Forgiveness

When we talked about persecution, we talked about forgiveness. It generated some interesting discussion in Message+, so I figured we would do a follow-up. What does it truly mean to forgive as Christians? So, let’s unpack what it is, what it isn't, and how it shapes our lives as followers of Jesus.

I’ve been really challenged the past two years on my own journey: what does it look like to forgive people who hurt me so badly? Is it a decision, a feeling? Do others need to repent first? Should life go on as if everything is okay? Does reconciliation mean we become besties? Lots of question.

So, I am working on understanding biblical forgiveness, and I invite you to work on it with me. Think of this as workshopping how to understand forgiveness.

What is forgiveness? At its core, forgiveness is a participation in what Jesus did for us. Paul wrote,“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”(Colossians 3:13) I really loved Harrison’s explanation of how the Bible puts such great imagery around the use of aphiēmi (af-ee-ay-mee).

• Matthew 6:12 KJV: “And aphiēmi (discharge) us our debts, as we aphiēmi our debtors.”

• Matthew 4:20 KJV: “And they straightaway aphiēmi (cast away) their nets, and followed him.”

• Matthew 8:15 KJV: “And he touched her hand, and the fever aphiēmi (let her go): and she arose, and ministered unto them.”

Forgiveness is release someone of a debt, letting them go, casting away our need to see justice unfold on our terms. Forgiveness means that we hand the debt owed to us over to God rather than insisting that we collect it ourselves.  We release our burdens of hurt and sorrow to the care of a righteous judge, trusting that the plan God has for dealing with those who have hurt us is better than ours.[1]

Forgiveness Comes from the Forgiven. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:13-14, Jesus,

"…has rescued us from the dominion of darkness... in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

We've been forgiven an enormous debt (Ephesians 1:7-8). As C.S. Lewis wisely noted,

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”– C.S. Lewis

How can we, who have received such mercy, withhold it? "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13)

Forgiveness Is Mandatory.

Peter once asked Jesus if forgiveness was to be offered seven times (Matthew 18). The rabbis at the time taught that forgiving someone more than three times was unnecessary. Peter was suggesting more than double the mandated maximum. They would have been stunned by Jesus’ lavish answer of 70x7 (which was a very Jewish way of saying there is no end). They were used to a law that had limits, not a grace that did not.

Jesus followed that up with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. God has forgiven us an enormous debt; how ungrateful must we be if we don’t do the same for others?  

But the mandatory nature of forgiveness isn’t just for the one who needs to be forgiven. It’s for the one forgiving. Think of it this way.

• God’s forgiveness is always given — that’s grace.

• Our forgiveness of others is how we live into that grace — that’s transformation.

• If we refuse to forgive, we block the flow of that grace in ourselves, not because God retracts it, but because forgiveness is the language of the Kingdom, and we’ve refused to speak it.

If I may note the wisdom of this on a practical level: we will probably assume God and others forgive us in the same way we forgive others. If we forgive partially and reluctantly and keep score somewhere, that’s probably how we view the forgiveness of God and others. This is the advice of a loving Father: forgive as God forgives. Forgive fully and freely. It will help us understand the nature of God’s forgiveness.

Forgiveness Requires Honesty. We must acknowledge the sin's impact on individuals, relationships, and communities. If someone says, “I’m sorry,” we don’t have to just say, “That’s okay. It was nothing.” It wasn't okay (though it might be eventually); it wasn’t nothing. 

Sin leaves marks; ignoring them hinders true restoration. Be honest about the offense's depth so the offender understands the preciousness of forgiveness in light of the depth of the damage.

Forgiveness is NOT saying,“It’s okay.” The sin of harming Abba’s dear children is NOT okay. Abuse and oppression are never acceptable. Forgiveness must not minimize injustice or the damage it does.

Forgiveness is NOT saying,“I'm okay.” Healing can take years. Genuine forgiveness does not ask anyone to skip any stage of the grieving and healing process.

Forgiveness is NOT saying, “You're okay.” The offender is not simply off the hook. Repentance includes facing consequences, which may include incarceration, rehabilitation, restitution and restoration.

Forgiveness is NOT saying, “We're okay.” Forgiveness may include but does not require the victim of injustice to re-enter a relationship with the offender. That may not be possible or even safe. One can forgive and be healed without ever [regaining the relationship they once had] with the offender.” (Brad Jersak)

The chorus of a popular song goes, “I’m not okay - [it's not okay, right now] -but it’s all going to be alright.” This is gospel hope. Even when it is hard to envision full recovery and genuine restoration in a world full of things that are not okay, we know there is a day when all things will be made new (Revelation 21:5), and Jesus will reconcile all things to himself (Colossians 1:20).

