From Forgiven to Forgiving: Learning to Forgive One Another God's Way

by Jay E. Adams

- Just "forgive and forget." - You should apologize when you mess up. - If you forgive you will feel better. - Don't wait until you are asked before you forgive. - Forgive only when you are sure the offender is sincere.
If you think any of these statements are good advice, you need to read this book ! Understanding what the Bible teaches about forgiveness, between those who have been forgiven much, is essential to God-honoring relationships. Sadly, many believers settle for the world's substitutes or sinfully live alienated from others because of an unwillingness to forgive as Christ has commanded. Let Jay Adams, with his trademark clarity and vivid illustrations, help you think through what the Scriptures teach, and help you move From Forgiven to Forgiving .

Genres: Counselling, Christian, Christian Living, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian Non Fiction

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jay Edward Adams is a Reformed Christian author. He has written over 100 books and these have been published in sixteen languages.
He received a Bachelor of Divinity from Reformed Episcopal Seminary, a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Johns Hopkins University,a Masters in Sacred Theology from Temple University, and a PhD in Speech from the University of Missouri.
Adams' book Competent to Counsel launched the nouthetic counseling movement, a movement whose aim was to use strictly biblical counseling methods. He is the founder of the Intitute for Nothetic Studies.

Reviews

[Brad Belschner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jay Adams is a biblicist and has an oddly constrained definition of forgiveness which he believes he derived from scripture, though he runs in to all sorts of weird complications when he tries to apply that definition consistently. Overall, not really worth reading. The valuable takeaways can be summarized in two sentences: (a) expressing 'sorry feelings' about an event is not necessarily the same thing as an admission of guilt, nor is it necessarily a request for forgiveness, and (b) truly forgiving somebody for an offense should usually involve *not bringing it up again*, at least not in the sense of holding it against them.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just great.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good explanation of the key texts and concepts about forgiveness.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book to anyone. Two reasons:

A) Adams’ definition of forgiveness is: a promise to never bring up the offender’s sin again, to him, to yourself, or to other people. However, contradicting Adams, there are examples in scripture of referring to others’ past sins that have been forgiven: Gal 2:11, I Cor. 6:9-11, Colossians 3:5-7, Ephesians 2:1-3, Matthew 18:32-34.

I believe a more biblical, Christ-centered definition of forgiveness is this: releasing an offender from the debt they owe you for the hurt their sin has caused you, and taking that debt upon yourself. Ie. returning evil with good.

This means that you will not exercise any kind of vengeance on them, including anger, slander, or malice. As my brother in law says, “you know you’ve forgiven someone when they can pass through your mind unharmed.”

B) Adams claims that forgiveness is conditional, and that Mark 11:25 means that we must have a willingness to forgive, but cannot actually forgive because of his understanding that forgiveness is a promise made to another person.

This does not square with Mark 2, where Jesus sees the faith of the paralyzed man and his friends and says, “your sins are forgiven you.” The paralyzed man did not ask for forgiveness. Also, Jesus speaks to the prostitute, and says, “your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7) There is no record of her asking for his forgiveness. According to Adams’ definition of forgiveness, then, Jesus should not have said what he did.

My understanding of Scripture is that forgiveness is unconditional, but reconciliation is conditional.

My husband wrote the following helpful explanation that fills out the picture more:

Taking “forgiveness” back from the Devil.

It’s inescapably clear that Christians have to forgive if they are going to walk in obedience to Jesus.

Jesus was very direct: If we don’t forgive, we won’t be forgiven.

But what is forgiveness? Satan’s strategy has been to twist our idea of forgiveness, so that forgiveness, wrongly defined, can actually become a tool in his hand.

It seems there are two opposite errors the enemy forces us into:

First, that forgiveness should be unconditional: we must forgive everyone from the heart regardless of whether the offender repents or not.

Up to this point, I think this is true, but Satan adds a poisonous twist: forgiveness is refusing to speak of this again, or acting like the sin never happened.

