From Forgiven to Forgiving: Learning to Forgive One Another Gods Way

Rating:
Summary: Dangerous license to withhold forgiveness
Review: Forgiveness from the heart: is the Christian obligated to forgive the unrepentant? Adams says no in the strongest terms. In fact, in footnote #10 he says, "Since the Bible requires at least an affirmation of repentance, it is wrong, and, therefore, sinful to grant forgiveness to those who do not care."

Adams errs in several ways. First, he fails to recognize two kinds of forgiveness. He fails to rightly distinguish between unconditional forgiveness from the heart and the verbal forgiveness that is made possible when someone repents (heart forgiveness vs verbal forgiveness). In fact, he says that forgiveness from the heart is not really forgiveness at all, just willingness to forgive.

Secondly, his comparison of God's forgiveness with human forgiveness is simplistic. He says that since we are to forgive like God, and since God requires repentance, so should we.

However, God has every right to make His forgiveness conditional because God is sovereign; God is holy; God punishes; and God judges. Jesus suffered and died for the sins of His people. The most painful and heart-rending forgiveness between humans is dwarfed by the magnitude of what God did so that He could forgive His people.

Jesus warns that those who refuse to forgive will not be forgiven. Dare we ignore this warning? Dare we encourage others to withhold forgiveness? The teaching of Jay Adams on inter-personal forgiveness is the blot that soils his legacy of so-called biblical counseling.

Rating:
Summary: Essential Reading for All Christians
Review: Forgiveness is absolutely essential to a healthy Christian life. Unfortunately, many Christians today adhere to an unbiblical concept regarding what it means to forgive, and what a Christian's responsibilities are in terms of forgiveness.

Christians are often condemned by fellow believers when they dare to express hurt or anger about wrongs which have been committed against them in the past. Frequently, the kneejerk response to such people is to preach a judgmental sermon about how they need to forgive. Such a response is often like rubbing salt into an open wound.

In the name of "wisdom," the church is guilty of failing to show compassion to those who are hurting. A large part of the blame for that lack of compassion can be assigned to the erroneous belief that Christians should never confront those who have caused them harm, nor should they tell others about the harmful things which have been done to them. This, despite the fact that the scriptures clearly tell us to confront wrongdoers, and to tell others about their wrongdoing if and when those wrongdoers refuse to repent. Such confrontation is not antithetical to true biblical forgiveness. Those who insist that it is are often motivated by a selfish desire to avoid dealing with real conflicts in need of real resolution. Since they turn a deaf ear to the burdens of others, such Christians cannot fulfill their Biblical obligation to bear one another's burdens.

Jay Adams and James Kennedy have done an enormous service to the church by illuminating the following truths regarding true Biblical forgiveness:

a.) Forgiveness is not something which is done for the sake of offering "healing" or "therapy" for the forgiver. (It may have that effect, but that is not its primary purpose.) It is done for the sake of restoring broken relationships. If it does not result in the restoration of trust in those relationships, it is not true forgiveness.

b.) While God's love for us is unconditional, His forgiveness is not. This in no way negates the fact that forgiveness is a manifestation of God's grace and mercy. We cannot earn salvation, but the fact remains that we must do certain things in order to receive it. Specifically, we must humbly ask for it.

The Bible makes it plain that our forgiveness of others is to be modeled after God's forgiveness of us. Hence, since God's forgiveness of us is conditional, so also our forgiveness of others should be conditional. Just as those who are too proud to ask God for His forgiveness cannot expect to receive that forgiveness, so also those who sin against others and refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing cannot expect to be forgiven by those against whom they have sinned.

However, God is always willing to forgive anyone who sincerely asks for that forgiveness. Hence, we must always be open to reconciliation, and willing to forgive those who ask for forgiveness.

It is unfortunate that so many people, including many prominent born-again Christians, have been seduced by new age ideas regarding the nature of Biblical forgiveness. "From Forgiven to Forgiving" should be required reading for all pastors --- and for all Christians, for that matter.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Scriptural Book, Sensible and Down-to-Earth
Review: God forgives us conditionally, upon our repentance. God does not hold us to a higher standard than he holds himself. We forgive others in the same way God forgives us.

The authors do a fine job of discussing the many questions raised in our minds about forgiveness, and they look at the whole of Scripture to find answers. Unlike some books based more on pop psychology, this book is true to the Word. God's way is a lot more freeing than the "pretend you've forgiven when you haven't in the name of love" approach often advocated today. The best book I've found on forgiveness.

As a pastor of 22 years, I have preached and counseled these principles. Guilty consciences have been relieved and offenders have truly repented and became willing to re-establish credibility. American evangelicalism needs this book! A must for anyone who ministers to people--including dedicated laymen.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Scriptural Book, Sensible and Down-to-Earth
Review: God forgives us conditionally, upon our repentance. God does not hold us to a higher standard than he holds himself. We forgive others in the same way God forgives us.

The authors do a fine job of discussing the many questions raised in our minds about forgiveness, and they look at the whole of Scripture to find answers. Unlike some books based more on pop psychology, this book is true to the Word. God's way is a lot more freeing than the "pretend you've forgiven when you haven't in the name of love" approach often advocated today. The best book I've found on forgiveness.

As a pastor of 22 years, I have preached and counseled these principles. Guilty consciences have been relieved and offenders have truly repented and became willing to re-establish credibility. American evangelicalism needs this book! A must for anyone who ministers to people--including dedicated laymen.