Forgiveness Is Patiently Anticipatory.

The Parable of the Two Sons (or the Prodigal Son) in Luke 15 reminds us that it is God who will wake people up in the midst of their sin. We may be the instrument God uses, but… we may not be. And I can almost guarantee that people who sin against us often (usually?) won’t respond with our sense of timing.

We can be so quick to want people to repent NOW and thoroughly. But… do we do this all the time? Or did it take some time to really see and understand our sin? How long did people faithfully invest in us before, like the Prodigal Son, we “came to your senses” by the grace of God and repented?

When I was coaching, there was a parent who really didn’t like me. He would write me weekly letters several pages long chronicling all the ways I failed. He would glare at me all the time. He disinvited me from his son’s wedding. Then Braden decided that this man was the coolest guy in the room during basketball games, and would climb to the top of the bleachers to sit with him game after game (Braden was probably 3 or 4). One night after a game this man was waiting for me. I braced myself. All he said was, “You and I have had our differences, but you must be doing something right as a father.” That was the most repentance I was going to get. Of course I forgive you. It took a while, but we got there. We’ve been good ever since.

Forgiveness Does Not Delete History—It Covers It. You may be thinking that God "will remember [our sins] no more" (Hebrews 8:12; Jeremiah 31:34) and removes them "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).

Every commentary I read noted that this is not literal amnesia.[2] It’s the best human language we have to explain that God does not hold our sins against us when our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus. Paul remembered his sins and wrote about them to churches. If God had forgotten, then Paul remembered something about his history that God did not. If I pray and ask God for ongoing healing for my past (forgiven) sins, God is not confused by my request. He knows why I’m asking. He just does not hold them against me.

Memory was not part of the fall. It’s one of the good gifts God has given us. We are meant to learn from our past successes and failures. It’s part of how we mature. We will never gain necessary wisdom if we forget what it was like to be in chains to sin. 

We will also not appreciate the forgiveness God and others show us if we forget how much we gave them to forgive. We will not be able to encourage others with our testimonies of God’s grace if we can’t remember why God showed us grace in the first place.

Forgiveness Does Not Cancel Accountability or Consequences. After Adam and Eve sinned, God provided a means of forgiveness…but also explained what the fallout was going to look like. God forgave Moses…but Moses did not enter the Promised Land. Paul noted in Galatians 6 that we will harvest what we plant. It’s a principle God has embedded in the world, and God will not be mocked.

• If I steal your wallet, but return the wallet and ask for forgiveness, forgiveness should be granted. But are you going to leave your wallet out again when I am around?  Wisdom would suggest you keep your wallet close, at least until you trust that I am trustworthy.  

• If I share a deep secret you told me in confidence, and I repent and ask you to forgive me, you should extend forgiveness. But you probably shouldn’t tell me a deep secret again until you trust that I am trustworthy.

• If you hurt or offend your spouse or a friend, ask for forgiveness. But don’t become annoyed if they put up some boundaries so they don’t get hurt again.

Charles Stanley wrote,

“Forgiveness is relational; consequences are circumstantial.”

Life is not an etch-o-sketch. We can’t just shake the picture that we’ve drawn and pretend it never happened. We have hurt people. Extending forgiveness is not the same as overlooking the impact of sin. Accountability and protection can go along with forgiveness.

Forgiveness Might Be a Process. It doesn't always happen overnight. We may forgive sincerely, yet feelings resurface, requiring repeated surrender. It's an ongoing choice, leading to healing.

When Joseph first saw his brothers as an adult, he could have forgiven them on the spot. He didn’t.

• He jailed them for three days, demanded they bring their youngest brother, threw Simeon in jail so they would have to come back, and hid their money in their grain sacks (which made for a pretty terrifying find). When they left, he wept.

• When they returned, he wept at seeing his younger brother.

• When they left again, he hid his own cup in the bag of his younger brother.

• When they were ‘caught’ and brought back to Egypt with the assumption they would all be slaves - which Joseph confirmed - Judah told him he was “just like Pharoah.”

• It was only then he revealed himself, and he wept so loudly that servants in other rooms could hear him. (Genesis 41-45)

For Joseph’s brothers to go back and forth – and to eat all their grain from the first trip before they made another trip – I assume this unfolded over months. It sure reads as if Joseph needed some time to sort some things out.

