Forgiveness - Mere Christianity

This episode we are working to understand what the Bible means when it says Christians are to forgive and love our neighbor as ourself.

Give it a listen and let me know what your thoughts are.

...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...

1 Peter 3:15

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello and welcome to the Reason Why Podcast. I'm Dana, your host. This is where we break down what Christians believe, why they believe it, and how to know whether it's true. If this is your first time tuning in, I'll give you a quick recap. We are doing a chapter-by-chapter study of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity. Each episode we discuss in about 10 minutes the main points and takeaways from that week's chapter. Lewis began this book by asking the same question many of us ask. Is there a God? And if so, how can we know? From there, he built a logical case for Christianity before ever even opening a Bible. We are now in the section of this book on what Christianity is that tackles Christian behavior. We have discussed morality in general and in connection with psychology, sexuality, marriage, and today we are looking at what Lewis says is one of the most unpopular aspects of Christianity. Forgiveness. I think we can all understand just how difficult a thing like forgiveness is. In Lewis's time, he was writing this right after World War II in England. So the thought of forgiving their biggest enemies, the Nazis or Gestapo, was unimaginable. And for us today, there's so much polarization among us. Just take your pick. There's division, resentment, outrage everywhere we look. The point is forgiveness is hard, seemingly impossible at times. I think we all have a certain group or certain crime. We could say we would never forgive. But as Christians, we're commanded to love our neighbor and to forgive others. So we have to figure this forgiveness thing out. It's that important. Forgiveness is one of the divining things for the Christian and Christianity. That is, after all, what Jesus did for us. But we'll get to that. Lewis starts with pointing out the unavoidable fact that neighbor includes enemy. So we have to forgive our enemies. But since the thought of forgiving someone who's pure evil can get quickly overwhelming, he suggests two things. First, start easier. Start with thinking about forgiving the neighbor, like your spouse, your kid, or your best friend, and we'll work up to the harder, seemingly impossible ones. Secondly, let's learn about the second part of that command. Love your neighbor as yourself. I don't know about you, but so often when I've read that, my first thought is, but I don't know if I even love myself. I definitely don't like myself a lot of the time. Well, Lewis thought that too. He quickly connected that that means that our loving our neighbor doesn't mean we have to like them or think fondly of them. And that's kind of a weight off, honestly, because what he's getting at is clearly we do love ourselves because maybe we have the wrong idea of what it means to love ourselves. So it doesn't mean we have to think fondly of ourselves or even like ourselves. I can be my own worst critic pretty much every day. And I can also be pretty critical of others, too. So loving someone doesn't mean thinking they're the best or even decent. Lewis says we can actually hate and loathe some of the things our enemy neighbors do, yet still love them. And that brings us to this peculiar saying Christians have hate the sin, not the sinner. That can seem a pretty preposterous thing. If someone kills my child, how could I not hate them? But Lewis points out, I do things I hate all the time. Remember how I said I can be critical of others? Yeah, I can't stand that about myself. There are parts of myself I genuinely dislike, but I still hope I'll grow and become better. So, yes, we hate the cruelty, the treachery, the cowardice, and all the other vices we commit against ourselves and the world, but we still should be hoping that those ways change for the better. Because if we're not, if we're actually hoping that the vile person on trial for murder actually goes on getting worse and worse, committing more and more atrocities, then what does that say about us? Nothing good, that's for sure. We don't want evil to keep growing. We want redemption. We want that terrible person on death row to acknowledge their evil ways, admit they were wrong, try to make amends. When we hear those stories, something seems right, like it's clicked into place a bit. Something in us recognizes it as good. Because, like Lewis has said before, it's the soul of the person that truly matters. Every bend and twist that's affected on and in that person matters. In Christianity, we are more than the worst thing we've ever done. Even when that does happen, that redemption story of the murderer on death row, that doesn't mean no punishment should happen. We hate that sin he committed. We hope he turns from his evil ways, but he still deserves the punishment merited out to him. Lewis then briefly talks about war and justice, the difference between killing and murder in the Bible. It's worth reading in full. I really appreciated his perspective, especially since I have a son that is considering joining the military. But his main point with all of that is that while we may kill, if necessary, we must not hate or enjoy hating. So forgiving and loving our neighbor doesn't mean we ignore the wrongs done or that we have to like the person. But what it does mean is that we hope for our neighbors' good. Yes, even our enemies' good. And when, not if, that is hard and seemingly impossible, we can remember that Jesus already showed us how to do that. He showed us by loving us first. He showed me, Dana, how to love and forgive my neighbor who I do not like by loving and forgiving me while I was deep in my own sin and brokenness, hurting everyone around me, including myself, but especially him. While I was his enemy, he came down, loved me, forgave me, picked me up out of the mess I was in, and told me I was his, and there was better. We love and forgive because he first loved and forgave us. And not because we're beautiful or have anything helpful to offer him. So, yes, love and forgiveness is hard, impossible even without God. But those are the defining characteristics of God in Christianity. Without them, hope is pointless. Next time we're gonna talk about the greatest sin. Any guesses on what that one is? Drop your ideas down in the comments. Guys, thanks so much for being here today. I hope you found this helpful. But even if it was maybe challenging or frustrating, please share with a friend and let's have these conversations. Because the truth is always worth knowing and sharing. Remember, you can always find more resources and content on my website at Facebook and Instagram at Seek Truth here. I'll see you next time. God bless you.