When defined this way, forgiveness can open the door to ongoing abuse and remove the opportunity to confront the person doing offending.

Is forgiveness turning a blind eye to sin and overlooking toxic behaviour?

Hopefully not! Scripture calls us to lovingly confront those entangled in sin, and to let our brother know when he has offended us. We are called to avoid those who are unrepentant in causing division and offence.

The second error comes when Christians seek to counter this wrong view of forgiveness = overlooking sin and injustice by proposing a conditional view of forgiveness.

They want to keep the idea that forgiveness means forgetting and refusing to speak of the forgiven sin, but they add the idea that, if this is what forgiveness means, we should only offer forgiveness if the offender genuinely repents.

This view solves the problem of being unable to confront sin. However, it opens the door to a problematic situation for the person who has been hurt but where the offender has not repented.

Is the person who has been hurt justified in with holding forgiveness until the offender repents? If so, what does this period of unforgiveness look like?

Here are some considerations:

With the strong and repeated warnings in Scripture about the dangers and consequences of not forgiving, I would be very leery of any theology that counsels a time of withholding forgiveness for any length.

In Mark 11:25 Jesus commands, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

There is no exception made in this passage about waiting for the offender to repent.

Paul gives us multiple commands to forgive, but never counsels a time where it is appropriate for us to withhold forgiveness.

Some may counter that “we are to forgive like God, and God does not forgive unconditionally. He only forgives once we repent.”

There are a couple problems I have with that idea.

One, for those in Christ, God does forgive us unconditionally. If I have put myself under the blood of Jesus, if I die with sins I have not repented of, they are still forgiven, being paid for by the death of Jesus.

Secondly, God, as the judge of the Earth, has prerogatives that we do not have. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”

Not forgiving can be a form of vengeance. Part of the reason it is wrong for us to act as judge by withholding forgiveness is that we can be blinded by anger and misinterpretations and faulty memories.

We make terrible judges, which is why we must forgive and leave the gavel in God’s hand, knowing that perfect justice is coming.

So I believe forgiveness should be unconditional for the believer and not depend on the repentance of the offender.

But does forgiveness mean that we can no longer seek justice?

Is our forgiveness sending the message that abuse and offense no longer matter?

If we forgive, are we supposed to act like nothing ever happened?

I don’t think so. God talks a lot about confronting the oppressor, and helping free people who are entangled in destructive patterns of sin.

I believe that after we have forgiven a person, there is room for boundaries, and confrontation, and rebuke, and even warning other people.

The difference is that now all these actions are motivated by love for the offender rather than a selfish desire for revenge.

Forgiveness is the cancelling of a debt. When we are wronged, we have a desire to repay in kind, and make the person who has wronged us suffer consequences for their sin.

Some of these desires are righteous. When a woman is raped, her desire that the rapist be brought to justice and be prevented from raping other women is a godly desire and not necessarily a sign of unforgiveness.

However, when we don’t forgive and cancel the personal debt, our sense of what is appropriate punishment becomes all out of whack.

A desire to repay hurt by selfish retaliation only perpetuates evil. Cycles of revenge have caused untold bloodshed and misery throughout the centuries.

God calls us to follow Christ’s example, and painfully swallow the debt of personal vengeance.

We need to take our hurt to Jesus and let him heal us rather than seek to feel better about our pain because we have made the other person suffer.

This act of cancelling the personal debt is painful in the short term, but it is so freeing in the long term.

To try to bring about our own vengeance is to carry the terrible toxic burden of revenge.

Unforgiveness has been described as drinking poison, hoping someone else will die.

Unforgiveness can mutate into hate and bitterness and consume us.

But once we have cancelled the personal debt, can we still care about justice?

Yes, but now we care about God’s standard of justice, not our own.

We are free to testify if God is calling us to, and free to trust God will bring ultimate justice if our voice is taken from us.