So if forgiveness feels slow or unfinished, don’t despair. Joseph’s tears and hesitation were not signs of failure; they were part of the process. God can handle your struggle. What matters is that you keep turning your heart toward mercy, one honest step at a time. In the end, forgiveness is less about how quickly we reach the destination and more about walking faithfully with the God who heals us along the way.

Forgiveness Is Worth Celebrating. The prodigal's return sparked a feast. We celebrate restoration, not to deny the past, but to revel in the present moment and future hope. The father of the Prodigal Son was overjoyed the son had returned. It was the legalistic brother who said, “How dare you celebrate that boy after what he did to you. ”

This one is hard, especially if you are the one who has been wounded by someone else’s sin. Yet I think our reactions to other situations are instructive here. Don't we love that the Amish community forgave the shooter? Don’t we love the stories of parents who forgive their child’s killer? We applaud, as we should. We aren’t opposed to the principle. It’s just hard when it applies to us. This is the cross we take up; this is cost of discipleship; this is what God commands – and equips us to do.

Conclusion/Summary

Forgiveness happens when we release our offenders to Christ’s judgment, rather than chaining our hearts to them with resentment. This doesn’t mean we bypass human justice systems when necessary. But it means our healing doesn’t depend on human courts getting it right. 

Forgiveness happens when we release our burdens of hurt, grief, anger, loss and sorrow to Abba’s care, rather than stuffing them or fashioning them into weapons. 

Forgiveness happens when we release the debt of the other’s offense into God's hands. Even if they repent sincerely and make restitution, our offenders can never cover the debt of harms done. We must let God bear that burden—ours and theirs. 

Forgiveness happens when we release our healing into God’s hands. No one’s punishment or repentance is sufficient to heal us. Only God can truly do that.

Forgiveness happens when, having let go, we surrender our lives to Christ’s love and care. 

Forgiveness is NOT easy. The Passion—the torture and death, the burden of our sin—cost Christ everything. Forgiveness is not easy for those who’ve been devastated by the hurts and trespasses (violations) of others… 

Forgiveness is the most demanding, excruciating process we’ll ever experience. Forgiveness is cruciformity itself. (Brad Jersak)

Forgiveness may feel like death—it’s cruciform—but it’s the new creation breaking in. Every act of forgiveness is a small resurrection, a sign that the Kingdom of God is alive in us. When we choose to forgive, we're not just releasing the offender; we're unlocking the chains that bind us to pain and resentment. We're stepping into the radiant light of God's love, where healing, restoration, and freedom dwell.

For this reason, forgiveness is not just personal—it’s missional. Every time we forgive, we show the world what God is like. In a culture that prizes revenge, forgiveness is a revolution. It’s how light breaks into darkness. It’s how the Church reveals the beauty of Jesus to a watching world.

So may we become a people who forgive—not because it’s easy, but because it’s Christ in us, reconciling the world to himself.

Imagine a world where forgiveness reigns, where the cycle of hurt and anger is broken, and where love and mercy flow freely. That's the world Jesus invites us to live in. This is a foretaste of the world to come, when Christ will reconcile all things to himself.

Every time we forgive, we are aligning ourselves with that future—the day when every wound will be healed, all tears wiped away, and even our enemies made friend through the reconciliation of Jesus.

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[1] When we hear the phrase “spiritual warfare,” we probably think of a spiritual battle taking place in the unseen world. I would like to suggest that forgiveness one of the greatest acts of spiritual warfare, because unforgiveness is a win for Satan (2 Corinthians 2:11).

[2] “This is evidently spoken after the manner of men, and in accordance with human apprehension. It cannot mean literally that God forgets that people are sinners, but it means that he treats them as if this were forgotten. Their sins are not charged upon them, and they are no more punished than if they had passed entirely out of the recollection.” – Matthew Henry, on Hebrews 8:12

“This is another phrase to express the forgiveness of sins, and distinguishes the new covenant from the old one, or the former dispensation; in which, though there were many typical sacrifices, and a typical removal of sin, yet there was a remembrance of it every year.” Gill’s Exposition Of The Bible, on Hebrews 8:12

“As far as possible; as far as we can imagine. These are the points in our apprehension most distant from each other, and as we can conceive nothing beyond them, so the meaning is, that we cannot imagine our sins could be more effectually removed than they are. “ Barne’s Notes On The Bible

“…and by this means so effectually, and so far, are their transgressions removed, that they shall never be seen any more, nor ever be imputed to them, nor be brought against them to their condemnation; in consequence of which, pardon is applied to them, and so sin is removed from their consciences, as before observed; see Leviticus 16:21.”  - Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible

“He will, in the language of another prophet, “blot out” the sins which yet belong to the indelible and irrevocable past (Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22).”  Elliot’s Commentary For English Readers, on Jeremiah 31:34 

Harmony #48: Healing a Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)

Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?” [1] Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,[2] but he was born blind[3] so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him.

