Forgiveness – Series 6

Chapter 5 (pp. 51-62)

Horizontal and Vertical Breaches

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. – Luke 10:27

Trespasses and Sins

A trespass might not always be a sin.  Sometimes, however, sin could result from a trespass.  By “trespass” here is meant sin against a person, and by “sin” is meant trespass against God.  (You must be wondering what strange ‘dictionary’ this is.)  Trespasses are committed against fellow humans, and sin against God.  When the brothers of Joseph had the chance to meet him and address their regretted past, they confessed to both “trespass” (against Joseph) and “sin” (against God), but the trespass before the sin.

Why confess the trespass before the sin?  Because it is the one that often leads to the other, and one cannot properly seek peace with God while they ignore the offended humans with whom they ought to make peace first; one cannot properly atone for a sin at the altar of God without due amendments or reparations, where possible, to the human that was negatively impacted by that act (Matthew 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:7).  The ‘pass’ that gives the guilty an access to God is the ‘clearance’ that they have received from the human.  The sense comes out in the conjunction “and” that connects the two: “Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, AND [or as well as] their sin” (Genesis 50:17).  In other words, two cases: a trespass “and” a sin, both emanating from the single act of betrayal.

The statement, being addressed to Joseph, might seem on the surface as supplication asking Joseph to forgive both their ‘trespass’ against him and the resultant ‘sin’ against God.  No.  Their confession was merely a recognition of the fact that they were, at that point, dealing with two matters instead of one: a trespass and a sin; also, that they were dealing with two persons rather than just Joseph.  God had been cojoined in the case, their trespass against man having also become sin against God, as it often happens.

Horizontal and Vertical Breaches

Every crime or sin has a horizontal () and a vertical (⇵) dimension; the two dimensions together make a cross ().  The horizontal bar connects human to human (offender to offended; trespasser to trespassed, etc.), the vertical axis connects the offender or sinner to God, or to the supreme and universal laws of God and/or the laws or constitution of the land (e.g. criminal vs police; criminal vs judge; sinner vs God, etc.).

• horizontal = human plus human;
• vertical = human plus supreme laws/God;

vertical ( I ) plus horizontal ( ––) = cross ().

In a general sense, a trespass against a person, a crime in a community, or sin that breaks generally accepted principles of living, would ultimately be both horizontal (directly affecting a fellow human) and vertical (secondarily breaching the supreme laws of God and/or the laws of the people).  In other words, whereas there is a primary aspect of trespass, which impinges directly on the person(s) trespassed against, there could also be a secondary dimension bordering on the common laws of the people or the laws of God.  For example, if someone steals, they have, firstly and directly, trespassed a fellow human being, whom they have caused pain and discomfort by taking their property and denying them the use of it.  That is a horizontal breach, as all humans are on the same plane.  Nevertheless, that thief has also broken the laws of the land as well as the Law of God that declares, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:5), which is vertical in nature.  The thief could get forgiveness from the person they have deprived: that would be a horizontal resolution; but that thief also has to ask forgiveness from God for a supreme commandment broken.  The thief cannot say to God, “God, I have no business with You in this matter; after all, I did not break Your Sabbath or take Your name in vain.”  Neither can the thief say to themself, “Since the owner has pardoned me, I have no confession to make to God.”

The forgiveness that one human being dispenses to another human being merely clears the trespasser from horizontal liability.  It does not also automatically settle the vertical dimension connecting the trespasser to the government of men or the Law of God.  The same applies in the reverse.  Sometimes complete absolution lies not merely in confessing to God but also in confessing to the person against whom one had committed the error confessed to God.  If I should steal your only stool (horizontal), then go and confess to God or His priest (vertical), I cannot retain the vertical forgiveness (from God) so long as I still keep the stolen stool in my house while you suffer the many inconveniences of the denial that I have caused you (horizontally).  Even you would not take my God-ward vertical penitence seriously if I took no steps to also make horizontal peace with you.  Not only will you be injured in your soul each time you find me on your stool, but you will also find it difficult to believe that I have made peace with God.

