This phrase was said by Jesus Christ, the circumstances in the canonical Gospels vary
This phrase comes from the lips of Jesus Christ. He speaks it in a famous sermon on the plain. The text is very similar to the content of another Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps the evangelists mean the same events.
It has not been fully established where exactly the actions took place. Regarding the Sermon on the Mount, there is an opinion that it is about the Mount of Beatitudes, because there are no real mountains in that area. There is also disagreement about whether the Messiah delivered the entire Sermon on the Mount at once, or whether its contents were a compilation of various quotes from the Savior recorded at different times.
Mount of Beatitudes - perhaps it was here that Jesus Christ said: “Forgive and you will be forgiven”
- Quotes about forgiveness from the canonical gospels
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ pays attention to the issue of relationships with enemies:
(Luke 6:35–38)
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing; and you will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you: good measure, shaken together, pressed, and running over, will be poured into your bosom; For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
There is a similar episode in the Gospel of Matthew in the description of the Sermon on the Mount. Here is the quote we are interested in:
(Matt. 6:14)
“For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses.”
Christ says the same thing in the Gospel of Mark, but under different circumstances - when visiting Jerusalem:
(11:25–26)
“And when you stand in prayer, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins.”
Only in the Gospel of John there is no such episode. This is understandable: textual examination shows that the first three Gospels have a close connection, perhaps common primary sources. The Gospel of John is a later and more independent work.
Jesus Christ raises the topic of forgiveness in this text after the Resurrection:
(John 20:23)
“Whose sins you forgive, their sins will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him"
As you can see, there is a completely different tone here. This is not instruction for believers, but guidance for apostles. Here the Savior does not teach to live righteously, but tells the disciples about their special advantages.
The risen Christ allowed the disciples to forgive sins in the name of God
An example of the repentance of the Ninevites and the parable of the unclean spirit
Matthew 12:38–45
...Some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher! We would like to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.
When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it; Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came. And, having arrived, he finds it unoccupied, swept and put away; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and entering they live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.
What to pay attention to here
““Ninevites”: residents of the city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian state <...> The Prophet Jonah, by the command of God, called them to repentance; they heeded his prophetic voice, and their sincere, deep repentance delayed by two centuries the destruction of the city, which God threatened them with through the prophet” (Bishop Mikhail (Luzin), 1830–1887).
[On the parable of the unclean spirit:] “This happens to every person, if after repentance he does not fight his outdated sinful habits: like hungry animals, they will then attack his poor heart with even greater ferocity” (Archbishop Nikon ( Rozhdestvensky), 1851–1919).
Jonah the prophet in the belly of the whale. Byzantium. 9th century Illuminated Psalter of Pantocrator. Athos, Pantokr. 61. Greece. Athos, Pantokrator Monastery
The Bible about the forgiveness of sins says that God can forgive them to a person
Why is it so important to us what the Bible says about forgiveness? The fact is that it is on its foundation that Orthodox teaching stands. This is not a matter of insults or reproaches. Everything is much deeper: it’s about the relationship between man and the Almighty.
In the Orthodox view, almost everyone is a sinner. In the life of such a person there can be no hope for the Kingdom of Heaven, achieved through one’s own efforts. But God will forgive because He is all-merciful.
Forgiveness is the hope of a believing Orthodox Christian, and therefore everything that is said in the Bible on this topic is very important.
The beginning of the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ
Matthew 4:12–13, 17
When Jesus heard that John had been put into custody, he withdrew to Galilee and, leaving Nazareth, came and settled in Capernaum by the sea <...> From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
What to pay attention to here
“Christ came, among other things, to give people an image. Therefore, He did even what He did not need: He received circumcision and baptism. He knew that throughout the ages people would look to Him as an example, and He took this into account. And since the beginning of spiritual life is repentance, He began His preaching precisely with this, so that no one would later say: well, John the Baptist taught this, but Jesus did not. Repentance is a necessary condition for meeting God” (Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, 1951–2020).
The Bible says God forgives sins
The Bible often addresses the topic of forgiveness, although it is not the most popular theme in Holy Scripture.
A set of texts as rich in meaning as the psalms, of course, touches on this issue:
(Psalm 103:10–12)
“He did not deal with us according to our iniquities, nor did He reward us according to our sins: for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is the mercy of the Lord toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so He has removed our iniquities from us.”
Already here, in the Old Testament text, the most important idea for Orthodoxy can be traced - God’s forgiveness of man out of mercy.
The same idea comes up further:
(Psalm 129:3–4)
“If You, Lord, notice iniquities, - Lord! who can resist? But with You is forgiveness, let them revere You."
Although the Old Testament God is often presented as merciless, we see that He comes to meet believers and invites man to cleanse himself from sin:
(Isaiah 1:18)
“Then come and let us reason together,” says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson, they will be white as wool.”
At the same time, God erases sins forever. He is demanding, but not vindictive:
(Isaiah 43:25)
“I, I Myself, blot out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Chapter 43 of the book of Isaiah: I myself will blot out your transgressions and will not remember your sins
God's main motive is mercy out of love
But why does God forgive sins? Because we're so good? Not at all. He does it out of mercy:
(Isaiah 55:7)
“Let the wicked forsake his way and the wicked his thoughts, and let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He is abundant in mercy.”