I think when we look at Scripture as a whole, we need to acknowledge that forgiveness is really two stages. Tim Keller explains this in his recent book, Forgive.

Stage one is the attitude of forgiveness.

We do this from the heart unconditionally.

In this stage, we cancel the personal debt.

We replace hate with love.

We let go of a desire for revenge and place the outcome in God’s hand.

We let go of all rage, malice, and slander.

We replace thoughts of curses with prayers of blessing towards that person.

We desire what is best for him or her.

But Jesus’s heart is also for believers to reconcile relationships where they can.

There is a second stage of forgiveness that is transactional in nature. Here reconciliation can take place, and trust may be gradually restored.

This stage, however, is dependent on genuine repentance.

The Bible is clear that our relationships are to be marked by speaking the truth in love.

This means that sometimes we need to, in love, confront our brother when we see him caught in destructive patterns.

We forgive him from the heart, but we don’t suddenly act as though he is not still caught in sin.

Sometimes the most loving thing to do is help people feel the consequences of their sins; otherwise we enable them to continue in harmful ruin.

Conclusion:

We need to seek justice. God hates abuse.

But in our attempts to pursue justice and rescue sinners, we continually need our hearts purified by forgiveness.

We need to give our pain to Jesus and realize afresh how much we have been forgiven.

We need to feel his deep relentless love for us, so that we can love those who persecute and attack us.

We need to be on guard against the seeds of hate that cause our hearts to die a painful death.

We need to trust that ultimate justice is coming, and let this awareness create a healthy fear of God and bring repentance to our own hearts for the way we have hurt those precious to Jesus.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward, helpful, and applicable. Forgiveness is a promise to:
1) Not bring the matter up to you
2) Not bring the matter up to another
3) Not bring the matter up to myself

[Bess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m glad l didn’t review this book when l first read it. Adams is sorely lacking in biblical principles. Biblical forgiveness begins with conviction followed by repentance; reconciliation is not commanded but is dependent on the nature of the offense. Nor is it a biblical mandate, only forgiveness is. Adam comes down harsh on many victims of often very violent offenses, demanding reconciliation when it’s not required by God. A much more biblical stance on forgiveness would be found in Timothy Keller’s book “Forgive why should I and how can I?”.
“ To forgive then,, is first to name the trespass truthfully as wrong and punishable, rather than merely excusing it. Second, it is to identify with the perpetrator as a fellow sinner rather than thinking how different you are than he or she is. It is too will their good. Third, it is to release the wrong doer from liability by absorbing the debt oneself, rather than seeking revenge and paying them back. Finally, it is to aim for reconciliation rather than breaking off the relationship forever. Finally, it is to aim for reconciliation rather than breaking off the relationship forever. If you omit any of these four actions, you are not engaging and real forgiveness.”
Timothy Keller
Keller points out in his book that reconciliation is not a requirement for forgiveness. If a guilty party is not receiving the victim’s attempt at reconciliation. It is not a requirement and it’s not necessarily included and forgiveness..
Healing takes place when there is authentic forgiveness whereby which reconciliation can then take place.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend!

[Jared Mcnabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Adams argues that forgiveness is is the burial of an offense, never to be brought up again. Because of this, forgiveness is conditional, it must be sought before it can be granted.

This book is better and more nuanced than its reputation.

[Rafael Sales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente livro sobre o assunto... A autor aborda diversas questões referentes ao perdão, seu significado e a prática... Senti falta de uma abordagem sobre o perdão em pecados corriqueiros...

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jay Adams here provides an excellent in-depth study of a subject that is given the greatest importance in the New Testament, but is not preached on all that often. It is a book worth reading and pondering.

[Steve Hemmeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a godsend loaner from a friend at a time when I had to sort out in conflict my objective guilt from feelings of guilt, and when I had to think through how to be forgiving toward those who offended me and didn’t acknowledge it at all.