As I understand that last comment, Jesus is smacking down the idea that sickness must be a result of someone’s sin, and instead elevating the value of the sick person by viewing them as one in whom God’s glory rather than their sinfulness will be revealed.

We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said this, he spat on the ground and made some mud with the saliva.[4] He smeared the mud on the blind man’s eyes and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “sent”). So the blind man went away and washed, and came back seeing.

I wouldn't overthink why Jesus did it this way. It meant something to the man and did not seem to surprise the people. Apparently, using saliva was a common medical approach to eye issues. What confounded the people was not how Jesus did it, but what it accomplished.

First side note: Jesus healed people in all kinds of ways: up close, at a distance; upon request or on no request; instantly or in stages. There is no need to try to discover a miraculous potion made of clay and spittle. 

Second side note: Jesus didn’t need to apply a known medicinal practice to this man’s eyes. He could have just healed him. This isn’t the first time Jesus has outwardly used a natural remedy while bringing about a supernatural result. As I see it, it’s okay to go to a doctor and pray for healing. These don't have to be contradictory things. Even if you think it’s just ‘going through the motions’, using medical help for illness does not reveal a lack of faith.

Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previously as a beggar began saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some people said, “This is the man!” while others said, “No, but he looks like him.”

The man himself kept insisting, “I am the one!” So they asked him, “How then were you made to see?” He replied, “The man called Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and was able to see.”

They said to him, “Where is that man?” He replied, “I don’t know.” They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.  (Now the day on which Jesus made the mud and caused him to see was a Sabbath.) So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. He replied, “He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and now I am able to see.”

Then some of the Pharisees[5] began to say, “This man is not from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division among them. So again they asked the man who used to be blind, “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?”

“He is a prophet,” the man replied. Now the Jewish religious leaders refused to believe that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned the parents of the man who had become able to see. They asked the parents, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”

So his parents replied, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see. Ask him, he is a mature adult. He will speak for himself.”

(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult, ask him.”)

Then they summoned the man who used to be blind a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing—that although I was blind, now I can see.”[6]

Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” He answered, “I told you already and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You people don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?” They heaped insults on him, saying, “You are his disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man comes from!”[7]

The man replied, “This is a remarkable thing, that you don’t know where he comes from, and yet he caused me to see! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is devout and does his will, God listens to him. Never before has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

They replied, “You were born completely in sinfulness, and yet you presume to teach us?” So they threw him out. [8]Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the man and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The man replied, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus told him, “You have seen him; he is the one speaking with you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Jesus said, “For judgment (a verdict) I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight, and the ones who see may become blind.”  Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and asked him, “We are not blind too, are we?”[9] Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains.”[10]

* * * * *

Let’s talk about this verdict of judgment, and blindness, and light.

When light comes into the world, it renders a verdict in the sense that it shows truth. I tore apart an old sofa last week. Before the light revealed what all had fallen between the cracks, I had no idea how much junk had accumulated in the frame. But then light rendered a verdict: a lot. That’s how light works. It shows us what is true, and then we have to decide what to do with that. It is inevitable: when light is introduced, it separates light from darkness. This is a principle as old as Genesis 1.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4)

So how do we reconcile Jesus saying, “For judgment I have come into the world” with John writing, “God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save it”? (John 3:17). By the same principle, the light is not a judgment in the sense of a punishment; it’s just that when light is introduced, it renders a verdict on reality.

Ephesians 5:13 “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible…”

John 3:19-21  “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”[11]

The arrival of Jesus brought a light of truth the revealed the condition of humanity and the nature of God. The light that starts by revealing truth goes on to reveal what people will do with it (that’s the verdict): people either love truth or they don’t. It’s one reason non-violent Jesus can say in Matthew 11:25 and Matthew 10:34; "I came not to bring peace, but a sword." Those sound like fighting words, but they’re not: the sword is the Word of God whose truth pierces us to our souls (Hebrews 4:12).