Rating:
Summary: Adams on Forgiveness
Review: Having just finished reading this helpful work on forgiveness, I can attest that it clarifies many difficulties that modernity has caused in viewing the problems of sin, personal offenses, and reconciliation. I certainly did not agree with everything he wrote--he distinguishes punishment of sin from ongoing consequences in a way I don't believe the Bible teaches--but overall he has written a very straightforward, helpful book. The chapters are brief, the language is easily understood, and his thoughts progress in a logical fashion. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A pastor serving in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Review: I am troubled by several scriptural interpretations presented by the author of this book. In particular, I am troubled by Adams' attempt to explain away Jesus' prayer of asking God the Father to forgive the soldiers who crucified him (as found in Luke 23:32-34) as a prayer for the Jewish religious leaders who were responsible for having him crucified.

Adams tries to explain that Jesus' prayer was answered by God the Father subsequently when thousands of Jews came to the Lord via Peter's preaching as documented in Acts 2:37-38, 3:17-19, and 4:4 (see page 29).

However, it is my opinion that Adams is misapplying the prayer that Jesus made concerning the soldiers who had nothing to do with the Jewish religious leaders to the Jews' subsequent salvation as documented in the above cited Acts passages. What took place on the cross was Jesus asking God to forgive the soldiers for carrying out the orders of crucifying Jesus. Furthermore, it can be argued that Jesus was also asking for forgiveness for the soldiers' subsequent cruel, humiliating, and selfish actions of dividing up and casting lots for his clothing.

It is my opinion that Jesus was not praying for the Jewish religious leaders to be forgiven for their actions since they knew exactly what they were doing-they were making sure that Jesus was to be put to death. There is simply no connection between the soldiers and the Jewish religious leaders and thus no prayer of salvation for the Jews by Jesus. Therefore, there is no justification for Adams' interpretation of the passage.

Adams' premise that God's forgiveness is conditional is not supported by his misinterpretation of the Lukan passage of scripture. It is not that God's forgiveness is conditional on God's part. Rather, it is conditional on our part in accepting the forgiveness that is unconditionally offered by God to all of us. It is our free will that determines for each of us how we are to respond to God and God's offer of reconciliation to us.

It is by way of Jesus' actions of asking forgiveness for these men that Jesus sets the standard for all of us regarding our extending unilateral forgiveness toward another who has hurt or in any way victimize us. It is up to us to follow this example and implement it in our relationships with regard to those who victimize us. While our human limitations prevent us from ever attaining this level of forgiveness that Jesus inspires us to work toward, it is still the ultimate example that we are challenged to emulate.

It is by way of Jesus' ultimate example that I understand God's forgiveness to be the ultimate on a continuum various levels of forgiveness. Also on the continuum are bilateral forgiveness (where the victim states that he or she will forgive the perpetrator if the perpetrator asks for the forgiveness), psuedo forgiveness (where the victim says that he or she has forgiven but continues to ruminate the events involved in the victim-perpetrator relationship), and premature forgiveness (when a victim extends forgiveness to the perpetrator before the victim is psychologically ready to do so.

It is primarily because of this misinterpretation of the Lukan passage of scripture that Adams poffers that I have great difficulty in recommending this book as a serious scholarly work on God's forgiveness.

Rating:
Summary: A Simple Prescription for Dealing with "Forgiveness"
Review: In this recently republished book, Jay Adams -- the father of "nouthetic counseling" -- explores all dimensions of the process of forgiveness. The reader will gain a practical understanding of biblical forgiveness from beginning to end.

The publishers introduce this book by asking us what the following statements about forgiveness have in common:

"Forgiveness is obtained through apologizing."

"The best thing you can do is forgive and forget."

"You aren't forgiven until you feel forgiven."

"Even if someone hasn't asked to be forgiven, you can still forgive them."

Their answer? These statements represent popular misconceptions about true biblical forgiveness. They could not be more right. Today's Christian culture has imbibed unbiblical and "worldly" notions about forgiveness. The result: our fellowships and relationships with others are marked by superficiality, avoidance, and "denial." We simply don't deal with things. (And many are taught so!)

Jay Adams offers excellent biblical driectives here -- real help for real people in real situations. Some of the topics addressed:

-- What is forgiveness?

-- How forgiveness is condition

-- Forgiveness after forgiveness

-- When you are the offender

-- What about unbelievers?

-- Dangerous shortcuts, ploys, & evasions

-- The horizontal & vertical dimensions

-- Continuing consequences

The Bottom Line: This book, now back in print due to ongoing demand, presents the Bible's simple prescription for dealing with the vital subject of forgiveness. Every Christian, particularly those who counsel others, ought to read, digest, and then practice the principles Dr. Adams sets forth here.

This is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: At last a book on forgiveness from God's view
Review: This is the very best book I have ever read about forgiveness. For years I stuggled with forgiving people who did not think they needed forgiveness or who would not ask. I did not see anywhere in scripture that I must forgive before others ask for forgiveness. Finally, Jay Adams writes a book that reveals everything I believe God tells us about how we are to forgive.

Every pastor and church leader should read this book. I have not met a pastor yet who teaches the things Jay Adams reveals in this book. True forgiveness is powerful and must not be given lightly. Few people understand this. True forgiveness does bring healing, but few people understand how to get or give true forgiveness. This is a MUST read book for every Christian, even if you have read every book available on this topic. If you want justice and true reconciliation but have been told you are unloving and unforgiving, read this book. I finally have peace knowing that I do not stand alone in my beliefs about godly forgiveness.