Securing Horizontal Harmony

Dr Omo Oba-Jesu of western Nigeria was a very fetish and brutal Satanist, with membership in over ten evil fraternities before he got saved in very dramatic circumstances.  In his days of sin, he had killed the only son of an aged couple.  When he got saved, God instructed him specifically to go and ask forgiveness from the parents he had bereaved.  He struggled with it for a long time.  By the way, nobody knew the killer, and God had forgiven him, he argued.  Ultimately, the voice of God prevailed, and he went to see those parents.

“I am the one who killed your son,” he said to them, after the traditional courtesies of respectful greetings.  “Now I am changed.  God has forgiven me, but I have come to also ask your forgiveness.”  He was prostrate on the floor in the traditional fashion of respect and penitence.  Their reply was profound: “If God has forgiven you, who are we not to forgive you?”  At that, they prayed for him and let him go.  He was free.

Each time I recall that story, I wonder, If the Most Mighty God had truly forgiven him, why would the same God insist on his also seeking the forgiveness of mere mortals?  Why didn’t God’s vertical forgiveness override every other horizontal liability? What was the significance of Omo Oba-Jesu’s horizontal step in the vertical realm of spirits?  What was the heavenly implication of that earthly obedience?  Why did the brothers of Joseph need to confess to him, when they could have settled with the Mighty God and left the matter there?

Sins and Consequences

When David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba the wife of his trusted army officer who was away on military assignment, he not only breached a horizontal trust, sinning against a fellow human, he also broke the Law of God that forbade adultery.  God subsequently got involved in the matter, addressing both the vertical and horizontal implications of David’s act.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD to do evil in his [God’s] sight? [vertical],

thou hast killed Uriah … and hast taken HIS wife to be thy wife…. [ horizontal]

Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great [horizontal] occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme [vertically]… (2 Samuel 12:9, 14).

When David eventually realized his error, he addressed only the vertical dimension of his act, asking forgiveness from God.  I find no record that he also sought horizontal reparations.  He confessed to God but made no confession to the family of the slain man.  Accordingly, even though God forgave the sin (vertically), it did not also remove the horizontal (or earthly) consequences of the sin, so, there was bloody violence among his sons, there was molestation of females in his household, and other continuing forms of private and collective horizontal tribulations.  Ultimately, the child that was born from that illicit (horizontal) relationship died as further expression of God’s (vertical) displeasure.  This has taught me to not only seek forgiveness from God for sin, but also pay attention to and penitently request the deletion of likely horizontal consequences of the sin that has been confessed and forgiven.

Harmony with Heavenly and Earthly Fathers

The issue of horizontal and vertical dimensions in human relations is clearly illustrated in the confessions of the Prodigal Son to his father.  That penitent transgressor confessed to both “sin against heaven” and sin “before thee” – the father; he addressed his confession towards Heaven (vertically) and to his father (horizontally).  He did not assume that his confessions towards Heaven had covered all other dimensions of his act.  He did not claim that his clearance with God had also erased or overridden any obligation to man.  He recognized the three parties in the matter: Heaven, father, and himself.  Even though in his case he confessed first to Heaven, he still acknowledged his debt to the earthly father.

The Prodigal Son confessed first to Heaven and next to the father; he made peace with Heaven and, next, with the father on earth against whom he had trespassed.  Even before he started the long journey back home from his “far country,” he had already made peace with God and with himself.  He was already ‘born again,’ we might say, before the restorative meeting with his father.   The homeward journey was only a ‘walking out’ of the miracle that had already taken place in him.  It was the outward expression of his new inner state.  In both the story of Joseph and that of the Prodigal Son, the word “and” connects the heavenly and earthly transgressed parties; it connects the confession of trespass and the confession of sin.  We can therefore speak of two confessions made towards full restoration of relationship: one to the Heavenly Father, firstly; and the next to the earthly father or earthly party, secondly.

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven [vertically], AND before thee [horizontally],

21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven [vertically], AND in thy sight [horizontally], and am no more worthy to be called thy son (Luke 15:18, 21).