A new kind of light is introduced, and it clarifies the chasm between spiritual light and spiritual darkness. Those who love the darkness of deception will be held responsible for why they rejected the truth. Here’s a good explanation for the judgment question from Ellicott’s Commentary:[12]

“The special form of the word rendered “judgment” in this place is used nowhere else by St. John, and indicates that…His coming was a bringing light into the darkness of…hearts, a testing of the false and the true…That light judged no one, and yet by it everyone was judged.” (Ellicott’s Commentary For English Readers)[13]

“As those are most blind who will not see, so their blindness is most dangerous who fancy they do see. No patients are managed with so much difficulty as those who… say they are well, and that nothing ails them. The sin of those that are self-confident remains… and therefore the power of their sin remains unbroken.” (Benson Commentary)

I was thinking of when I have had knee and shoulder surgeries done, or when I got my stent. I was broken and sick and needed healing. The doctors did not do Xrays and MRIs to bring condemnation but to bring clarity as to the nature of the problem. They were there to save me. Did what their ‘light’ revealed render a verdict? You bet. ‘That’ is torn; ‘that’ is not. ‘That’ is blocked; ‘that’ is not. That new knowledge didn’t make me more sick; it clarified just how sick I was – and what kind of treatment could make me well.

That’s how Jesus can say he came to save the world not condemn it, even while bringing truth that renders a verdict on the true nature of the world, humanity, and of Jesus himself. Light brings (an often uncomfortable) truth that is for our good and that is meant to save us; we have to decide what to do with the truth we have been given.

That’s the first point.

Second point: People are responsible for the light given to them. When the Bible tells us that not one person is righteous on their own[14], it’s referring to everyone everywhere, even those who have not had the light of the Gospel specifically presented to them. How is that fair?  Well, the author of Romans shed some light on this.

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus (Romans 2:12-16). 

Let’s walk through this one phrase at  time just so we have clarity. 

·  For when the Gentiles (those who don’t have the Law)

·  by nature (they have imago dei. There are moral and ethical requirements widely recognized and honored in people generally. It was a commonplace of rabbinic teaching that Abraham kept the laws of Sinai long before they were given.[15])

·  do the things contained in the law (they do right things)[16]

·  these, not having the written law, are a law unto themselves, (“Gentiles, though not given the Mosaic law, also have some knowledge of God’s law”[17] by the light and grace of God. It’s a moral code, fallen and incomplete though it may be.)[18]

·  who show the law written in their hearts, (by the same divine hand which wrote the commandments on the tables of stone) 

·  their conscience and their thoughts bearing witness, accusing or defending them ([19]“The way conscience operates is described as a process of accusation or defense by the thoughts of a person, the inner life being pictured as a kind of debating forum, so that at times one finds oneself exonerated at the bar of conscience, at other times convicted of wrong.”[20]  

Here is an example of how this works. A fourth century Roman emperor named Julian the Apostate (he was raised Christian and reverted to paganism) wrote “Against the Galilaeans,” which criticized Christianity and its Jewish foundation. At one point, he disparages the uniqueness of the Ten Commandments:

“What nation is there, I swear before the gods, which does not think that it ought to keep the commandments, excluding ‘Thou shalt not worship other gods’ and ‘Remember the Sabbath day’? Thus also penalties have been assigned to transgressors...” (Against the Galilaeans, 152D).[21]

Unwittingly, I think, Julian made Paul’s point in Romans: God has provided all with the ability to respond to a moral order that can be known at least to some degree. God, through general revelation of nature and conscience, has ensured that people know that there is good and evil, and that they are responsible to do good and not evil.  

The apostle hath explained what the light of nature is, and demonstrated that there is such a light existing. It is a revelation from God written originally on the heart or mind of man; consequently is a revelation common to all nations; and, so far as it goes, it agrees with the things written in the external revelation which God hath made to some nations. (Benson’s Commentary)

Even Gentiles, who had not the written law, had that within, which directed them what to do by the light of nature. Conscience is a witness, and first or last will bear witness…Conscience is a witness, and first or last will bear witness. As they kept or broke these natural laws and dictates, their consciences either acquitted or condemned them. (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary)

The point is not that those without divine revelations will escape the Day of Reckoning.  They will have to give an answer like everyone else for what they have done with what they were given. And, like all of us, they will not keep the dictates of the Law.

