The Transformative Power of Forgiveness and Justice

 

Summary

In our journey through life, we inevitably encounter hurt and pain, both as recipients and as perpetrators. Forgiveness is a profound miracle that we can choose to participate in, even when it feels undeserved. The first step in this journey is to acknowledge the hurt we have experienced. However, the challenge often lies in the reluctance to forgive, especially when we feel that the offender does not deserve it. Concerns arise about whether forgiveness might diminish our sense of justice or empathy for victims. Yet, forgiveness is not about excusing or condoning wrongs; it is about acknowledging them honestly and choosing to let go of vengeance.

The story of Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, illustrates the complexity of forgiveness. When faced with a dying Nazi soldier seeking forgiveness, Wiesenthal chose silence, highlighting the difficulty of forgiving on behalf of others. Forgiveness is not about being merciful to the cruel at the expense of the innocent. It is crucial to differentiate between forgiveness and condoning. Forgiveness involves recognizing the wrongdoing and choosing to replace ill will with goodwill, while still pursuing justice.

Justice and forgiveness are not mutually exclusive. True forgiveness does not negate the need for justice; rather, it complements it. When we forgive, we remember the wrongs done to us, but we do so redemptively, acknowledging that God can bring good out of even the most painful situations. The Israelites, who suffered greatly, were instructed by Moses to remember their past not with bitterness, but with a recognition of God's deliverance.

The challenge for us is to identify our "Egyptians"—those we find easy to despise—and choose not to let unforgiveness fester in our hearts. Instead, we are called to remember that every person bears the image of God and is someone for whom Jesus died. Forgiveness, with Jesus, is a creative possibility that contributes to justice and healing in our world.

Key Takeaways:

- Forgiveness is a conscious choice to let go of vengeance and replace ill will with goodwill, while still acknowledging the wrongs done. It is not about excusing or condoning the actions of others. [05:58]

- The story of Simon Wiesenthal highlights the complexity of forgiveness, especially when it involves forgiving on behalf of others. Forgiveness is a personal journey that requires deep reflection and courage. [02:54]

- Justice and forgiveness are not in conflict; they can coexist. True forgiveness does not undermine justice but rather complements it by fostering healing and reconciliation. [06:18]

- Redemptive remembering involves recalling past hurts not to dwell in bitterness, but to recognize God's deliverance and the potential for good to emerge from painful situations. [08:40]

- Identifying our "Egyptians"—those we find easy to despise—challenges us to choose forgiveness over resentment, recognizing the image of God in every person and the possibility of transformation. [09:40]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:31] - The Miracle of Forgiveness
- [00:56] - The Reluctance to Forgive
- [01:22] - Simon Wiesenthal's Story
- [02:40] - The Complexity of Forgiveness
- [03:45] - Understanding Forgiveness
- [04:24] - Forgiveness vs. Condoning
- [05:20] - The Temptation of Soft Forgiving
- [05:58] - Forgiveness and Vengeance
- [06:18] - Justice and Forgiveness
- [07:02] - Becoming Forgiving People
- [07:26] - Redemptive Remembering
- [08:40] - Remembering Egypt
- [09:25] - Do Not Despise an Egyptian
- [10:59] - The Creative Possibility of Forgiveness

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Miracle of Forgiveness

Bible Reading:
- Deuteronomy 4:9
- Deuteronomy 5:12-15
- Deuteronomy 23:7

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Observation Questions:

1. What does Deuteronomy 4:9 instruct the Israelites to do with their memories of past events, and why is this significant in the context of forgiveness? [07:42]

2. How does the story of Simon Wiesenthal illustrate the complexity of forgiveness, especially when it involves forgiving on behalf of others? [02:54]

3. According to the sermon, what is the difference between forgiveness and condoning wrongdoing? [04:24]

4. How does the sermon describe the relationship between forgiveness and justice? [06:18]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the Israelites are reminded to observe the Sabbath and remember their time as slaves in Egypt. How does this act of remembering relate to the concept of redemptive remembering discussed in the sermon? [08:40]

