Thank you for sharing. This answered some questions I've been asking the Lord, in an easy to relate to manner which I am able apply to my everyday life. God's blessings.
@WadeWeigle Says:
This is amazing!!! I’ve been struggling with the concept of Loving my neighbor, and this just simply straightened me out. Thank you so very much for this!!!!
@erinmariebaker712 Says:
Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful!!🙂
@CSLewisDoodle Says:
A very good series of readings on genuine repentance by Oswald Chambers is found here: https://utmost.org/repentance/ (7th-9th of December)
@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat Says:
Edifying as always.
@CSLewisDoodle Says:
(1:43) A brief look at forgiveness in the Bible which you might find helpful:
That Forgiveness is required by us after genuine repentance (Luke 17.3, Matt. 18.15 & Lev. 19.17), or we shall not be forgiven by God. Rebukes are a surprisingly necessary precursor.
That tears are not necessarily repentance, but that no-one regrets Godly sorrow (Hebrew 12-17 & 2 Cor. 7.10 & https://utmost.org/repentance/ ). Fake repentance is often used as a means to plunder a victim; a devious tool to regain past losses with no genuine repentant intent (See 1 Kings 20.31 where a captured criminal King, is forgiven and needs to be refought only three years later - 1 Kings 22.1). It was all a show - inwardly he was still plotting destruction.
Since the price was paid for sin at the cross, forgiveness is given by God out of His justice (“if we confess our sins if we repent, he is faithful & JUST” - interestingly, forgiveness is not just out of His mercy) & therefore forgiveness is required from us out of justice due to God’s forgiveness of our sins. If it is not in your heart to be merciful, be just, because God has been just with you (1 John 1.9, Luke 11.4, Mark 11.25, Matt. 6.12 & Matt. 18.35).
Forgiveness is often given by God (or a righteous person) because of ignorance in the sinner, without repentance. Those offending thought themselves doing right at the time. This ignorance can be with surprising groups, i.e. not just the Roman soldiers doing their duty, but Christ’s countrymen who crucified Him, or sided with them (Luke 23.34, Acts 7.60, Acts 3:17 & 1 Cor. 2.8).
Godly kindness is meant to lead sinners to repentance (Rom. 2.4), but if it fails, God will bring exact proportional justice. In the case of the wicked, i.e. they deliberately & knowingly sin, then the only solution is proportional punishment. “But when kindness/grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil & do not regard the majesty of the LORD" (Isa. 26.10).
Proportional punishment can work wonders where nothing else will! Joseph is the model of God's tough dealings and His forgiveness when tried-and-true repentance is shown (See Genesis 14.4-14, 44.33, 45.4-7 & 50.15).
Sometimes sins are unforgivable & must be punished in this lifetime (Matthew 12.31-32 & Hebrews 6.5-6).
In some exceptional cases, forgiveness is forbidden by God (Jer. 5:7-9, 7.16, 11.14, 14.11,18.23 & Neh. 4.5), and in some cases concerning the unrepentant, forgiveness can be optional for the saints (John 20.23 & Rev. 6.10).
Even when sins are not forgiven because of ignorance, ignorance does reduce the level of proportional punishment required (Luke 12.47-48).
God does not forgive all sin, hence Hell. If there is no repentance, no ignorance, and no response to correction, how can God forgive? Compare Steven’s forgiveness of the ignorant & Jeremiah’s warning to those of his day who knew better: Jeremiah 26.15 vs Acts 7.60. As Lewis says in ‘The Problem of Pain’: “I said glibly a moment ago that I would pay “any price” to remove this doctrine [of Hell]. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has already paid to remove the fact. And here is the real problem: so much mercy, yet still there is Hell.”
As a Christian, forgiveness can be surprising and is most often far wider than you would like (Jonah 4.11), with God requiring you to forgive certain repentant people who have committed offenses against you, as C. S. Lewis discusses in this doodle. Occasionally it is narrower also, with certain individuals (to whom you have some kind of loyalty or natural affection) that must NOT be forgiven (see Jeremiah’s natural affection for Israel, which had to be overcome: “Do not pray for this people!” (Jer. 14.11) and also the Prophet Samuel regarding rejected King Saul (1 Sam. 16.1). Ahab forgave a wicked man (who faked repentance) due to an old friendship, and it cost him his life (1 Kings 20.42) in contrast to David (Psalm 18:37).