“Paul emphasized that all individuals will be judged on the basis of their response to the revelation they have received. Gentiles will not be condemned for failing to adhere to the stipulations of the law, which were unknown to them.  God will not judge Gentiles on the basis of the Jewish law, and the Jew will not be excused by the Gentiles’ failure to uphold the law… Furthermore, human conscience serves as grounds for condemnation because it establishes a framework of right and wrong and reflects the law written in their hearts”. (NKJV Evangelical Study Bible)[22]

People will not have to give an answer based on the light they did not receive; we will all give an answer for what we have done with the light we have been given. Those who have never seen a Bible can still know God’s revelation of himself in nature and in their consciences. They, too, have a light for which they will give an answer. All will be judged for their actions and motives, which are controlled by their consciences.[23] 

·    How are you responding internally to the light you have been given? If you are sitting in this church, the Bible is yours to read. How are you responding to the light Jesus has revealed to you? How are you responding to the person of Jesus as revealed in Scripture? What has it shown in your heart, soul, and mind, and how are you responding. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) How’s that going? Are you able to be honest, humble, surrendered, committed to dealing with what the light reveals?

·    What are you doing externally with the light of revelation you have been given? Is it changing the rhythms of life? Is it ordering your steps? Are you living like a different kind of person than you were before you had the truth? Has the truth set you free from the bondage of sin? Are you stepping into or hiding from the light?

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[1] “Many in ancient times believed serious birth defects were the product of personal sin—thus the disciples’ question in verse 2.” (CBS Tony Evans Study Bible)

[2] (Acts 28:4) “The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”

[3] F. F. Bruce notes, "This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness; to think so would again be an aspersion on the character of God. It does mean that God overruled the disaster of the child's blindness so that, when the child grew to manhood, he might, by recovering his sight, see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and others, seeing this work of God, might turn to the true Light of the World.”

[4] “We know from the pages of Pliny, and Tacitus, and Suetonius, that the saliva jejuna was held to be a remedy in cases of blindness, and that the same remedy was used by the Jews is established by the writings of the Rabbis.” (Ellicott’s Commentary) 

[5] The Pharisaic school of Hillel permitted prayer for the sick on the Sabbath; the dominant Shammaite schoo didn’t. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) 

[6] “Many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer…“That I don't know, but what I do know is this,” is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[7] “Critics sometimes insulted their opponents by refusing to name them (and)denying their importance.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[8] “The man who had been physically blind had become a believer, for his spiritual eyes had also been opened. On the other hand, the Pharisees could see physically but were spiritually blind.”(Africa Bible Commentary)

[9] “Many ancient writers spoke of spiritual or moral blindness (see Isaiah 6:9 – 10; 42:18 – 19); some also spoke of those who were physically blind yet had great spiritual insight.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[10] Paul makes a similar argument in Rom. 1:18–3:20.

[11] There are plenty of other ‘light’ verses, such as this one in 2 Corinthians 4:6  “ God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

[12] “Bringing a sword” is simply an observation that not all will accept the truth about Jesus, and disagreement over this issue will lead to conflict.

[13] “His coming would manifest the disposition and character of every man. The humble, teachable, and upright, though they were as much in the dark with respect to religion and the knowledge of divine things, as the blind man had been with respect to the light of the sun, should be greatly enlightened by his coming: whereas those, who in their own opinion were wise, and learned, and clear-sighted, should appear to be, what they really were, blind, that is…foolish.” (Benson Commentary)

[14] Romans 3:10

[15] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[16] In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul deals with a disturbing situation in the Corinthian church: “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.” Seneca the Younger (another contemporary of Paul) wrote a play called Phaedra in which Phaedra desires her step-son, Hippolytus. Phaedra’s nurse counsels her: “I beg you, then, extinguish the flames of your incestuous love, a sin which the barbarians have yet to commit. The nomadic Getae do not practice incest, nor the inhospitable Taurians, nor the scattered Scythians. Expel this perversion from your mind.” (Paul and the Pagans, faith.edu)

[17] Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Of The New Testament

[18] “Without individual conscience, there could be no public moral code. But we believe the main reference here to be to the public code; to the general consciousness and opinion of heathens that right and wrong are eternally different, and that judgment is to be accordingly hereafter…and as all pointing to a great manifestation of the truth of the principle at the Last Day.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

[19] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[20] Benson’s Commentary

[21] “Paul and the Pagans,” faith.edu

[22] “Heathen sinners shall be justly condemned; for though without the law, they have a substitute for it.” Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

[23] Africa Bible Commentary