Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that by testing
you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and
perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV
Have you
heard the phrase, “you need to forgive yourself?” It sounds nice, almost right. Although it is a secular term, I have heard
it numerous times spoken even by Christian leaders. Just the other day I heard a leader in the
church declare, “The gospel is the good news of Jesus dying on the cross and
resurrecting from the dead and all we need to do is forgive ourselves.” My hackles were up when I heard that. The little hairs stood up on the back of my
neck. I was going to set him straight, ask him where it says to forgive
yourself in the Bible. But then I thought a better time and place, besides a
church potluck, would be a wiser decision to bring up a theological discussion.
You can
find several convincing articles on forgiving yourself at many websites such as
Psychology Today and other liberal
self-help sites. I’ve even found
arguments on Christian web sites about forgiving yourself. This devious little lie has slipped into our
churches, but there is no scriptural basis to forgive ourselves. Yes, some claim the scriptures elude to the fact that we can forgive
ourselves, but it is a stretch.
Christ
gave the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so we can be forgiven by HIM. Eternal life is a free gift made possible by
Jesus’ death and resurrection (Eph 2:8-9). Think about it for a moment. If we had the power to forgive ourselves
wouldn’t that render Jesus’ sacrifice powerless? Why would we need God’s forgiveness if we
have the power to forgive ourselves?
The
Apostle Paul tells us there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus” (Romans 8:1). He also says that
“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away,
behold, all thing have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). If you continue to condemn yourself after
receiving the grace and forgiveness of Christ, isn’t there a sense in which you
are denying the faith and crucifying the Son of God afresh (Heb. 6:6)? I think so.
So what do
people mean when they say, “you must forgive yourself?” Quite
possibly Christians are saying to transform your thinking and search for God’s
perfect will. The scripture is clear “to be renewed in the spirit of your mind”
(Eph. 4:23). Paul doesn’t tell us to forgive ourselves but
to change our thought process. The Message tells us, “Don’t
become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the
culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God
brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Rom. 12:2)
That’s what I want: to be changed from
the inside out. God thinks of us as
good; actually “very good”. He even
calls us sons and daughters! He desires
us to rise above the deception of the psychological theories of this culture. That’s
what the New Rebellion is all about. Don’t
conform to the status quo of the Christian life or to the little lies that modern
culture promotes. In this instance, instead
of saying “I must forgive myself” I should say, “God forgives me and gives me a
new way of thinking.”
Thank you, Jesus, for dying for me and
resurrecting from the grave to give me forgiveness and new life. Thank you for forgiving me so I can go forth
and forgive those who have sinned against me.
Please help me to renew my mind and give me a new way of thinking about
myself so I can be emotionally healed.
Amen
