📖 Biblical Definition
The deliberate restraint of judgment, wrath, or retribution toward one who deserves it — grounded not in weakness or indifference but in a sovereign, purposeful patience. In theology, God's forbearance refers to his passing over sins previously committed, not ignoring them but withholding immediate punishment in order to grant space for repentance (Romans 3:25). Paul explicitly ties God's forbearance to the demonstration of his justice and the invitation to repentance: "Do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). Forbearance in believers is commanded as part of walking worthy of their calling — bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
FORBEAR'ANCE, n.
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FORBEAR'ANCE, n. The act of forbearing; a refraining from action when provoked, or when one has the right or power to act. Forbearance implies mildness, patience, and long-suffering under provocation. It is distinguished from patience in that forbearance supposes the power to punish and the choice not to exercise it.
📖 Key Scripture
Romans 2:4 — "Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"
Romans 3:25 — "This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins."
Ephesians 4:2 — "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love."
Colossians 3:13 — "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
In modern usage, "forbearance" has been reduced to a financial term — a bank granting a borrower temporary relief fro...
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In modern usage, "forbearance" has been reduced to a financial term — a bank granting a borrower temporary relief from payments. Spiritually, the word has been swallowed by the secular concept of "tolerance," which strips away its moral content. Biblical forbearance is always purposeful: God's patience is not indifference to sin — it is the merciful extension of time to repent. The modern version replaces moral restraint with moral approval, as if enduring sin long enough means affirming it. Forbearance never erases the debt; it postpones collection while keeping the door to repentance open.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G463 — ἀνοχή (anochē): "forbearance, tolerance" — God's purposeful holding back of deserved wrath G3115 —...
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G463 — ἀνοχή (anochē): "forbearance, tolerance" — God's purposeful holding back of deserved wrath
G3115 — μακροθυμία (makrothumia): "long-suffering, patient endurance toward persons"
H750 — אָרֵךְ (arek): "long, slow to anger" — used in the phrase erek appayim (long of nostrils, i.e., slow to anger)
Usage
"God's forbearance in the face of Israel's repeated idolatry was not weakness — it was mercy held in tension with justice, waiting for the fullness of time."
"The cross did not eliminate the debt that God's forbearance had been holding in patience — it settled it, once and for all."