Adams’ key point at the start is that forgiveness is not a feeling, but a transaction. It is a promise not to hold the wrong against the other person.
He asserts that forgiveness is conditional – you can’t forgive without repentance on their part. You can pray for God to change them, and to not be bitter yourself.

In chapter 6, on errors in forgiving, he says that forgetting is not the point. You can’t determine to forget something! The point is to commit that you won’t indulge the grudge to yourself, or relate it to others to use against them. The remembrances will go away over time naturally if you do this.

On the error of forgiving yourself, Adams is a bit off. Low self-image is a real thing, and not accepting God’s forgiveness.

In chapter 7 Adams says that forgiveness is incomplete if restored relationship doesn’t follow. I don’t think this works with another key assertion Adams makes: you can be forgiven but still suffer consequences. One of the consequences may be a more limited relationship, or none at all. It is ideal to pursue complete restoration of the relationship. But very often people part, agreeing to disagree on various matters. This is not sinful.


In chapter 8 Adams asserts that you can't truly forgive unbelievers at all, because they can't repent. This is too strictly rejecting the common grace God can give an unbeliever. An unbeliever can sincerely renounce an offense and a Xian can forgive him for that.

In chapter 9, Adams discusses how to keep the promise to forgive.
You have to accept the consequences - this was good.
You have to keep busy thinking about other things, instead of brooding on someone's offense against you. This is a bit simplistic. You need more than just to occupy your mind with other things. It’s vital to truly let it go, and surrender justice to God for the offense.

Skipping to the end, in chapter 20 Adams says this:
“If you have wronged anyone by doing something the Bible forbids, you are guilty – whether you feel like it or not.”
Very true.

“If you have allowed an unreconciled condition to remain between you and a brother, you are guilty – whether you feel like it or not.”
Hold on. Don’t forget Romans 12:18. Sometimes people are determined to stay unreconciled with you, no matter what you do, so they can do what they want to do. Or you disagree objectively on the nature or magnitude of the offense. It can become a case of casting pearls before wine, if they have no interest in reconciling, and you continue to feel guilty because the relationship is not reconciled. This gives the hardened-hearted, unrepentant party all the power in the relationship. Adams’ statement here is filled with dangers.

“The Bible [in John 3:16]… isn’t speaking of love as feeling but rather of love as giving. Fundamentally love is giving. That is why you can obey the biblical commandments to love even when you don’t feel like it.”
This is SO true. When you give your time, your words, or your muscle to your family, you are loving them. If your heart is resenting it the whole time, that’s a problem and you’re being hypocritical. But it’s as hypocritical to say “be warm and well fed,” and not actually heat and feed your family. Love is objective giving as much as it is a heart loyalty.

“Since feelings are unnecessary to guilt, forgiveness and love, do they have any place at all? Certainly! There is one feeling that should always accompany reconciliation – joy!”
I would not make a simplistic bifurcation here, as Adams does. Feelings can prompt us rightly to confession and forgiveness, when we feel guilt. Or others can manipulate those feelings to make us confess things we should not. When we are truly reconciled, feelings of joy are natural. But feelings of resentment and grudge resurface and need managing (mortifying, really).

Overall, this is a very helpful and convicting book, practically in the Christian life.
But there are some areas I would caution against an overly rigid or simplistic application to complex situations.

4 stars!

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really disappointed and dismayed by what Adams recommends in this book. Forgiveness is so hard to practice and it's so important to have good books helping struggling Christians through how to do so well. But this book presents a far too simplistic picture of what that looks like.

The core issue is that Adams defines forgiveness not as "releasing someone from his debt" (a more biblical definition of forgiveness), but as forgetting the offense & restoring the relationship. Which means that no matter how grievous the offense, Adams preaches that a believer is living in sin if they don't restore a relationship with the offender. The spouse who repeatedly commits adultery? Adams explicitly argues that the wounded spouse is forbidden to divorce if the offending spouse repents, since you can't truly forgive someone without restoring the relationship. This particular example obviously runs against the freedom that Christ gives believers in Matthew 5. But even seen more broadly, the idea that forgiveness must mean a restored relationship is naive and foolish. Just look at the examples of how Jacob wisely dealt with Esau in Genesis 33 or how David learned to keep his distance from Saul. Adams advice is unbiblical--and is profoundly dangerous when applied to situations involving manipulative or abusive individuals.

