Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds

by Chris Brauns

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2008

Overview

Helps readers move beyond the wounds and baggage of bitterness, disagreements, and broken relationships.

“True or false: most Christian pastors and counselors agree on what forgiveness is and how it should take place.” This question is part of Chris Brauns’s Forgiveness Quiz that draws readers into his book and gets them thinking about the subject of forgiveness. The truth is, pastors and counselors disagree profoundly on this subject. Unpacking Forgiveness combines sound theological thinking and honesty about the complicated questions many face to provide readers with a solid understanding of biblical forgiveness.

Only God’s Word can unpack forgiveness. The wounds are too deep for us to find healing on our own, and the questions are too complex to be unraveled by anything but the wisdom of God. This book goes beyond a feel-good doctrine of automatic forgiveness, balancing the beauty of God’s grace and the necessity of forgiveness with the teaching that forgiveness must take place in a way that is consistent with justice.

Key Features

• Helps readers move beyond the wounds and baggage of bitterness.
• Combines sound theological thinking and honesty.
• Goes beyond a feel-good doctrine of automatic forgiveness.

Praise for Unpacking Forgiveness

Offenses will come. It’s a given. Unpacking Forgiveness wisely prepares us for the aftermath. Grieving the loss of our six children in a van accident and then being reminded of that loss throughout thirteen years of subsequent battles forced us to search the Scriptures concerning the issue of forgiveness. Chris not only has confirmed answers that we had found but has thoroughly sorted out what it takes to be right with God and man. This is a diligent work with heart.

--Scott Willis

Forgiveness of one another is one of the most important subjects in the Bible, and yet one so often misunderstood. Now Christopher Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.

--Jerry Bridges, author, The Pursuit of Holiness

Here is a book that lives up to its title. Forgiveness remains a distant dream for many people precisely because they don’t know what it means, where to begin or what to expect. Blending contemporary stories with the teaching of the Bible, Christopher Brauns unpacks forgiveness so that we can be set free from bitterness. I especially appreciated his emphasis on coming back to the character of God and learning to delight in him as the only way forward when we have been deeply hurt. A book to be read on your knees. It could change your life.

--Ray Pritchard, President, Keep Believing Ministries; author of Credo, Discovering God’s Will for Your Life, and The Amazing Journey of Faith

Product Details

• Title: Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds
• Author: Chris Brauns
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2008
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 235
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Forgiveness of sin; Forgiveness › Religious aspects—Christianity
• ISBNs: 9781433521409, 9781581349801, 9781433504853, 1433521407, 1581349807, 1433504855, 9781433504846, 1433504847
• Resource ID: LLS:61F87F920FC9E723E79BF78569F34E60
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:43:58Z

About Chris Brauns

Chris Brauns is the Senior Pastor at the Red Brick Church in Stillman Valley, IL. Chris has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years and is the author of Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds (Crossway), When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search (Moody), and Bound Together: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices (Zondervan).

Sample Pages from Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds