Forgiveness and Reconciliation: A New Testament Perspective

Forgiveness and Reconciliation: A New Testament Perspective

Poling J. SUN

It is not an understatement to claim that forgiveness and reconciliation form the centrality of the New Testament message. God's forgiveness of human sin in the work of Jesus Christ has reconciled the whole creation to God and has thereby broken all forms of estrangement, hatred, and domination. The praxis of forgiveness and reconciliation does not prevail automatically, however. Without repentance of the sinner, there could hardly be enduring reconciliation even when/if forgiveness is genuinely offered by the one who is sinned against. Similarly, unless truth be revealed and encountered, reconciliation would not lead to redemption of human relation and societal improvement. With selected passages from the New Testament as bases and contemporary cases as references and examples, this essay suggests that forgiveness and reconciliation demand repentance from wrong doings and truth telling.