"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"The Apostle Peter asked this question.
Jesus replied, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Mt. 18:21-22 NKJ)
Peter might just as well have asked, "How many breaths must I take to remain alive?"Christ's response stresses that we must offer our offenders an infinite forgiveness that possesses the attribute of boundlessness.This quality of forgiveness is essential to our spiritual welfare. The Scriptures are unambiguous on this.
The outflow of a boundless forgiveness toward those who offend us is an evidence of Christ's indwelling Presence.One of His very last prayers was for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him.And, as the Great Forgiver forms His character within us, we also exhibit His boundless forgiveness toward those who transgress against us.
A boundless forgiveness is a barometer to the quality of our faith in God's Word. Regarding the matter, the Scriptures record two imperatives - spiritual absolutes:
1. To maintain the inflow of God's boundless forgiveness toward us, we must not impede the outflow of our forgiveness toward others (Mat. 6:12-14). When we refuse to forgive our transgressors, we barricade the bridge over which we ourselves must pass; we all repeatedly require God's forgiveness!
2. The quality of our forgiveness toward our transgressors must be as genuine as that bestowed on us by God (Eph. 4:30-32)
To receive God's boundless forgiveness, we must practice a forgiveness as limitless and as genuine as that extended to us by God through Jesus Christ.