2. The sermon mentions the temptation of "soft forgiving." What might be the dangers of this approach to forgiveness, and how can it affect one's pursuit of justice? [05:20]

3. How does the instruction in Deuteronomy 23:7 to "not despise an Egyptian" challenge common perceptions of forgiveness and justice? [09:25]

4. The sermon suggests that forgiveness involves replacing ill will with goodwill. How might this transformation impact personal relationships and community dynamics? [05:58]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you struggled to forgive someone. What steps can you take to move towards forgiveness while still acknowledging the hurt? [00:56]

2. Identify your "Egyptians"—those you find easy to despise. How can you begin to see them as bearers of God's image and someone for whom Jesus died? [09:40]

3. Consider a situation where you might be tempted to choose vengeance over forgiveness. What practical steps can you take to replace ill will with goodwill in this scenario? [05:58]

4. How can you practice redemptive remembering in your life, recalling past hurts not with bitterness but with a recognition of God's deliverance? [08:40]

5. Think about a person or situation where you have been tempted to "soft forgive." How can you ensure that your forgiveness is genuine and not merely an appeasement? [05:20]

6. In what ways can you actively pursue justice while maintaining a forgiving heart? How can these two concepts coexist in your daily life? [06:18]

7. How can you incorporate the practice of Sabbath rest as a reminder of God's deliverance and a time to reflect on forgiveness in your life? [08:13]

Devotional

Day 1: Forgiveness as a Choice, Not a Feeling
Forgiveness is a conscious decision to let go of vengeance and replace ill will with goodwill, while still acknowledging the wrongs done. It is not about excusing or condoning the actions of others. This choice can be difficult, especially when the offender seems undeserving of forgiveness. However, forgiveness is a powerful act that frees the forgiver from the chains of bitterness and resentment. It allows for healing and opens the door to reconciliation, even if justice is still pursued. By choosing forgiveness, one acknowledges the wrongdoing but decides to move forward with a heart of goodwill. [05:58]

"Do not say, 'I will repay evil'; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you." (Proverbs 20:22, ESV)

Reflection: Think of someone you struggle to forgive. What steps can you take today to begin the process of letting go of vengeance and replacing it with goodwill?


Day 2: The Complexity of Forgiving on Behalf of Others
The story of Simon Wiesenthal highlights the complexity of forgiveness, especially when it involves forgiving on behalf of others. Forgiveness is a deeply personal journey that requires reflection and courage. It is not always straightforward, as seen in Wiesenthal's silence when faced with a dying Nazi soldier seeking forgiveness. This silence underscores the difficulty of forgiving when the wrongs are not directly against oneself. Forgiveness in such situations requires a deep understanding of the pain involved and a willingness to engage with the complexity of human emotions and justice. [02:54]

"Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3:13, ESV)

Reflection: Is there a situation where you feel called to forgive on behalf of others? How can you approach this with empathy and courage today?


Day 3: Justice and Forgiveness as Complementary Forces
Justice and forgiveness are not in conflict; they can coexist. True forgiveness does not undermine justice but rather complements it by fostering healing and reconciliation. When forgiveness is extended, it does not mean that justice is ignored. Instead, it allows for a redemptive remembering of the wrongs, acknowledging that good can emerge from even the most painful situations. This perspective encourages individuals to pursue justice while also embracing the healing power of forgiveness, creating a more compassionate and just world. [06:18]

"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5:24, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively pursue justice in a situation while also extending forgiveness? What does this balance look like in your life today?


Day 4: Redemptive Remembering and God's Deliverance
Redemptive remembering involves recalling past hurts not to dwell in bitterness, but to recognize God's deliverance and the potential for good to emerge from painful situations. The Israelites were instructed to remember their past with a focus on God's deliverance rather than bitterness. This approach allows individuals to see their experiences through a lens of hope and transformation, trusting that God can bring good out of even the darkest moments. By embracing redemptive remembering, one can find peace and purpose in their journey. [08:40]

"Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me." (Isaiah 46:9, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on a past hurt. How can you remember this experience in a way that acknowledges God's deliverance and the potential for good?


Day 5: Recognizing the Image of God in Everyone
Identifying our "Egyptians"—those we find easy to despise—challenges us to choose forgiveness over resentment, recognizing the image of God in every person and the possibility of transformation. This perspective encourages individuals to see beyond their grievances and acknowledge the inherent worth and potential for change in others. By doing so, one can foster a spirit of compassion and understanding, contributing to a more forgiving and just world. [09:40]

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: Who are the "Egyptians" in your life that you find easy to despise? How can you begin to see them as bearers of God's image and extend forgiveness to them today?

Quotes

Goodwill we are hurting people and we live in a hurting world we have received hurts probably deep ones and we've inflicted them too sometimes without knowing them that's natural there is this thing called forgiveness and it's miracle and you can be a part of that but you may not want to that's what I want to talk about today we're focusing in this part of the series and I hope that you'll be uh for this series listen to each one of them because they all build on each other we are on a journey towards forgiveness learning how to actually do it and uh the first step is to recall the hurt that you have experienced but as you do that it may strike you I don't want to forgive this person they don't deserve it and there are a lot of reasons not to forgive people are concerned well if we forgive won't that make us um inconsiderate towards people who are victims won't it make us less concerned about Injustice don't you have to be angry and passionate to make sure that Justice happens and might not forgiveness soften or blunt that edge so let's consider it because that's a very important issue. [00:21:26]

Simon weisenthal was a survivor of concentration camps who was a polish Jewish inmate during World War II in a Nazi concentration camp and towards the end of the war a nurse came and took him he had 89 relatives that were killed by the Nazis nurse came and took him to the bedside of a young SS Soldier German Nazi who had been involved in atrocities and uh he said he needed to find a Jewish person who would pronounce forgiveness over him before he died dying of his injuries he talked about uh putting a couple of hundred uh Jewish concentration camp victims in a house and then filling the house with gasoline and he and other soldiers threw grenades in to set the house on fire and then if anybody tried to escape jump out of a window they would shoot them and he talked about seeing a man with a little child and a woman that would have been the child's mother unbearable stuff to listen to and he got to the end of that and he and he said to Simon weisenthal uh I cannot bear to have this on my conscience as I am dying now I need to know that I can be forgiven and Simon weisenthal writes about this in uh a piece called the sunflower uh said he stood there for a very long time and then he walked out of the room without saying a word and afterward he wrote to a group of thinkers and artists and thought leaders and asked posed the question what would you do in that moment a lot of people wrote back and said um you know you were not in any position to pronounce forgiveness on behalf of other people that these brutalities were done for so it's kind of a different situation one novelist uh Cynthia ozek wrote and cited an ancient rinic proverb that if you Begin by being merciful to the cruel you will end up by being indifferent to the innocent let him die unshriven she wrote let him go to hell it's real important as we think about this that we reflect on what forgiveness is and what forgiveness is not so that we understand that it's quite different from condoning or excusing what is wrong actually many things are excusable but precisely to the extent that they are excusable they do not have to be forgiven um thank God that what is inexcusable does not have to be unforgivable but they are two different things. [00:82:52]

I was talking with somebody recently who was describing a person that was a Christian leader and was involved or was accused of being involved in misconduct and has been in kind of a timeout and the person was saying isn't it time that we just kind of forgive and it is very important here that we distinguished um forgiveness is quite different than in condoning condoning is to saywell the actions weren't that bad or they were pretty murky so let's rehabilitate this person let's put them back into um the old position that they used to be in to forgive is not that to you can only forgive an actual person for an actual wrongdoing to forgive is to say here's what this person did and here's why it was wrong now they may or may not be repentant about that they may or may not think that they require forgiven this um but forgiving means looking very honestly unblinkingly courageously at the wrong that was being done and naming it it does not minimize wrong another kind of false forgiving what might be called Soft forgiving that I can be tempted to is forgiveness that really flows out of fear and it's more kind of an appeasement where this is a strong person or a powerful person and I just don't want to go through the difficulties of naming the wrong that was done that forgiveness might require so I I'll just say that I forgive them as a way of getting out of having to actually deal with somebody Winston Churchill once said of an appeaser an appeaser is somebody who feeds a crocodile hoping the crocodile will eat him last um we might think about it in this way there is forgiveness and then you ask what's the alternative to forgiveness and the alternative is Vengeance vengeance is to carry malice ill will towards the one who is hurt me forgiveness involves replacing ill will with good will now Justice is a third category Justice is a desire passionate desire that uh right be done that honesty and fairness should win out in this situation and it's possible to forgive someone and be deeply devoted to Justice um if I am forgiven by someone when I have stolen them if I really want to be forgiven I will want to pay them back I will want to pay my debt to society there is no tension between forgiveness and Justice there is a great tension between forgiveness and Vengeance because in Vengeance I say I want to hold on to my right to hurt this person and so in forgiveness when we remember we remember the wrong that was done but I remember it in a different way and I encourage you now because we're actually we're not just learning about forgiveness we're we're becoming forgiving people you and I and I know I know I know it's really costly but I encourage you now to think back on someone who has hurt you and remember that hurt remember that offense and I want to talk about what L smes writes in his book on forgiveness as Redemptive remembering and our great teachers in this are the people of Israel they had suffered a great deal so now Moses is speaking to them and you and me in our forgiveness instruction manual this is in Deuteronomy 4:9 only be careful he writes and watch yourselves closely literally says watch your souls your nees closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live teach them to your children and to their children after them for getting is not forgiving is not simply forgetting what happened as though it did not matter forgetting can be actually quite a dangerous thing he goes on to say this in Deuteronomy 5:12 um observe the sabbath day by keeping it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days labor do your work seventh days of Sabbath on it you shall not work neither you nor son or daughter nor male or female nor your Ox not even the donkey gets the Sabbath off nor any of your animals nor any Foreigner res iding in your towns so that your male and female servants May rest as you do remember that you were slaves in Egypt remember that you were slaves in Egypt only now this is Redemptive remembering it's not remember how rotten those Egyptians were remember how much you f hated the Pharaoh remember what miserable villainous characters they were remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a Mighty outstretched hand God brought good out of a situation that was terrible remember but remember redemptively and then this wonderful statement later on in Deuteronomy 23:7 Moses like in case you didn't get this clearly do not despise an Egyptian I bet they didn't like hearing that too much do not despise an Egyptian because you resided as foreigners in their country well yeah foreign slaves and of course in the ancient world slavery was ubiquitous and defeated peoples generally were slaves quite different than American racial slavery but what Moses writes about here is do not despise An Egyptian in other words do not let unforgiveness fester in your spirit don't nurse that toxic cocktail of um resentment and hostility and hatred and judgmentalism and bitter let yourself ruminate over it no no no don't do that so the question today is who is your Egyptian who is somebody in your life that's uh would be easy for you to despise and it might be somebody that you despise because of their political views because they're so wrong and of course you're so right or somebody on the religious front and we see every day folks writing on all kinds of issues where if you don't believe what I do if you don't stand I stand there's a kind of contempt that comes through real quickly in the name of God very likely there's somebody in your family who hurt you somewhere along the line and um you're holding on struggling with that could be somebody at work so your word today do not despise an Egyptian remember remember remember recall the her bring it to mind but no longer uh as an opportunity to rehearse your victimhood and superiority remember God was there remember that other person Bears the image of God into someone for whom Jesus died and there is a possibility in my life and yours now that is not being the victim of ill will and Malice every day there is the creative possibility of forgiveness with Jesus which does not undermine but actually contributes to Justice in our world that's part of the miracle of forgiveness forgive us our debts as we. [00:86:36]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?