One lesson from both accounts of Joseph and the Prodigal Son is that, confessing to God does not always totally absolve the trespasser, especially where there is also an earthly party to appease. The brothers of Joseph did not say that because they were “the servants of the God of thy father” they owed no man a confession.  The prodigal trespasser did not claim that because he had already confessed to God, and God had ‘forgiven’ him, he had no business talking with anyone else.  There was a first step of repentance towards God and the next of restitution towards man.  Anyone who has truly penitently encountered God will also proceed further with their penitence towards men.  Paul refers to this when he speaks about maintaining “a conscience void of offence toward God [first, vertically], and toward men [next, horizontally]” (Acts 24:16).  Unlike Paul, some are so religious that they bother only about not ‘sinning against God’; they couldn’t care if they were sending the whole world to hell by their questionable ‘righteousness’ and adamant unruliness.

Trespassing unto Sin

We may now consider the relationship between trespass and sin, and how one might lead to the other.  If I were driving a car on a hot Sunday afternoon and splashed muddy water on your white shirt or dress, that would be a trespass without it having become a sin.  If the rapture should take place at the point of that accidental splash, that action alone would not be the reason for my missing that Flight. If, however, I became aware of the trespass, had every opportunity to pull over and offer an apology, but decided not to do so because I thought you deserved none from my eminent person, then that which had merely been a trespass would also have become a sin of pride.   Furthermore, if the act had been premeditated, planned and executed, it would have been a sin long before it became a trespass and, maybe, an offence.

Sometimes an act is merely a trespass against a person without it also being a sin against God.  Other times, it is both a sin and a trespass, or a trespass and a sin.  For example, if someone raped another’s wife, the act is both sin (of adultery or fornication) against God, as well as being a trespass against the husband and the woman.

A further illustration might be the personal and legal dimensions of a violation.  For example, if someone kills another, the family of the victim can sue the killer and seek damages.  If, however, they should choose to forgive, and decide to pursue the case no further, that does not free the killer from still answering for murder under the laws of the land.  In spite of the horizontal forgiveness (person to person), that killer could still be sent to jail or sentenced to death according to the laws of that land.  The killer has sinned not only against a household but also against a land, against a set of laws governing the land.  Settling the case with one party only does not entirely free the killer from the consequences of the act at the hands of the law.

Sometimes we let a simple trespass degenerate into sin because we are too proud to admit to an error and too stiff to bow to repair it.  Sometimes we cover up damages with a false spirituality that claims that because we have made vertical peace with God, every other horizontal obligation has been obliterated (Mark 7:10-13).  Matters of forgiveness are more horizontal in nature, yet they can block vertical frequencies, which stresses how crucial earthly matters can be in heavenly considerations (Matthew 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:7).

For copies of the book, kindly call the contact numbers provided or visit the online shops listed below.

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Other publications at Selar books:

https://selar.co/m/kontein-trinya1?search=forgiveness – Forgiveness

https://selar.co/903394 – Balaam

https://selar.co/443i94 – Mystic Markets

https://selar.co/q4454b – Beyond Holiness

https://selar.co/1g4486 – Stray Bullets

POSTSCRIPT

A WORD OF THE LORD FOR 2025 – FORGIVENESS  

In two previous posts, I had drawn attention to the circumstances informing this series: the prophetic word from Dr Steve Ogan for 2025 and its connections with the book, Forgiveness.  Dr Steve Ogan is a prolific prophetic writer and a global teacher with unique insights into Biblical symbolisms and numerology.  Every year, he writes a yearbook on the prophetic significance of that year, based on the number of the year.  For 2025, his numerological theme is forgiveness, for which he thought that The Preacher’s book, Forgiveness, was a timely classic.  Taking his cue as a prophetic directive, serializing that book through the year has been reasonably considered, except for occasional pauses for other prophetic or exhortative interventions.  This is the fifth in the series, in obedience to the word of the Lord from the mouth of His servant.  Through the lives that shall be impacted by the profound insights from that globally acclaimed classic from Heaven by the mercies of God, we are persuaded that the Lord shall vindicate His word by the mouth of His servant.  Amen.  The testimonies have started to come in, from across the globe.