This second restriction on forgiveness might apply to a corrupt official or abuser, where to forgive an act against oneself (or another) would allow the bribery or abuse to continue, where punishment would have corrected the problem. They must be exposed & expelled, usually at some personal cost, as it is far easier to give in. Punishment may need to be pursued here even though the group pressure in these situations is often to forgive (or rather excuse) & sweep the sin under the carpet. When there is no repentance but deliberate deception, proportional justice needs to be done. And although fair punishment might not bring repentance in word or attitude, it might bring it in terms of future behaviour. In these situations, it's vital that you have the mind of the Holy Spirit as to what to do. Even when punishment is impossible (e.g. you do not have the authority to punish, or your report to an authority is ignored, or the authority can not act because there is a lack of witness evidence to prove your case, or you have unjust judges or because it is not profitable at this time – Matt. 13.29), you must not be in an amicable position to the sinner in these cases. See Psalm 139:21 ‘O Jehovah do not I hate (sometimes translated as ‘reject’) those hating (rejecting) you, and Psalm 1.1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers”. See 2 Chron. 19:2 also “Should you help the wicked one, & those that hate the Lord? [No way!]”. And this is not just an Old Testament phenomenon: "Expel the wicked person from among you" (1 Cor 5:13), and from the martyred saint’s made perfect under the throne of God "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you...avenge our blood?" (Rev. 6.10).
In this case, you have to leave it with God’s kind of justice, because He can sort it out where we can’t. Those who have sinned against a person will have a similar situation happen to them perhaps, sometimes almost exactly as it happened to their victim, in the hope that their eyes will be opened and repentance from them possible, i.e. they reap what they have sown. That’s God's grace to them. Punishment can actually have brilliant results as we see when Joseph's brothers faced imprisonment in Egypt and they finally realised the full extent of what they had done to their kid brother (Genesis 42.21). Nevertheless, even this kind of perfect punishment can fail depending on the soil of their heart (Jeremiah 5.3 & Amos 4.6-12). All God's judgments are out of love, even that of Hell which is necessary for division, as He must separate the rotten from the good. Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor. 15.33).
@MrsRexLover Says:
I really needed this. Thank you.
@mule723 Says:
You make reading the book so much better thanks for that.
@sedulous9383 Says:
Thank you for posting. This has blessed me and I hope will bless my friends aswell x
@XericSol Says:
This is amazing. C. S. Lewis's writing as well as your doodling and the narration.
@johnknestis3851 Says:
Whenever I need wisdom and clarity, calmness and peace I find these doodles and C.S. Lewis’s wisdom so satisfying.
@facelessnine7980 Says:
The chapter of ‘Time and beyond time’. I wish there was a sketch for it too.
@CSLewisDoodle Says:
To those of you who are listening to the soundtrack of the doodle in the car, please be aware I insert sound effects to go with the illustrations sometimes - so when C.S. Lewis encourages us to hit our resentments (towards God and others) on the head and take them out, I animate a duck shooting gallery at the fair or carnival. Please don't confuse this with a drive-by shooting near you!!! Props Leo Prinsloo.
@bghoody5665 Says:
The shooting gallery sound effect gave me a jump lol. Great video - I've always enjoyed Lewis for his ability to make difficult concepts easy to understand.
@juliemarr2169 Says:
Very relevant today, but not surprising that Lewis was on to it even then. Forgiveness is easier said than done, especially now when people promote resentment as a virtue. Lewis was ahead of his time.
@wataboutya9310 Says:
That was wonderful. I say the Lord’s Prayer every night and always wonder about forgiving those that trespass against us and what it really means. This was really an aha moment for me and now I understand clearly. Thank you 🙏
@spazzyjazzy6367 Says:
I appreciate your inclusion of Scripture. Even your drawings show that you spend much time there. 😊 Keep up the good work!
@AleksAvramJeff Says:
With all that brilliantly said, it's an amazing testimony of truth when we see just how the early Christian movement spread for the first 300 years or more - without any military means of conquest and despite the massive persecution, the first Christians changed the world by simply obeying the commandments, *love thy God with all your heart and love thy neigbour as yourself* . They showed the world charity and love despite all the hardships they had to go through.
@kimberlyh1956 Says:
Thank you . Your visual drawings are a great helping tool to understand such complicated matters!! This was of relevance to me today ! Again , I really appreciate you.
@LearndingLife Says:
Absolutely beautiful.
@fiatlux805 Says:
C.S. Lewis has an incredible mind. His clarity and simple manner is a rare treasure.
@hunivan7672 Says:
Hardest lesson to learn. But once you learn to forigve, you will also be forgiven. Praise Jesus.
@fastjack64 Says:
These are very helpful, just imagine trying to explain this to someone. But show them these and they begin to understand. Very good job
@ErindorEspeon Says:
Fantastic work, as always. Lewis' words bring a clarity that furthers discussions amongst my friends as all of us try to become better people, and your drawings make it digestible and shareable so the discussions can actually happen. Thank you for your effort!