Where does this mercy come from? By her own? No. As we remember, God is love. And he forgives us because he loves to have mercy:
(Micah 7:18–19)
“Who is God like You, who forgives iniquity and does not impute transgression to the remnant of Your inheritance? He is not always angry, because He loves to have mercy. He will again have mercy on us and blot out our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
Some believers ask, “Why don’t I feel forgiven?”
We offer you four possible options. Choose which one is the answer for you:
- You have repented of your sin, asked the Lord for forgiveness, but you do not feel forgiven, because the feeling of guilt that you feel is the work of the devil. He is a slanderer ( Revelation 12:10 ) who slanderes you to God and reminds you of your past sins so that you do not feel forgiven and justified. In this case, you need to stop listening to the lies of Satan, and start listening to the truth of the Word of God, which is eternal and unchanging. If God promised to forgive, then He did it.
- You have repented of your sin and asked the Lord for forgiveness, but you do not feel forgiven, perhaps because you live not by faith, but by feelings. In your situation, we want to remind you of the biblical truth: “The just shall live by faith.” ( Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, Galatians 2:11 ). Stop relying on your feelings all the time and start living by faith.
- You have asked God for forgiveness for your sins, but you do not feel forgiven, perhaps because your repentance was not completely sincere, and now the Lord is convicting you through your conscience.
- You have asked God for forgiveness for your sins, but you do not feel forgiven, perhaps because you continue to live in sin. To repent means not only to realize and repent of your sin, but also to turn away from it and not repeat it again. If you are living in sin, then we urge you to stop sinning and turn to the Lord for forgiveness of sins.
God forgives those who show love to others
How to achieve this mercy? Is it unconditional or does it require some effort on the part of the believer? Yes, in fairness it must be said that there are teachings where God is presented as an unconditionally loving and always merciful being.
There is even an idea that there is no hell, that God will have mercy and reward everyone after death. They also add the idea that the presence of conditions of mercy is a limitation of free will.
Confession is a way to ask God for forgiveness, but you also need to learn to forgive yourself
But we will not enter into polemics with these views. Believing something is everyone's right. Here we will present an exclusively Orthodox view of the situation. It is based on the text of Holy Scripture. What does it tell us?
A person’s sins are forgiven in proportion to how much he loves:
(7:47–48)
“Therefore I tell you: her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. He said to her: Luke’s sins are forgiven you.”
Interesting math. But how to count? This is probably still a figurative rather than a direct expression. “Little loves” can talk about attachments, selective love - only for oneself or only for loved ones. God expects broader love from man—toward his enemies, for example. And not only love, but also its manifestations.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to be compassionate towards one another
And what are these manifestations? The Apostle Paul explains:
(Eph 4:31–32)
“Let all bitterness and rage and anger and shouting and slander, along with all malice, be put away from you; but be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”
And here are direct recommendations from Jesus Christ:
(Matt 5:44–45)
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. "
“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Matthew 9:10–13
…Many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples: Why does your Teacher eat and drink with publicans and sinners? Jesus, having heard this, said to them: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick, go and learn what it means: I want mercy, and not sacrifice? For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
What to pay attention to here
“In this case, the Lord calls “righteous” those Pharisees and scribes blinded by self-conceit, who reduced the entire essence of religion to the fulfillment of the ritual law... Not seeing their sins and passions, but scrupulously, to the smallest detail, fulfilling all this external side of religion, they considered themselves righteous, proudly despising their people... so that they were no longer capable of spiritual life, of repentance. Therefore the Lord condemned them. But in doing so, He condemned the same “righteous” Christians who, while fulfilling church rules, rites, and customs, are mired in vanity, pride, and condemnation of everyone and everything, teaching and commanding. The Lord angrily rejects such people and says that he did not come to these false righteous people, but only to those believers who, seeing their sinful state, humble themselves and repent” (Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Alexey Ilyich Osipov).
One way to express love is to forgive your enemies
It is unlikely that for an Orthodox person there is a more desirable way to be convinced of God’s love than to receive salvation. But these are still the wrong priorities.
This is a selfish motive. At the forefront of everything should be the relationship with God, and not the fear of what will happen to the soul after death. If you are a good person, you have nothing to fear, and God loves you. And he loves, which means he forgives.
But, as we have already figured out, the Almighty expects manifestations of love from a person. And one of them is forgiveness. In response to the Apostle Peter, Jesus said in the following passage to all of us:
(Matt 18:21–22)
“Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, until seven times, but until seventy times seven.”
Forgiveness is a sacrifice, and God made the hardest sacrifice to forgive humanity
Easy to say, but hard to do, right?
But the Savior wants us to understand that for Him these are not just words either. Love is often a sacrifice. And to prove his love for humanity, He makes a serious sacrifice - he goes to the cross.
