Classic Book of the Month: Forgiveness and life’s troubles

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, November 7th. We’re so glad you’ve joined us today. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: our Classic Book of the Month for November. WORLD Executive Producer Paul Butler introduces us to a book on forgiveness you may not have heard of. We start with a reading from that book.

BRAUNS READING FROM HIS BOOK: If we're to understand how we should forgive one another, we must begin with this key principle: God expects Christians to forgive one another in the same way that He forgave them.

PAUL BUTLER: Fifteen years ago Pastor Chris Brauns wrote Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds, published by Crossway Books.

BRAUNS READING FROM HIS BOOK: Understanding what the Bible teaches about forgiveness should not be unpacked with a sense of dread. Rather, there should be a confident certainty that those who unpack forgiveness and put it into action will reflect and show the brilliant beauty of Christ finding their maximum joy and happiness in him.

Chris Brauns is senior pastor of the Red Brick Church in Stillman Valley, Illinois. He originally wrote Unpacking Forgiveness for the people in his church. He started with the scriptures and a collection of deeply theological but often academic books on forgiveness. He wanted to make those resources more approachable for everyday Christians in light of the Bible. He had no idea where it would eventually lead him.

BRAUN: I just spent a lot of time with victims in Northern Ireland who have family members who were murdered.

This past summer a group of survivors of “The Troubles” invited Pastor Brauns to Northern Ireland—where over 30-years, hundreds of people died in bombings and other acts of domestic terrorism.

BRAUNS: I picture a man I met with in Northern Ireland, whose father was murdered during “The Troubles.” And the most well known tell all book was a book called Killing Rage. And chapter one is “The killing of Ivan Toombs.” Can you imagine picking up a book and reading about how the murder of your father was planned and carried out? What do you say to someone in that situation? It's not about what I say. It's about what the Lord Jesus says: “Come to me all you are weary and burdened, and I'll give you rest.”

In Unpacking Forgiveness Brauns offers help and hope—both for those who have experienced devastating trauma, as well as those harassed by the everyday smaller hurts of life. With great pastoral care, Brauns offers practical suggestions on avoiding bitterness, knowing when to overlook an offense, and learning how to forgive.

BRAUNS READING FROM HIS BOOK: Jesus taught that we must work out differences with the greatest sense of urgency.

The 235-page book is broken up into logical, bite-sized chapters that make it well suited for study as individuals or as a group. The 8-question forgiveness quiz at the start of the book sets the stage well for what follows. There are also a handful of discussion questions at the end of each chapter. At times, the answers feel a little too obvious, but by and large they are helpful in summarizing the most significant points of each chapter.

There are plenty of self-help books available today that deal with forgiveness from a pragmatic or clinical perspective. Brauns tries to bring a more theological treatment, particularly shaped by the gospel.

BRAUNS: So one of my goals with Unpacking Forgiveness was to contrast Biblical gospel shaped or biblical forgiveness, with the modern therapeutic understanding of forgiveness.

Here’s how Pastor Brauns defines Gospel-shaped forgiveness:

BRAUNS READING FROM HIS BOOK: Forgiveness is a commitment by the offended to pardon graciously the repentant for moral liability and to be reconciled to that person, although not all consequences are necessarily eliminated.

And that’s one of the key distinctives of Brauns’ book. He points to God’s forgiveness as the model. God offers forgiveness to the sinner, but we aren’t forgiven until we act upon it…Forgiveness and reconciliation are uniquely connected.

BRAUNS I think that's an echo of the gospel, right? We, all of us, offended a holy God. God didn't say it's okay, I look past it - it's automatically taken care of. He graciously gave his only begotten Son, that if we would repent and believe in Him, we are forgiven. That no longer stands between us and God. That's what forgiveness is.

So what if the person who perpetrated the offense doesn’t seek reconciliation or forgiveness. Or when there is no opportunity for reconciliation…what then?

BRAUNS: The biblical answer is clear: love. We’re to love them. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Christ demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for you. So I think the New Testament would call that love. We’re to love them.

One of the most helpful parts of the book is Brauns reminder of divine justice. He writes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was compassionate toward those who ultimately killed him.

BRAUNS: Bonhoeffer said it's only when the grim reality of the justice of God is hanging over the heads of your enemies, that you are moved to compassion for them. He understood that they would face a just judge. And see, this is I think one of the errors of the therapeutic. It turns everything in on me. It's all about what I do and who I am. And I say what you do with all this offense is give it to God. Give it to God.

Unpacking Forgiveness has the photo of a suitcase on its cover. Brauns believes it’s an apt metaphor for the on-going call to forgive, like coming home from a trip and dealing with the dirty laundry. But a decade and a half after he first published the book, he thinks there might be a better image. He says it’s a lot more like moving houses. There are always a few boxes that still need to be unpacked years after the move.

BRAUNS: And then you're down moving the ping pong table and you come across this box of junk that you got to work your way through. And that's how forgiveness is. And listen, that's a lifelong project. And I wish it were only one suitcase. It's not. It's a lot of boxes. It's a lifetime of unpacking.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.