@RuthParodies Says:
You still upload.....!!! That makes me very happy!
@matthewkearney8570 Says:
Great video! Really well animated
@chovey7993 Says:
Great Doodle! Nice work. Such powerful writings
@trina2449 Says:
How enlightening! Particularly the part about loving others as I love myself. The picture's become clearer to me. Thank you!
@wildlifedemocracy Says:
I loved everything y'all have put in here. Thank you.
@stevenswanson9519 Says:
Keep it up! you make Lewis accessible to more people, this is a gift!
@michaeldeal4846 Says:
Are we required to forgive others if they are unrepentant? I don't believe that was addressed here, or maybe I missed it.
@t.d.c.channel Says:
Whoo-hoo! A new video! Always excited to see a new one: hope you are doing well :) ~The Data Cruncher
@briankelly1240 Says:
'He who has ears, hear'
@ThePurpleTurtle Says:
The little animations are so cool and cute ahhh (≧∇≦)b
@pettifoggingpharisee Says:
A much needed proper and accurate perspective concerning the concept of loving your neighbor.
@TakedaIesyu Says:
Love these videos! Thank you for making this!
@freedompatriot3460 Says:
Love it!
@shinigamimiroku3723 Says:
Yeah, forgiveness is probably the greatest sin in the atheist religion, especially in this generation. One just needs to turn on the MSM to see this...
@CSLewisDoodle Says:
(1:43) A brief look at forgiveness in the Bible which you might find helpful:
➔That Forgiveness is required by us after genuine repentance (Luke 17.3, Matt. 18.15 & Lev. 19.17), or we shall not be forgiven by God. Rebukes are a surprisingly necessary precursor.
https://biblehub.com/luke/17-3.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/18-15.htm
https://biblehub.com/leviticus/19-17.htm
➔That tears are not necessarily repentance, but that no-one regrets Godly sorrow (Hebrew 12-17 & 2 Cor. 7.10). Fake repentance is often used as a means to plunder a victim; a devious tool to regain past losses with no genuine repentant intent (See 1 Kings 20.31 where a captured criminal King, is forgiven and needs to be refought only three years later - 1 Kings 22.1). It was all a show - inwardly he was still plotting destruction.
https://biblehub.com/hebrews/12-17.htm
https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/7-10.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_kings/20-31.htm
➔Since the price was paid for sin at the cross, forgiveness is given by God out of His justice (“if we confess our sins if we repent, he is faithful & JUST” - interestingly, forgiveness is not just out of His mercy) & therefore forgiveness is required from us out of justice due to God’s forgiveness of our sins. If it is not in your heart to be merciful, be just, because God has been just with you (1 John 1.9, Luke 11.4, Mark 11.25, Matt. 6.12 & Matt. 18.35).
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-9.htm
https://biblehub.com/luke/11-4.htm
https://biblehub.com/mark/11-25.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-12.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/18-35.htm
➔Forgiveness is often given by God (or a righteous person) because of ignorance in the sinner, without repentance. Those offending thought themselves doing right at the time. This ignorance can be with surprising groups, i.e. not just the Roman soldiers doing their duty, but Christ’s countrymen who crucified Him, or sided with them (Luke 23.34, Acts 7.60, Acts 3:17 & 1 Cor. 2.8).
https://biblehub.com/luke/23-34.htm
https://biblehub.com/acts/7-60.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_timothy/1-13.htm
https://biblehub.com/acts/3-17.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/2-8.htm
➔Godly kindness is meant to lead sinners to repentance (Rom. 2.4), but if it fails, God will bring exact proportional justice. In the case of the wicked, i.e. they deliberately & knowingly sin, then the only solution is proportional punishment. “But when kindness/grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil & do not regard the majesty of the LORD" (Isa. 26.10).
https://biblehub.com/romans/2-4.htm
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/26-10.htm
➔Proportional punishment can work wonders where nothing else will! Joseph is the model of God's tough dealings and His forgiveness when tried-and-true repentance is shown (See Genesis 14.4-14, 44.33, 45.4-7 & 50.15).
https://biblehub.com/genesis/42-9.htm
https://biblehub.com/genesis/42-21.htm
https://biblehub.com/genesis/44-33.htm
https://biblehub.com/genesis/45-4.htm
https://biblehub.com/genesis/50-21.htm
➔Sometimes sins are unforgivable & must be punished in this lifetime (Matthew 12.31-32 & Hebrews 6.5-6).
https://biblehub.com/matthew/12-31.htm
https://biblehub.com/hebrews/6-6.htm
➔In some exceptional cases, forgiveness is forbidden by God (Jer. 5:7-9, 7.16, 11.14, 14.11,18.23 & Neh. 4.5), and in some cases concerning the unrepentant, forgiveness can be optional for the saints (John 20.23 & Rev. 6.10).
