Teachings About Forgiveness

Forgiveness does not mean that wrongdoing is acceptable

Crime can damage more than property or physical safety: it can also destroy trust between an offender, a victim and the wider community. Forgiveness means choosing to let go of resentment and the desire for revenge. It does not mean pretending that the crime did not happen, approving it or expecting a victim's pain to disappear immediately.

Reconciliation is the restoration of a damaged relationship. Forgiveness can open the way to reconciliation, but they are not identical. Rebuilding trust may require an apology, genuine change and action to repair the harm. A person can forgive while still recognising that contact with an offender would be unsafe.

For many Christians, forgiveness and justice belong together. An offender can be forgiven and still have to serve a sentence or make amends. Forgiveness concerns how people respond to wrongdoing; it does not remove responsibility for it.

Why Christians are called to forgive

Christians believe that human beings need God's forgiveness and should therefore show mercy to others. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches people to ask: ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’ (Matthew 6:12). Forgiving others is linked to seeking forgiveness oneself, rather than being treated as an optional act of kindness.

Matthew 6:14–15 reinforces this connection: Jesus teaches that those who forgive others will be forgiven by their heavenly Father, while warning against refusing forgiveness. This challenges Christians to show the mercy they hope to receive from God.

When Peter asks whether he should forgive someone seven times, Jesus answers ‘seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:22). The point is not to keep a tally until forgiveness runs out, but to be repeatedly willing to forgive.

The Parable of the Lost Son gives this teaching a concrete form. A son wastes his inheritance, recognises his wrongdoing and returns home. His father welcomes him with love and celebration. Christians understand the father as representing God's mercy: someone who has done wrong should not be treated as beyond the possibility of repentance and restoration.

Christians also understand Jesus' death on the cross as bringing forgiveness and reconciliation between humanity and God. Together with agape, selfless love for others, this provides a reason to seek an offender's good rather than simply wishing to make them suffer.

Matthew 5:21–26: making peace matters

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus moves from the command against murder to the anger and insults that damage relationships. Matthew 5:21–22 treats hostility as morally serious, challenging the idea that people are innocent simply because they have not physically attacked someone.

In verses 23–24, Jesus describes someone bringing a gift to the altar who remembers that another person has something against them. He tells them to leave the gift, first ‘be reconciled’ with that person, and then return to offer it. Repairing relationships is therefore a religious responsibility: worship is not a substitute for addressing harm done to another person.

Verses 25–26 urge someone to settle a dispute with an adversary before reaching court, warning of judgement, imprisonment and payment of the last penny. The passage stresses the urgency of resolving conflict before it escalates and has further consequences.

Many Christians connect these teachings with restorative justice. They encourage people to acknowledge damaged relationships and take the initiative in making peace. They do not mean that serious crimes should be concealed or that victims must abandon legal protection.

How a community can forgive an offender

Community forgiveness means allowing a person a route back into society rather than defining them permanently by their crime. Churches and other community groups can offer support, respectful relationships and opportunities for an offender to demonstrate change. Access to work and qualifications can help an ex-offender build a different life.

This matters because continuing rejection can leave people isolated and make it harder to move away from crime. Acceptance can encourage responsibility and give an offender a reason to sustain change. For Christians, welcoming a repentant person reflects the father's response in the Lost Son and the belief that people remain capable of reform.

However, acceptance must take victims and public safety seriously. Some Christians emphasise that severe wrongdoing requires firm punishment and that reconciliation should involve genuine repentance. Others stress that the willingness to forgive should not depend on how deserving the offender appears. Both concerns can be recognised by offering forgiveness without automatically restoring trust or removing safeguards.

Restorative justice: repairing the harm

Restorative justice focuses on the harm caused by crime and how it can be addressed. It involves the offender, the victim and the community, rather than treating the crime only as a broken law requiring punishment.

The offender hears how their actions affected others, acknowledges responsibility and has an opportunity to apologise and make reparation. The victim can explain the impact of the crime, have their suffering acknowledged and seek answers. The community can help support repair and a positive way forward.

For example, an apology addresses responsibility, while making amends addresses the damage. Neither can undo everything that happened, but both can help rebuild relationships. This is why many Christians support restorative justice: it puts forgiveness, reconciliation and love of neighbour into practice while requiring the offender to confront the consequences of their actions.

Prison Fellowship's Sycamore Tree programme

Prison Fellowship is a Christian organisation whose Sycamore Tree programme teaches victim awareness and restorative justice in prisons. It runs over six weeks, in groups of up to 20 learners. Participants explore how crime affects victims, offenders and the wider community, and what taking responsibility means.

In week three, learners hear from a surrogate victim: someone affected by crime, rather than necessarily the victim of their own offence. Hearing that person's experience can challenge an offender to recognise harm they previously ignored or minimised.

At the end, learners are invited to undertake a symbolic act of restitution, often before members of the community. This gives them a way to express remorse and their intention to change. It is not a claim that a symbolic act fully compensates their own victim.

Volunteers use empathy, kindness and a non-judgemental approach to build trust, treating prisoners as people with dignity rather than reducing them to the label ‘offender’. This combines Christian concern for the person with a clear expectation of responsibility.

How important is restorative justice for criminals?

Supporters argue that restorative justice can encourage genuine reform because offenders encounter the human consequences of their actions. It offers a constructive route from guilt towards responsibility, making amends and rejoining the community. Victims may also benefit from being heard and receiving an apology.

Evaluations of Sycamore Tree support these possibilities. A 2009 evaluation found positive changes in attitudes associated with completing the programme. A 2020 evaluation reported greater empathy for victims, alongside improvements in relationships, well-being and engagement with prison activities. These findings suggest benefits relevant to moving away from crime, but do not guarantee that every participant will stop offending.

There are also limitations. An apology may be insincere, some harm cannot be repaired, and a victim may not want reconciliation. Christians concerned with protecting the vulnerable may argue that restorative work cannot replace necessary punishment or safeguards.

A justified conclusion is that restorative justice can be an important part of a Christian response to crime, especially because Matthew 5 gives repairing relationships moral priority. Its value is strongest when it supports genuine accountability and change without neglecting victims or public safety.