That doesn't mean that everything Adams says in this book is bad. There are some good passages and chapters contained in this book, but it's built on a broken foundation of what forgiveness is. When combined with Adams off-putting, black-and-white judgments on complicated situations, this book is just far too simplistic and has the potential to do great damage to those struggling to forgive and looking for pastoral books to help them to do so. Would not recommend.

[Ryan Handermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for leadership training. Some good points, some bad - I wish there was a more solid treatment on this very important and practical subject for the Christian life.

The good:
Forgiveness not only cancels debt and pardons guilt, but also is a promise never to bring this up again with the offender. Once you have offered forgiveness, you have removed the strain in the relationship, so you cannot bring up that strain again (except for pedagogical purposes).

Forgiveness does not cancel consequences, but these are actually a priviledge to be born. A teenager who wrecks his dad's car might be forgiven, but he still has to pay for it. This was probably one of the more helpful points.

Saying "I am sorry" misses two vital points. On the one hand, it fails to take responsibility for the wrong done. And it also fails to admit the specific wrong. This is very helpful, especially in dealing with ourselves and our kids. We need to fully own up to what we did and say it out loud.

The bad:
In general, it is simply not very organized. His definition of forgiveness is obscured because most of the time he uses only a partial definition "promise to never bring it up" and usually omits the other two factors.

He explains away Mark 11:25, and argues that forgiveness cannot be granted unless someone has asked us - contrary to Jesus' command that when we pray, if we recall that someone has offended us, we should forgive them right there.

Chapter 12, on forgiveness and divorce is particularly problematic as he fails to apply the distinction between forgiveness and consequences in this particular example, and instead argues that a woman has no right to divorce her husband who commits adultery since she has forgiven him.

[Nayandra Tinoco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utilizando as palavras do autor este livro "não é sobre pessoas não perdoadas sendo perdoadas; é sobre pessoas perdoadas — filhos de Deus — tornando-se pessoas perdoadoras" e para ele inicia falando sobre o que é perdão e como fomos perdoados. O autor dedica alguns capítulos específicos para quando você é o ofensor e quando você é a vítima - o que eu achei ótimo, apesar de ser um livro que trata sobre perdão entre cristãos Jay separa um capítulo exclusivo para falar sobre o assunto em relação aos não cristãos.
Para mim foi um livro realmente confrontador até por isso demorei mais para termina-lo, precisei de umas pausas maiores pra refletir sobre o que o autor estava falando. Uma das coisas que eu achei mais interessante é a definição de perdão que o Jay propõe dizendo que "perdoar não é simplesmente esquecer e sim não lembrar" e para isso é uma ação que está em constante atividade.
No geral achei o livro muito bom, ótimo embasamento bíblico nas questões expostas, porém preciso dizer que discordei do autor em alguns momentos, principalmente em como ele trata a psicologia, mas com certeza é uma leitura que vale super a pena.
Como o próprio autor diz é um ótimo livro para ser lido como auxílio ao aconselhamento bíblico ou em grupos de estudos, os capítulos são curtos e bem objetivos.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Points out several misconceptions about forgiveness held by unbelievers and believers, and corrects them from the Bible. It raises and answers many questions about forgiveness. It's an easy read for a theological work of this kind.

I'm still mulling over Adams' argument that we can't forgive someone who hasn't repented, because God's forgiveness is conditioned on our repentance. I'm not yet convinced that that's the biblical or logical conclusion. Doesn't God forgive even the sins His people don’t consciously repent of? And doesn't God forgive the sins of His people who can't repent (e.g., infants who die before or after birth, the mentally disabled, those with dementia, etc.)?

