Jesus Christ is my God!
Issued 12.09.1999
Revenge or atonement
He who felt offended must make the choice, whether to seek a revenge or an atonement. To get the atonement it is needed a conciliator. Who pays the damages caused by the injustice deeds?
Theft of my car
When my car was stolen and broken, I felt offended. I was angry with the thief. How could that rascal cause me the trouble and the lost of my money! Although the thief was not caught, his crime was soon atoned in my heart.
I could forgive him, because God has compensated me all injustice that I have suffered. I didn't get any compensation from men, because there was not an insurance against theft for my car.
I have nothing to forgive anybody. For everything, what people have done against me, I have got the payment. The sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God has given me the power to forgive them.
When my car was stolen and broken, I felt offended. I was angry with the thief. How could that rascal cause me the trouble and the lost of my money! Although the thief was not caught, his crime was soon atoned in my heart.
I could forgive him, because God has compensated me all injustice that I have suffered. I didn't get any compensation from men, because there was not an insurance against theft for my car.
I have nothing to forgive anybody. For everything, what people have done against me, I have got the payment. The sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God has given me the power to forgive them.
Repenting gets forgiveness
Why I forgive them, though they do not repent nor excuse nor compensate the caused damage?Indeed, not even God has forgiven me before I repented of my sins and believed in Jesus. The reason for it is that God has not wronged anybody.
He is perfectly innocent of all evil. He doesn't forgive unrepentant ones, because it would defame justice and would insult grace. I have committed sins and I have also received the forgiveness from God. Therefore I cannot demand repentance of those who have offended against me as the condition for my forgiveness. If I would do that I would defame grace, which I have got from the God of justice. Because I have been under the same judgement I have lost my rights to require that I would be excused.
Many Christians assure also unrepentant sinners of the forgiveness of God. When they do so they mix up their own forgiveness with God's. They have forgotten that "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name." Luke.24:47
Only God can forgive sins, which have been done against Him. In practice God's Spirit doesn't release anybody from guilt before God, before the man humbles himself and puts the sacrifice of Jesus as the ransom for his crimes against God. Not till then he receives God's forgiveness, though priests would be forgiving him many times.
You yourselves can forgive only the crimes which have been done against you. If I, who have received God's mercy, demand the judgement to a person who offended against me, I will lose the grace that I have already got, according to the teaching of Jesus.
Why I forgive them, though they do not repent nor excuse nor compensate the caused damage?Indeed, not even God has forgiven me before I repented of my sins and believed in Jesus. The reason for it is that God has not wronged anybody.
He is perfectly innocent of all evil. He doesn't forgive unrepentant ones, because it would defame justice and would insult grace. I have committed sins and I have also received the forgiveness from God. Therefore I cannot demand repentance of those who have offended against me as the condition for my forgiveness. If I would do that I would defame grace, which I have got from the God of justice. Because I have been under the same judgement I have lost my rights to require that I would be excused.
Many Christians assure also unrepentant sinners of the forgiveness of God. When they do so they mix up their own forgiveness with God's. They have forgotten that "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name." Luke.24:47
Only God can forgive sins, which have been done against Him. In practice God's Spirit doesn't release anybody from guilt before God, before the man humbles himself and puts the sacrifice of Jesus as the ransom for his crimes against God. Not till then he receives God's forgiveness, though priests would be forgiving him many times.
You yourselves can forgive only the crimes which have been done against you. If I, who have received God's mercy, demand the judgement to a person who offended against me, I will lose the grace that I have already got, according to the teaching of Jesus.
Thirst for revenge
Desire for revenge continues in all over the world, because people have bad consciences of their own sins. They want to revenge and do not search an atonement, because they use revenging as a way to forget the judgement of God which is coming against them for their sins.
Man's revenge searches a selfish and blind compensation. It has the spirit of Cain, which doesn't want the fair punishment for the guilty, but it wants the manifold compensations of loss: "Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." Gen.4:24 . God wants the atonement which achieves the righteous and truthful reconciliation.
When somebody is stolen from, he can decide to get back his loss by stealing from somebody else in return. They "pass the buck to somebody else", as the phrase goes. In this way they revenge the damage. God doesn't want revenging, but He wants atoning, because only it brings parties concerned to the reconciliation.
We can consider it to be God's revenge when He carries out penalty decisions and so warns people about their sinful life. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Rom.12:19
He, who stole my car, offended also against God, not only against me. I cannot forgive him that, but I have prayed God for him and said: You can pay for him his bad deed and discipline him so that he would understand to stop stealing. Give him guilt of his deed that he would search your mercy and could be saved.
Desire for revenge continues in all over the world, because people have bad consciences of their own sins. They want to revenge and do not search an atonement, because they use revenging as a way to forget the judgement of God which is coming against them for their sins.
Man's revenge searches a selfish and blind compensation. It has the spirit of Cain, which doesn't want the fair punishment for the guilty, but it wants the manifold compensations of loss: "Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." Gen.4:24 . God wants the atonement which achieves the righteous and truthful reconciliation.
When somebody is stolen from, he can decide to get back his loss by stealing from somebody else in return. They "pass the buck to somebody else", as the phrase goes. In this way they revenge the damage. God doesn't want revenging, but He wants atoning, because only it brings parties concerned to the reconciliation.
We can consider it to be God's revenge when He carries out penalty decisions and so warns people about their sinful life. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Rom.12:19
He, who stole my car, offended also against God, not only against me. I cannot forgive him that, but I have prayed God for him and said: You can pay for him his bad deed and discipline him so that he would understand to stop stealing. Give him guilt of his deed that he would search your mercy and could be saved.
God punishes
God's judgement and punishment is waiting for all whose sins against God are without the atonement. He will not revenge on them when they are thrown into the lake of fire, but they will fall into it atoning their sins. The ransom for them is so great that it takes an eternity when they are atoning it. "No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him - the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough - that he should live on for ever and not see decay." Ps.49:7-9
Isn't it a really very valuable redemption which Jesus provided for you? Although the ransom of your soul is costly, the death of Jesus, the Son of God is more costly. It has the power to change your eternal punishment to eternal life. Why would you revenge yourself by rejecting this great atonement?
God's judgement and punishment is waiting for all whose sins against God are without the atonement. He will not revenge on them when they are thrown into the lake of fire, but they will fall into it atoning their sins. The ransom for them is so great that it takes an eternity when they are atoning it. "No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him - the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough - that he should live on for ever and not see decay." Ps.49:7-9
Isn't it a really very valuable redemption which Jesus provided for you? Although the ransom of your soul is costly, the death of Jesus, the Son of God is more costly. It has the power to change your eternal punishment to eternal life. Why would you revenge yourself by rejecting this great atonement?
The Bible version used in references is NIV