Jesus Christ died on the cross for love of humanity
This is an example of love, courage and, of course, forgiveness - after all, the sacrifice on the cross is precisely a manifestation of forgiveness. How much can we do to forgive another person? Sometimes it is difficult for us to simply forget the insult. To suffer for the sins of someone else seems completely unthinkable.
It is unthinkable for a person to suffer for the sins of others, but God only asks to forgive
And yet, as Orthodox teaching teaches, the most powerful being in the Universe decides to do this:
(Luke 24:46–47)
“And he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Sermon by John the Baptist on works of repentance
Luke 3:10–14
I asked him [John the Baptist. — Approx. ed.] people: what should we do? He answered and said to them, “Whoever has two coats, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same.” The publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: Master! what should we do? He answered them: do not demand anything more specific to you. The soldiers also asked him: what should we do? And he said to them: do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary.
What to pay attention to here
“The real fruits of repentance are not anything special or overwhelming, but simply the honest fulfillment of one’s assumed responsibilities” (Professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Alexander Lopukhin, 1852–1904).
Rembrandt. Sermon of John the Baptist. 1635
Orthodoxy teaches to accept Christ in order to receive forgiveness
The apostles tell us how people can accept the sacrifice of Christ and receive the forgiveness of the Most High:
(Acts 3:19–20)
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who is appointed for you.”
(1 John 1:9)
“If we confess our sins, He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee
Luke 18:9–14
He also spoke to some who were confident about themselves that they were righteous, and humiliated others, the following parable: two men entered the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I acquire. The publican, standing in the distance, did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven; but, striking himself on the chest, he said: God! be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you that this one went to his house justified more than the other: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
What to pay attention to here
“God does not need external human righteousness at all; God needs only the internal qualities of the soul. And the motivation of the Pharisee is pride, and the tax collector, who cannot raise his eyes to heaven, has set out on the path of humility. And if God can give grace to a humble person, which will purify and save him, then to a Pharisee he cannot... This is impossible, because pride is contrary to the very nature of the Divine” ( Archpriest Dimitri Smirnov, 1951–2020).
The Publican and the Pharisee, James Tissot
It’s not enough to accept the Savior, you also need to start living like a Christian: in love and forgiving
To prevent salvation from turning into a selfish flight from hell, it is not enough to simply repent and begin to live in the bosom of the Orthodox Church. The most important thing is the example of Christ.
The most valuable thing for a person is to live as the Messiah lived: out of love. And one of Jesus’ instructions is to learn to forgive:
(Luke 17:3–4)
“Watch yourself. If your brother sins against you, reprimand him; and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times a day and turns around seven times a day and says, “I repent,” forgive him.”
(Col 3:13)
“...bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against anyone: just as Christ forgave you, so do you.”
The Savior put this long chain of reasoning into a simple and accessible “forgive, and you will be forgiven.” St. Petersburg wrote beautifully about this. Maxim the Confessor:
“Let us love one another and be loved by God. Let us be patient with one another, and He will be patient with our sins. Let us not repay evil for evil, and He will not repay us according to our sins. For we will find forgiveness of our sins in the forgiveness of our brethren.”
But no one can compare here with Jesus Christ, who was able to illustrate the principle of Divine forgiveness in this parable:
(Gospel of Matthew 18:23-35)
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants; when he began to reckon, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and since he did not have anything to pay with, his sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay; then that slave fell, and, bowing to him, said: sir! Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.
The Emperor, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave him the debt. That servant went out and found one of his companions who owed him a hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and strangled him, saying, “Give me what you owe.” Then his comrade fell at his feet, begged him and said: have patience with me, and I will give you everything. But he didn’t want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt. His comrades, seeing what had happened, were very upset and, when they came, they told their sovereign everything that had happened.
Then his sovereign calls him and says: evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me; Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you? And, angry, his sovereign handed him over to the torturers until he paid him all the debt. So will My Heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.”
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Repentance of Simon Peter under the influence of a miraculous catch of fish
Luke 5:3–10
Entering one boat, which was Simon's, He asked him to sail a little from the shore and, sitting down, taught the people from the boat. When he had stopped teaching, he said to Simon, “Sail out into the deep and let down your nets to catch.” Simon answered Him: Master! We toiled all night and caught nothing, but at Your word I will let down the net. Having done this, they caught a great many fish, and even their net was broken. And they gave a sign to the comrades who were on the other boat to come help them; and they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said: Depart from me, Lord! because I am a sinful person. For horror seized him and all those who were with him from this fishing of fish they caught; also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's companions. And Jesus said to Simon: Do not be afraid; From now on you will catch people.
What to pay attention to here
“This sense of one’s own sinfulness in the presence of God is the jewel of the soul. The Lord values it more than all the formal hymns of admiration and gratitude” (St. Nicholas of Serbia, 1881-1956).
“Hearing the gospel story of the fish catch and the horror of the Apostle Peter... we should feel fear for the ease with which we approach God, expecting a face-to-face meeting from Him. We must... go to God with a contrite spirit, a humble heart, go, realizing that we have no right to this meeting and that if it happens, it will be only by the boundless, incomprehensible mercy of God" ( Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, 1914–2003) .