Notes
Introduction
"This book is not about unforgiven people being forgiven; it is about forgiven persons—God's children—becoming forgiving persons. It is about the problem of believers forgiving one another."

What is Forgiveness?
Our forgiveness is to be modeled after God's (Eph 4:32). When He forgives, it isn't a feeling that He has; it's a promise He makes: that He won't remember our sins against us.

Forgiveness is Conditional
From the cross, Jesus didn't forgive (as He had at other times in His ministry); He prayed. Stephen at his death didn't forgive; he prayed. Jesus' prayer was legitimate, and the Father always heeds His prayers (1 John 11:42), so we know the prayer was answered. This happened when people repented and believed at Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38; 3:17-19; 4:4).

Mark 11:25 describes being ready to forgive (Ps 86:5); it's expressing to God a genuine concern to be reconciled to one's brother, and a willingness to grant forgiveness. It may possibly also be a request that God forgive the offender through means. This prayer doesn't exempt one from speaking to the offender to grant forgiveness.

If forgiveness were conditional, the process of discipline in Matt 18:15-20 would be impossible. The existence of the process requires forgiveness to be conditional.

"God is not interested in forgiveness as an end in itself, or as a therapeutic technique that benefits the one doing the forgiving. He wants reconciliation to take place, and that can only be brought about by repentance."

God's forgiveness is conditioned on repentance (Luke 24:47; Acts 17:30).

We can overlook offenses (1 Pet 4:8) without confronting about them; it's the offenses that break fellowship and lead to an unreconciled state that require forgiveness.

You can't forgive the dead because they can't repent. Instead, you ask God to rid your heart of bitterness towards them. Christians who have died are made perfect and don't need your forgiveness.

If you lose touch with someone who needs to repent to you, deal with the matter if you ever cross paths again.

You can't forgive people groups who have wronged you. You can pray for forgiveness of your persecutors (Acts 7:60), and God may be pleased to bring many in that group to repentance.

"You are not obligated to forgive an unrepentant sinner, but you are obligated to try to bring him to repentance. All the while you must entertain a genuine hope and willingness to forgive the other and a desire to be reconciled to him or her."

When You Are the Offender
Ps 51:4 ("Against you, you only have I sinned") could be translated "Before you …" because David's sin was in secret, known only to God.

There's a difference between forgetting (passive) and not remembering (active). Not remembering means not bringing a matter up to use against another.

Bible never says "forgive and forget."

Other Errors Concerning Forgiveness
Bible never tells us to forgive ourselves.

Unforgivable sin is rejecting Jesus (Matt 12:22-33).

1 John 5:16 should be translated "there is a sin that leads to death; I don't say that you should ask questions about that." It means it's proper to pray for healing at all times; don't trouble yourself trying to figure out if the person has sinned the sin unto death.

Forgiveness Isn't All
If unconditional forgiveness is true, the offended need not confront, offender need not repent, and neither is obligated to reconcile. This is unbiblical.

What About Unbelievers?
Verses about repentance refer to Christians. Unbelievers can't truly repent because they don't regret their sin against God (2 Cor 7:10).

An unbeliever can't forgive because he can't imitate God's forgiveness. But you must do right thing in asking for forgiveness, and he must forgive. God regularly commands unbelievers to do what's right even when he knows they can't.

1 Cor 6 forbids Christians taking each other to court, but not taking unbelievers to court.

For Whose Sake?
Christ forgave to honor God and bless the one whose sins were forgiven.

Repentance, Confession, & Forgiveness
"Regret comes from many causes and may be mixed with true repentance, but real repentance comes only from the honest acknowledgement of sin."

Forgiveness at Work
You may only ask for forgiveness out of repentance over your sin, not to appease another for their error or wrongdoing (e.g., "I'm sorry if I said or did anything to …").

