Forgive

Greek Word Pronunciation: ah-FEE-ay-mee
Strong's Number: 863
Goodrich/Kohlenberger Number: 918
Key Verse: “Your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.” -- 1 John 2:12

Two Greek words are used to translate the word “forgive.” The first is charizomai, from the word charis, which means “grace.” This word appears 27 times in New Testament. It means “to bestow a favor unconditionally; to show one’s self gracious, kind, benevolent; or to grant forgiveness, to pardon.” Believers are to forgive each other the way Christ has forgiven us, as found in Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 2:13 and 3:13. Charizomai indicates being gracious toward someone.

By contrast, our word, aphiemi, means “to send away.” It is used approximately 150 times in the New Testament, and is found almost exclusively in the gospels. The variety of translations are found in: 1 Corinthians 7:11, “husband should not divorce his wife”; Matthew 4:11, “the devil left Him”; Matthew 13:30, “allow both to grow together”; Matthew 27:50, “Jesus yielded up His Spirit”; Mark 7:8, “neglecting the commandment of God”; Mark 15:37, “Jesus uttered a loud cry”; and Romans 1:27, “men abandoned natural function of the woman.”

When the word is used of forgiving, it is in regard to forgiveness of (a) debts [Matthew 6:12]; (b) trespasses [Matthew 6:14]; (c) blasphemies [Matthew 12:31]; (d) lawless deeds [Romans 4:7]; (e) wickedness [Acts 8:22]; and (f) sins. There are approximately 10 places in scripture where sins are forgiven. In Luke 5:20, and the key verse, 1 JOHN 2:12, “your sins have been forgiven you,” the verb is in the perfect tense, indicating that our sins have been put away from us permanently. Our sins were put away at the cross, with the abiding result that they are never more remembered against us.