on his understanding that Christians are commanded to forgive the sins of others. Since so many people who claim to be Christians are calling for the total annihilation of these murderous thugs, they must therefore be hypocrites.
I am bothered by this concept on a couple of levels. First, the author never offered any solution to the ISIS problem. His take was simply to castigate anyone who would call himself or herself a Christian and yet dare to want to put an end to the scourge of ISIS in the Middle East. Secondly, he has a very poor understanding of the Biblical concepts of forgiveness, which has allowed him to draw this conclusion. It is this second issue which I want to address today.
Throughout the Bible, the concept of forgiveness is divided into two distinct classes: those things that humans are supposed to forgive, and those things that God will forgive. In all of my studies of Scripture, I have never found anything that would suggest individuals are required to forgive offenses that only God can forgive. In fact, every command in the New Testament directed at believers is couched in terms of forgiving offenses against you. Some examples:
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (Mark 11:25)
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:4)
So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. (Luke 17:3)
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)
In contrast, Jesus went around forgiving sins of people who had not sinned against him, because He knew He had that authority as the Son of God.
Based on this concept of forgiveness for personal offenses, it is rather illogical that I, as a Christian individual in America, have the ability or responsibility to forgive the actions of an entire army of people in a foreign land. That's not my job.
It's interesting that my very first post in this blog was about my love for Muslims. However, I do not believe that the people who comprise ISIS are true Muslims, for they do not say and do the things that Muslims do. They have shocked and outraged the greater Muslim community by their vile and heinous acts of cruelty, torture and murder. These people are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and deserve to be punished the only way possible - total destruction. They will never surrender or agree to a truce. They are bloodthirsty, evil monsters who have indiscriminately destroyed countless thousands of lives. They make no distinction between Muslim, Christian, or anyone else in their quest for power. All are dispensable in their eyes.
That said, it is also not my responsibility (nor any individual's) to mete out justice to these villains. That is the purpose of world governments. The governments of the nations are responsible for maintaining law and order, and have no mandate to forgive criminals. If it were not so, we would live in an uncivilized society where crime and injustice would run rampant without fear of reprisal. Even if a person is forgiven by their victim for an offense, that forgiveness does not diminish or negate the consequences of that offense. The forgiveness simply precludes the offended party from exacting any punishment or revenge on the offender.
Many people are criticizing our current Administration for not doing more to stop the spread of ISIS' evil in the Middle East. It's easy to sit at your computer and play armchair Commander-In-Chief, but foreign policy, military strategy and international warfare are not games, nor are they easily navigated. As Christians, we should be spending more time praying for our President, Congress and world leaders to make the right decisions, and less time criticizing them. My prayer is that the scourge of ISIS will soon be extinguished. May it be, Lord.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor David
