THE CALL TO FORGIVENESS Lets begin with the facts: the Bible tells us that we are to forgive. Matthew 6:14,15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 18:21, 22 Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Followed by the parable of the ungrateful servant).......35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 17:3, 4 So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, I repent, forgive him. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. WHY FORGIVENESS? Why does God make such an issue of forgiveness? I think we can answer that question several different ways.First, forgiveness reflects Gods character.When we forgive we reflect the Fathers love. The standard is this: forgive AS He has forgiven you. Forgiveness gives us the opportunity to extend to others what God has extended to us. Do you remember where you were when He found you? Can you recall the countless times you ignored God, spurned Him, did what you knew was wrong? Even then the Lord reached out to You and offered His forgiveness. And when you received His love He promised He would remember the past no longer. You have been forgiven. When we forgive others we show that His Spirit is at work within us. When we forgive we demonstrate that we have not forgotten where He found us. But (you say), If we forgive arent we just letting someone get away with a wrong? We feel if we simply forgive (theres nothing simple about it) we will be allowing someone to take advantage of us. Shouldnt we make people aware of the wrong they have done? Thomas Watson answered this objection quite effectively, To pass by an injury without revenge, is not eclipsing our honor. The Scripture says of a man, It is his glory to pass over a transgression. Proverbs 19:11. It is more honorable to bury an injury than to revenge it. Wrath denotes weakness; a noble heroic spirit overlooks a petty offense. But what if the wrong is great . . . not forgiving is a greater wrong. In injuring you he has offended against man, but in not forgiving him you offend against God. [THE LORDS PRAYER p.317] One of the best ways of showing someone the wrong they have done is to contrast their actions with grace. Second, forgiveness releases us.The alternative to forgiveness is bitterness and resentment. Dale Carnegie tells about a visit to Yellowstone Park where he saw a grizzly bear. The huge animal was in the center of a clearing, feeding on some discarded camp food. For several minutes he feasted alone; no other creature dared draw near. After a few moments a skunk walked through the meadow toward the food and took his place next to the grizzly. The bear didnt object and Carnegie knew why. The grizzly, he said, knew the high cost of getting even. [House of God p. 122] People who refuse to forgive, hurt themselves. Bitter people are no fun to be around. They cant sleep. Ulcers line their stomach. Their blood pressure rises. They see the negative in every situation because their life is polluted with these feelings of resentment and anger. People who are unwilling to forgive may feel that they are punishing the other person but the only person paying the price is themselves. Try a simple experiment on yourself. Make a fist and hold it tight. One minute of this is sufficient to bring discomfort. Consider what would happen if the fist were maintained in that state of tension during a period that extended into weeks, months, or even years. Obvious it would soon become a sick member of the body. You may hurt a person by not forgiving them and thus feel some satisfying sense of getting even, but almost without exception, the hurt you do to yourself may be even greater. After a while you may not feel the pain of the clenched resentment in your soul, but its self-inflicted paralysis will have its effect upon your whole life. [Robert Harvey and David Benner UNDERSTANDING FORGIVENESS p. 59] Forgiveness not only releases us physically and emotionally, it also releases us SPIRITUALLY. One of the greatest barriers to effective prayer and spiritual vitality is an unforgiving heart
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:25:24 +0000
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