Does Forgiveness Negate Justice?
There is the old classic argument I sometimes struggle with, "If I forgive doesn't that omit justice? Why can't I have revenge?" The answer is no. Here's the issue- forgiveness DOES NOT by any means negate justice. Here's some truths we are to understand about the relationship between forgiveness and justice:
It doesn't mean that God forgives that a Christian can sin all they want. God may have forgiven the Christian but that does not mean that He will not chastise the sinning believer. Hebrews 12:5-6 is clear that whenever a Christian sins, they endure chastising. Although a Christian who stumbles in the faith won't lose their salvation because they CANNOT completely fall away, God is still faithful and just to chastise the believer until they confess their unconfessed sins.
The illustration of forgiveness and justice is plain simple- punishment is given but it does not mean that the person is being personal. The teacher PUNISHES the student for the offense but he/she is NOT getting personal with the student. Rather the teacher punishes the student because the rules dictate that such an offense is punishable. It was done not for the sake of the teacher but for the sake of preserving justice and fairness in the classroom environment. Then after that offense, the teacher MOVES ON and doesn't begrudge the student giving him/her another chance. The same applies that while a person has EVERY RIGHT to hand in people who have done major damage to them like the sin of attempted murder however he/she does not take the law into their own hands. That is, justice is done by the proper authorities. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth are standards of how authorities are to carry out punishment against offenses done to society NOT a recipe for vengeance. In fact most people have gone too far as to even sue people over minor offenses. I myself have even been guilty of declaring death as the only suitable punishment for persons who have offended it, when I am in fact no better because ALL have sinned and need forgiveness (Romans 3:10-23). For the cases of corrupt officials, the public must FORGIVE them and leave them to the hands of a just God. They however must speak against the corruptions of the officials but not with the intention of rebellion and anarchy like how Daniel's three friends opposed the corruption of the king without leading a rebellion.
When Jesus taught about loving one's enemies He DOES NOT teach it's okay to fellowship with the wicked and go out with a drink with them at the worst kind of place "out of forgiveness". Ephesians 5:11 warns that Christians are to REPROVE the works of darkness. True love does not rejoice in sin but in the truth. True love reproves wickedness. Loving one another does not leave persons in darkness in the fear that they will be offended. Christians share the truth out of love, the world counts them as idiots and stupid and they are rejected. Christians are encouraged to PRAY for such nuisances rather than quarrel with them, while of course NOT helping them in their sinfulness. Being called stupid for being a Christian? 1 Corinthians 4:10 has Paul saying that Christians are "fools" for Christ's sake. It's already expected. Christians should avoid by any means spend time reading hate blogs against them or updating them, rather praying for the salvation of those who are writing stuff against them as to generate love, forgiveness and leaving everything to the hand of God who judges FAIRLY. Christians are to judge sinful actions as right and wrong NEVER the persons involved.
Forgiveness DOES NOT mean that self-defense is not allowed. Jesus clearly approved of self-defense (Luke 22:36-38). In a life and death situation, Christians are by EVERY means allowed to strike or even kill if that's their last resolve. A nation has an army to defend its people in case of any enemy attack that could literally jeopardize the whole nation. A woman being raped has every right to get a gun and shoot the rapist. It's MUCH different from a person who fires a gun at a person who's mocking him as an act of vengeance. Turning the other cheek does not mean allowing one's self to be raped or that if I were to be guilty of rape God forbid it by His grace alone, that the victim is obligated to give me the privilege of raping her two hours or more. It does not mean that if a mad man is carrying a deadly weapon against me I would let him kill me, no if I have a deadly weapon with me I will have no choice but to shoot him even if it means killing him to save me or in the case of others, the police seldom has no choice but to kill an assaulter. Seriously the authorities has to understand that some killings are done out of self-defense. Or for the case of verbal assaults although a Christian is NOT to hit back but he/she has the right to TELL the person about their lack of respect. In short, forgiveness is NOT total pacifism!
Forgiveness DOES NOT tolerate abuse of any form, rather unconditional forgiveness can produce gratitude. Remember we're just all dirty rotten sinners and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior from sin. Nobody actually deserves to be forgiven, nobody deserves God's love and if God had no forgiveness seriously NOBODY would make it to Heaven. It would mean man has to work for his salvation and fail. While it was the Law of God that convicted the sinner, however it was God's love that causes the Christian to wish to NEVER again live lawlessly (Romans 3:19-31). Being forgiven, Christians are motivated by the new nature to forgive while the old nature needs to be sends to the tormentors so the new man can continuously forgive.
When a Christian shares such forgiving kindness, it extends the Gospel as well. Think about how many Christians who have forgiven their persecutors caused their faith to spread like fire. Forgiveness is one of the weapons for winning in their daily holy war for the truth that must be fought for, not missiles, not machine guns, not uzis, not battle talks NO JUST PLAIN CHRISTLIKE FORGIVENESS, Bibles and becoming holier than one's self daily. It's like how the Dark Ages' Inquisition just couldn't stop the spread of Christianity- the Inquisition was a machine of brutality and unforgiveness, the Baptist Christians who they persecuted by forgiving the inquisitors continuously and even turning the other cheek gave a good reason why to convert to Christianity. It clearly demonstrated that while man was yet a sinner, Christ died for him (Romans 5:8).
Revenge on the other hand is all about personal retribution or taking the law into one's own hands to which the Pharisees were guilty of. Being an avenger for others (i.e. anointed authorities like the President, policemen, government officials) is different from avenging one's self. God has set proper authorities to do that work. Also God is clear that vengeance is CLEARLY His work (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19). God has the right to revenge, not man. In fact, every sin against the Christian is a sin against God. In fact, I've encountered persons who have wronged me continuously really get divine justice even if it means MUCH later. Remember that God still gives chances to the wicked to repent. Only He decides when it is over and not us.