Human Dilemma

Bob Mize wrote this piece which appeared in the April 1, 1071 edition of "The Bible Herald" which was published by the Bible Herald Corporation in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Sometimes our dilemmas are human; of human origin that is. One once came to my attention in a counseling session with a middle aged Christian man. He was having trouble realizing the forgiveness of God, and his fabricated dilemma, which caused his "tailspin" was worded to me this way. "I don't believe God will forgive me until I forgive myself but I can't forgive myself until I feel right with God."

The solution to this is not as complicated as the statement itself and the reason for that is clear. Often man can complicate things until it is bizarre, while God presents the simple and understandable. Anyway, the way to unravel this is to notice the error in the first part of the statement made by the brother. God has nowhere said that we must forgive ourselves (and we usually mean forget the past, which is impossible with man) before He forgives us. He does say that we must repent but this is not the same thing at all.

Consider Paul the apostle, who was formerly the persecutor. If anyone could have posed this dilemma for himself, he could have; but he didn't. God's grace and forgiveness is appropriated easily, without red tape. It takes one thing; faith in His promise. When He says that He forgives, we simple accept it and go forward. Hear Paul on the point. "Forgetting those things which are behind...I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).