Thread:Superdadsuper/@comment-26998507-20150921001036/@comment-1777104-20151001031224

HailGodsOfWar wrote:Uh, forgiveness is where you don't get mad over something somebody did. Paying a price has NOTHING to do with it. All that stuff you said isn't like an everyday situation. That would be like if somebody's dog pissed on my lawn, and I killed somebody else's dog just so we would be even. It just wouldn't make sense. Dog urine isn't like ANY of the stuff you described. I could just say "I forgive you" and be done with it.

You go from a mountain of debt to dog urine... there is no comparison. Sin is like continuing to play into the mercy of God, hoping that he will forget what you have done. It doesn't take much to deserve death (ask Adam and Eve). If the dog urine did not upset you, then you do not need to forgive the owner of the dog. No offense was done, for you had no rule against a dog urinating in your yard. I suspect if the dog did actual damage, you might seek some sort of agreement with the owner. If you didn't that would be 'forgiveness.'

Forgiveness is both a financial and a legal concept. When it comes to financial difficulty, when you cannot pay your debts, relief from the harassment comes via forgiveness -- treating the debt as "paid" though it is not you that lays out the cash. In a court of law, forgiveness is a pardon. A pardon comes to someone who is guilty, but the penalty is laid aside, and the guity party is set free of any obligation.

Bottom line is, God does "get mad" and He does punish sinners. The only way out is for the payment for sin to be forgiven. But that comes at a price, and God Himself paid it with the life of the Son.