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/5-7.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/7-16.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/11-14.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/14-11.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/18-23.htm
https://biblehub.com/nehemiah/4-5.htm
https://biblehub.com/john/20-23.htm
https://biblehub.com/revelation/6-10.htm
➔Even when sins are not forgiven because of ignorance, ignorance does reduce the level of proportional punishment required (Luke 12.47-48).
https://biblehub.com/luke/12-47.htm
➔God does not forgive all sin, hence Hell. If there is no repentance, & no ignorance, there can be no heavenly destination. Compare Steven’s forgiveness of the ignorant & Jeremiah’s warning to those of his day who knew better: Jeremiah 26.15 vs Acts 7.60. As Lewis says in ‘The Problem of Pain’: “I said glibly a moment ago that I would pay “any price” to remove this doctrine [of Hell]. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has already paid to remove the fact. And here is the real problem: so much mercy, yet still there is Hell.”
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/26-15.htm
https://biblehub.com/acts/7-60.htm
As a Christian, forgiveness can be surprising and is most often far wider than you would like (Jonah 4.11), with God requiring you to forgive certain repentant people who have committed offenses against you, as C. S. Lewis discusses in this doodle. Occasionally it is narrower also, with certain individuals (to whom you have some kind of loyalty or natural affection) that must NOT be forgiven (see Jeremiah’s natural affection for Israel, which had to be overcome: “Do not pray for this people!” (Jer. 14.11) and also the Prophet Samuel regarding rejected King Saul (1 Sam. 16.1). Ahab forgave a wicked man (who faked repentance) due to an old friendship, and it cost him his life (1 Kings 20.42) in contrast to David (Psalm 18:37).
https://biblehub.com/jonah/4-11.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/14-11.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/16-1.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_kings/20-42.htm
https://biblehub.com/psalms/18-37.htm
This second restriction on forgiveness might apply to a corrupt official or abuser, where to forgive an act against oneself (or another) would allow the bribery or abuse to continue, where punishment would have corrected the problem. They must be exposed & expelled, usually at some personal cost, as it is far easier to give in. Punishment may need to be pursued here even though the group pressure in these situations is often to forgive (or rather excuse) & sweep the sin under the carpet. When there is no repentance but deliberate deception, proportional justice needs to be done. And although fair punishment might not bring repentance in word or attitude, it might bring it in terms of future behaviour. In these situations, it's vital that you have the mind of the Holy Spirit as to what to do.
Even when punishment is impossible (e.g. you do not have the authority to punish, or your report to an authority is ignored, or the authority can not act because there is a lack of witness evidence to prove your case, or you have unjust judges or because it is not profitable at this time – Matt. 13.29), you must not be in an amicable position to the sinner in these cases. See Psalm 139:21 ‘O Jehovah do not I hate (sometimes translated as ‘reject’) those hating (rejecting) you, and Psalm 1.1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers”. See 2 Chron. 19:2 also “Should you help the wicked one, & those that hate the Lord? [No way!]”. And this is not just an Old Testament phenomenon: "Expel the wicked person from among you" (1 Cor 5:13), and from the martyred saint’s made perfect under the throne of God "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you...avenge our blood?" (Rev. 6.10).
https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-29.htm
https://biblehub.com/psalms/139-21.htm
https://biblehub.com/psalms/1-1.htm
https://biblehub.com/2_chronicles/19-2.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/5-13.htm
https://biblehub.com/revelation/6-10.htm
In this case, you have to leave it with God’s kind of justice, because He can sort it out where we can’t. Those who have sinned against a person will have a similar situation happen to them perhaps, sometimes almost exactly as it happened to their victim, in the hope that their eyes will be opened and repentance from them possible, i.e. they reap what they have sown. That’s God's grace to them. Punishment can actually have brilliant results as we see when Joseph's brothers faced imprisonment in Egypt and they finally realised the full extent of what they had done to their kid brother (Genesis 42.21). Nevertheless, even this kind of perfect punishment can fail depending on the soil of their heart (Jeremiah 5.3 & Amos 4.6-12). All God's judgments are out of love, even that of Hell which is necessary for division, as He must separate the rotten from the good. Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor. 15.33).
https://biblehub.com/genesis/42-21.htm
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/5-3.htm
https://biblehub.com/amos/4-6.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/15-33.htm
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