After meeting Frank through a friend at the Shepherd’s Conference, I was pleasantly surprised to find he has written this book on the topic of forgiveness. It is only 47 pages, so it’s a quick read, but it has all the foundational biblical truths regarding forgiveness.
Frank begins with the necessity of the gospel. Why is forgiveness needed? And how is it ultimately rooted in God’s forgiveness? Frank writes, “God’s holiness and justice will not allow him to ignore the sins of individuals. God must punish every sin. He accomplishes this through the death of Jesus Christ” (11). God is the standard of and for forgiveness.
In an insightful discussion, Frank touches upon the cup that Jesus prayed to pass from Him (Matt 26:39). What was this cup from the Father? The Old Testament demonstrates that such a cup from God is a cup of divine wrath for sin. This cup was poured out on Jesus while on the cross for the sin of all who believe and will believe. Such wrath, the Christian will never taste nor know.
After unpacking God’s forgiveness, Frank goes on to uncover how we reflect and are called to imitate this forgiveness in our own lives towards others. Forgiveness is an extension of promises; it is a refusal to sinfully remember another’s offense; and it is a refusal to speak about a particular sin to anyone. Such commitments will lead to reconciliation between people. One of the most important parts in these discussions is that Gutting backs up all the principles with Scripture so you can see how the principle is derived.
The most helpful chapters in my opinion are chapter 4 and 5. Here, Gutting carefully distinguishes using Scripture the differences between forgiveness in the heart (an attitude of forgiveness) and verbal forgiveness (transactional forgiveness). Then, out of necessity, chapter 5 carefully delineates the ins and outs of overlooking another’s sin versus when to confront someone’s sin. These two chapters are worth the book.
If you want to familiarize yourself with the foundation of biblical forgiveness or would like to just get the “nuggets” about forgiveness, I would recommend this read.
– Mark Blackburn
