Forgiveness is at the very center of the Gospel and yet it is one of the hardest topics for many of us, me included. It is easy and satisfying to hold a grudge. And why should I forgive someone who never remediated the wrong they did to me? Well, there are a lot of reasons, but fundamentally you should forgive them because that is what God commands and models for us. In following some of the discussion about Michael Tait, I have seen a number of Christians saying he does not deserve and should never be given forgiveness. Unfortunately, that is not a Biblical view, and I think it demands a rebuke, even if a fairly gentle one. In particular, I think the story of Paul is instructive.
Now, before I go on, I want to make clear I’m not saying he deserves forgiveness now or that he deserves to avoid consequences. We still seem to be uncovering the true extent of his sin and the harm it caused. The claims also haven’t been tested by a court. But the victims do not seem happy, and the basic outlines of the accusations seem to have been admitted by all sides. For the sake of justice, Tait should face consequences proportionate to the wrongs he committed. There is absolutely nothing unbiblical about that and I think it is commendable to pursue justice, in fact. In addition, the industry deserves to face both justice and calls for reform. Similarly, it seems too early to talk about forgiveness. The accusations are still coming to light, and the victims of his sin have barely been heard. Societal forgiveness needs to wait for the process to become more complete. But he must be forgiven someday if he is legitimately repentant. That is the core message of the Gospel, and it is important to remember God gives forgiveness even though none of us deserve it.
For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.[1]
I understand this is new and emotions are heightened but there is simply no Christian justification for refusing forgiveness permanently.
If you doubt the accuracy of this, I could point to any number of verses. The Lord’s Prayer includes the lines, “forgive us our debts,/ as we also have forgiven our debtors.”[2] Jesus subsequently explains, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”[3] “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people.”[4]Peter asked Jesus later, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”[5] Jesus responds, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”[6] Jesus then tells him a cautionary parable, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. It recounts a man who owed a king ten thousand talents—a single talent is nearly 130 lbs of gold—but was very graciously forgiven.[7] Unfortunately, the servant then turned around and sent a fellow servant to prison for failure to pay a much smaller debt.[8] In the end, the king discovers this action and condemns the man. “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.”[9] Lest there be any doubt, we are the man who owes ten thousand talents. Our sin against God is far greater than any single man’s sin against another man. Luke also records additional comments. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”[10] “‘Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ 48 And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’”[11] “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him”[12] [emphasis added]. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”[13]
I think that makes the point fairly clear. And again, I am a hypocrite in this regard. I also struggle to forgive past wrongs, especially when there has been no recompense. I have been working on it, but I still struggle with it. That is one reason I decided to opine on this topic. I deserved rebuke which I have certainly received looking at all these scriptures telling me I am wrong. But I also felt I needed to point to my fellow hypocrites that they cannot claim someone should never be forgiven and claim any justification for that position from scripture. So please follow me in imperfectly moving forward and forgiving those who did us wrong.
I can already hear the objection, “But some sins are just too bad.” To this, I point to the story of Saul who would become Paul. He committed far more egregious sins against God and his fellow Christians than most of us will ever see. Yet God not only forgave him but made him an apostle and used him to proclaim the Gospel.
First, let us quickly recount Saul’s sins. He approved of the execution of Stephen.[14] He drove the Christians out of Judea and Samaria entirely, excepting the apostles.[15] Acts records, “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”[16] But that was not the end of it. Acts describes him as “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.”[17] This led him to ask the High Priest for a letter allowing him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem any Christians he could find in Damascus.[18]
He was only interrupted when “suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 5 And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’”[19] He was struck blind and had to be led to Damascus where Ananias was commanded to visit him and restore his sight because God said Saul was “a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”[20]
This man supported the murder of a Christian and then became a fierce persecutor of Christians. He also blasphemed God the Father and Jesus as His son. He was stopped from his crimes only by the direct intervention of Jesus himself. Regardless, God accepts his repentance and then uses him as an absolutely critical tool in spreading the Gospel. Paul went on to plant dozens of churches and actually provided almost half of the New Testament on his own. Paul said of himself, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”[21] In the next verse, he explains why he was given mercy: “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”[22] Church history and secular scholars tell us Paul eventually was martyred for his faith.[23] What an astounding turn for his life.
From our human perspective, the change in Paul’s life seems almost unbelievable. It’s too great a change. It is too much sin to forgive. From our perspective, Paul should have been condemned and them locked away in prison forever so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. That is because we are fallen and lack the “great mercy” of God.[24] Ephesians describes Him as “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us.”[25] 2 Corinthians goes further and describes God as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”[26] The Gospel of Luke describes “the tender mercy of our God.”[27] I think the verse I quoted near the top of the article bears repeating:
For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.[28]
Not all sins are equal. There are some people who are more sinful and deserve condemnation for that, but the bottom line is that none of us are good enough and we are all fallen. The most sinful person and the least sinful person share this in common: they are only redeemed by the Grace of God. Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s Grace are the only reason any of us merit the forgiveness we’ve been given and the entry to heaven we are promised. It is important to remember that each and every man is the man who was forgiven ten thousand talents while he refused to forgive the smaller debt of another. Our sins against God are far greater than our sins against each other—as heinous as those sins may be. If we refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us and our fellow man, we are just committing further sin.
I am fallible. I cannot possibly say what the correct time is to forgive Michael Tait, nor can I ultimately tell if he has sincerely repented. My instinct is the forgiveness should only come after consequences and a substantial period of time. What I know is it is wrong to say he should never be forgiven. His sins are many, but so were Paul’s. We each need to ask forgiveness and seek to become more and more sanctified each day through the Holy Spirit.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 3:22–25.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 6:12.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 6:14–15.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 12:31.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 18:21.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 18:22.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 18:23-27.
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 18:28-31
[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 18:32–34.
[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 6:37.
[11] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 7:47–48.
[12] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 17:3–4.
[13] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 4:32.
[14] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Acts 8:1.
[15] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Acts 8:1.
[16] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 8:3.
[17] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 9:1.
[18] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 9:1-2.
[19] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 9:3–5.
[20] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 9:15.
[21] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 1:15.
[22] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 1:16.
[23] Joshua Schachterle, “How Did Paul Die? Year, Age, & Location of the Apostle’s Death,” Bart Ehrman Courses Online, November 10, 2023, https://www.bartehrman.com/how-did-paul-die/.
[24] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 1:3.
[25] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 2:4.
[26] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 1:3.
[27] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:78.
[28] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 3:22–25.