Loving Out Loud....Forgiveness....written by Stephanie Cawthron
Our youth Pastor, Sam, challenged us Wednesday night...
Sam reminded us that Christ had done nothing wrong. Jesus, of all people!!! Had plenty of reason to take revenge on his accusers....but he did not.
The challenge, was this.... Apologize to those who wrong me.... WHAT IF...?
God's word says in Colossians 3:12-13:
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15:
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
John 20:
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Paraphrased: The same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead is available for us who believe him.
At the time that we make our decision to believe that Christ is who he says he is, and ask him into our life to do what he says he can do, we recieved the power of the holy spirit to be who God says we are.
Galatians 3:14
By faith, we receive the promise of the Spirit.
Romans 8:9b
(...those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
Acts 2:38
Repent of your sins, and turn to God...then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sam said last week that we need to pray-ask God to help us to forgive those who hae wronged us-that we might be repentant and empowered (made able) by Christ to forgive others.
So...I ask you....What is forgiveness? (Don't just take my answers....think of how you really feel about this!)
Is it toleration?
Letting go of the wrong done to us?
Letting them off of the hook for what was done? said?
Letting go of anger?
Rationalize it? (I must have done something wrong!)
What does it mean to forgive?
To show love to/for others?
Obeying God's word?
So, how then, do we forgive others?
Pray?
Let God show us how?
Think about this statement....based on scripture....
UNFORGIVENESS IS A SIN.
( It leads to anger/rage/hatred/jealousy/revenge....)
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other.
God's word clearly tells us, more than once, that we must forgive as Christ forgave us!
Colossians 3:13 says Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.
I have a few questions for you.
Did God have to give his only Son to die for us?
Did Jesus have to come to earth and leave his heavenly place?
Did Jesus have to allow all the events of the crucifixtion to happen?
God the Father made the choices so that we can be reconciled to him, so that we may be saved from our sin! He did not have to die for us!!! He chose to do what he did! He continues to choose to forgive us because he loves us.
John 3:16 (New Living Translation)
16 “For God loved the world (you and me!) so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone (you and me!) who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:17
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Ok. So, we are to forgive as Christ forgave right?
How did Christ forgive?
Really...think about this for a minute.
Remember the things we mentioned before?
Did he tolerate sin?
Did he let it go? Ignore it? Rationalize it?
Did he let anyone of the hook?
No is the answer to all of the above.
Christ CHOSE to forgive.
Forgiveness begins with a choice. A conscious decision to forgive.
God already did what was required by the Cross.... there's nothing more we have to do.
By choosing to forgive those who have wronged us, we are freed from the burden of prolonged anger/rage/hatred/jealousy/revenge.....all that results from the sin of unforgiveness.
If we forgive, we are freed from the weight of those feelings.
The one(s) you choose to forgive never have to know that you have forgiven them. They are not off the hook for the wrong they have done. They may not care or even be aware that you feel that they have done anything wrong. Forgiveness loosens the chains of sinful anger/rage/hatred/jealousy/revenge, and frees us to be who God created us to be.
Romans 2:2
And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who is wicked.
Forgiving someone does not let them off the hook for what they have done or are doing. God WILL hold each of us accountable for our lives, and the choices we make at the right time. His time.
So, how many times must we forgive?
The choice to forgive does not magically erase the offense. The offense may even continue as long as we have relationship with certain people.
Matthew 18:21
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
The scriptures are unconcealed. The message is unmistakeable.
Forgivness is a choice.
It begins in our heads, with a conscious decision.
Forgiveness is for the person who is a target of offense.
We must forgive as many times as it takes for us to be free from sinful consequences of unforgiveness.
I will tell you that I did not come up with this overall idea by myself. Obviously, God's word is the basis of the entire message. In addition, though, if I had not been exposed to the actual demonstration and inclusion of the forgiveness process, I could not speak with the confidence I have that it works. It does take time. But through prayer, and obedience to God's ways, I have personally experienced true freedom from many consequences of sinful unforgiveness...shame...guilt...unreasonable expectations....and I am now very aware of the lies that satan tries to get me to believe. The enemy will try to tell us, it's our fault. We deserved the offense. We can't forgive, the offense was too horrendous.
With God, all things are possible. Through Him, we can live the life that He has called us to; life abundant. Joy filled. A relationship with Christ that is more intimate than any other. We can walk with him, through life's ups and downs. He never leaves us. He works all things out for his glory, and he has perfect timing.
Today...in this moment....will you choose to forgive?