The Church as a Forgiving Community
"Jesus forgave sinners; He never accepted them as they were. To do so would have denied the very purpose of His coming to take away the sins of the world and would have made the Cross a futile, cruel mistake."

"God hates the sin and loves the sinner" has no biblical basis. What does God punish in Hell—sin or sinners? They can't be separated, because sins are individuals' actions and attitudes, against God.

Continuing Consequences
A believer telling a nonbeliever about Christ is like "one beggar telling another beggar where she found bread, and that was a whole lot different from one actor telling another actor where he can do some more acting."

Guilt is an objective state of liability to be punished for sin, not a subjective unpleasant feeling.

[Scot Bellavia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great rethinking of what repentance and forgiveness looks like, based on biblical modeling. I agree, now, with a lot of it. It can be transformative for sure.
Especially at the beginning, a lot of Adams’ argument was identifying heresy, though it’s popular, and saying “the only reason you don’t think I’m right is because you haven’t ever seen this lived out properly.” That’s a pretty self centered and flimsy argument, especially when it comes to timeless principles of the Bible. He also inserted retorts people in discussion with him might have; which is just setting up arguments to which he already had responses. That’s also a pretty unfair and unhelpful way to persuade, me at least.

[Shaun Marksbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource on understanding forgiveness. Adams provides not only a full explanation of what it means to forgive and seek forgiveness from several angle, he also gives us many helpful correctives. He also emphasizes that the concept of forgiveness must begin with God and the gospel, a point which raises this book from mere moralism to a devotional aspect of our lives. It's challenging at times, and again, a great resource. I not only recommend it, I plan to use it as the basis for a brief topical series.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear biblical truth about forgiveness you never knew you didn't know until you read it!! I never thought about forgiveness as a big deal, but it is a HUGE deal to Jesus!!!!!!!! I fell for the world's way of doing things and have been really challenged with these new insights into wrong beliefs and truth!

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

An oversimplified and constrained definition of forgiveness plus an off-putting tendency to trash other people’s arguments straw-man style makes the quality content that does exist not worth wading in to find.

Summarized as: forgiveness is incredibly important (see Lords Prayer), forgiveness requires guilt-repentance-forgiveness-reconciliation, and forgiving is a promise to ‘not remember’.

[Ryan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding the biblical ideology of forgiveness is key to unlocking the grace and truth of God’s love for us. The author does a great job of highlighting key themes that are needed in order to give forgiveness outwardly to others the same way God forgives us- by choosing to not remember our sins and faults and instead seeing us through the perfect lenses of Jesus Christ.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and challenging book on the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Reveals the superficiality with which many Christians "forgive" and gives instruction on the different between worldly apology and the restorative act of biblical forgiveness.

[Beth Peninger]

Originally I gave this title 5 stars. I am revising my stars to zero.

The reason I am doing so is that since reading this title, several things about my faith journey and expression have changed and I no longer subscribe to evangelical ideologies.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book to anyone. It is a textbook on how abuse has so pervaded the church through a slippery, twisted and overly narrow reading of Scripture. The good points are so few and far between that they do not redeem this book. If you need help forgiving, find another book.

[Ray Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read multiple times, perhaps the best practical guidance on what Jesus teaches about what it means to repent, be reconciled, restored, etc. Excellent on the other side: what it really means to forgive someone for sin, and what sins may be covered in love, much more. Highly recommended!

[Alan Rennê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que livro extraordinário! A igreja possui diversos posicionamentos equivocados a respeito do perdão. Nessa obra o Dr. Jay E. Adams destrói cada um dos equívocos.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent, excellent book. 100 percent recommend

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Changed my life

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

guter Einstieg/Überblick; etwas vereinfacht und schwarz-weiß; exegetisch schwach; dennoch hilfreich.

[Robert]

HARD BOUND 1ST EDITION COPY

[Thomas Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, practical read. Forgiveness is a choice to promise never to bring up a sin again.