Through many years of ministry, I have found that the church as an “f” word, a word that they hate to hear. That word is forgiveness. Of all the things that I’ve seen people struggle with, forgiveness is the absolute biggest and most prevalent. If you google “books on forgiveness,” you will immediately see almost 300 titles, the majority which are written to the Christian population.
In the past I’ve seen people on their death bed who refuse to forgive. I’ve talked with people one-on-one who refuse to forgive, even knowing that if they do not forgive they cannot enter the Kingdom. There is no justification in remaining offended. Sadly, I even know of one person who died in their unforgiveness. Mostly, I’ve seen unforgiveness manifest itself in the lives of believers as hatred, offense, bitterness, anxiety, obsession, violence, misplaced blame, mental issues, and the constant need of attention and validation.
I’ve also seen the glorious effect that true forgiveness has in the life of someone who allows God to work forgiveness in their heart. It sets them free! Forgiveness is freedom, not for the one who did wrong, but for the one who was wronged. Forgiving does not mean that the offense will not be taken into account by God. It just means that you do not carry the burden of it with you anymore.
When you let go and place the offense in God’s hands, you take your hands off of it. God is the judge, He will repay. God instructs us to pray for our enemies, not curse them, gossip about them, or do them harm. Pray for your enemies, that God would have the same compassion on them that He has had on you. It amazes me that some people in the church revel in the failings of other believers instead of grieving for them, praying for them, and working towards redemption as scripture instructs.
We seem to relegate sins into categories. There are the gross sins that even our legal system acknowledges and there are the small sins, or as Jerry Bridges call them, “Respectable Sins” that are overlooked as trivial amongst Christians if they commit them.
But scripture reminds us that no sin is so small that it didn’t cost Christ His life. He didn’t die just for the murderers, adulterers, thieves, and molesters. He died for the gossipers, the idolaters, the haters, the drunks, the contentious, the malicious, those who cause strife, the jealous, those who sow discord, and the rebellious. He died for the those who tell little white lies, the two-faced, and those who do seemingly harmless or flippant things that they know they shouldn’t do.
God forgave through Christ. Christ gave his Holy Spirit to us so that we can forgive as He did through the power given to us by His Spirit. We have no excuse to harbor a wrong done, whether perceived or real. In fact, to not forgive violates the love of God which is a very serious offense.
I’m amazed at how long some people will carry wrongs or perceived wrongs around in their soul. They are trapped in the pain of the past when they could be free. There is no wrong that we do not have the power to forgive if we have the Spirit of God living inside of us. There is no offense that someone can commit that is greater than the offenses we have committed against Christ. There are no degrees of sin when it comes to justification.
No matter how egregious an offense may seem, it is not something that we ourselves would not be capable of, if it were not for the grace given us by the Spirit of God, our helper and our sanctifier. Never say that you would never do something or that something would never happen to you, because quite honestly, the potential for that or even something even worse resides in all human flesh.
David committed great sins, but found great forgiveness and redemption, so much that God said of him that he was a man after His own heart. Who are we to judge others if God forgives us on this level?
Today I am thankful that I am forgiven, therefore I am free to forgive.
In the past I’ve seen people on their death bed who refuse to forgive. I’ve talked with people one-on-one who refuse to forgive, even knowing that if they do not forgive they cannot enter the Kingdom. There is no justification in remaining offended. Sadly, I even know of one person who died in their unforgiveness. Mostly, I’ve seen unforgiveness manifest itself in the lives of believers as hatred, offense, bitterness, anxiety, obsession, violence, misplaced blame, mental issues, and the constant need of attention and validation.
I’ve also seen the glorious effect that true forgiveness has in the life of someone who allows God to work forgiveness in their heart. It sets them free! Forgiveness is freedom, not for the one who did wrong, but for the one who was wronged. Forgiving does not mean that the offense will not be taken into account by God. It just means that you do not carry the burden of it with you anymore.
When you let go and place the offense in God’s hands, you take your hands off of it. God is the judge, He will repay. God instructs us to pray for our enemies, not curse them, gossip about them, or do them harm. Pray for your enemies, that God would have the same compassion on them that He has had on you. It amazes me that some people in the church revel in the failings of other believers instead of grieving for them, praying for them, and working towards redemption as scripture instructs.
We seem to relegate sins into categories. There are the gross sins that even our legal system acknowledges and there are the small sins, or as Jerry Bridges call them, “Respectable Sins” that are overlooked as trivial amongst Christians if they commit them.
But scripture reminds us that no sin is so small that it didn’t cost Christ His life. He didn’t die just for the murderers, adulterers, thieves, and molesters. He died for the gossipers, the idolaters, the haters, the drunks, the contentious, the malicious, those who cause strife, the jealous, those who sow discord, and the rebellious. He died for the those who tell little white lies, the two-faced, and those who do seemingly harmless or flippant things that they know they shouldn’t do.
God forgave through Christ. Christ gave his Holy Spirit to us so that we can forgive as He did through the power given to us by His Spirit. We have no excuse to harbor a wrong done, whether perceived or real. In fact, to not forgive violates the love of God which is a very serious offense.
I’m amazed at how long some people will carry wrongs or perceived wrongs around in their soul. They are trapped in the pain of the past when they could be free. There is no wrong that we do not have the power to forgive if we have the Spirit of God living inside of us. There is no offense that someone can commit that is greater than the offenses we have committed against Christ. There are no degrees of sin when it comes to justification.
No matter how egregious an offense may seem, it is not something that we ourselves would not be capable of, if it were not for the grace given us by the Spirit of God, our helper and our sanctifier. Never say that you would never do something or that something would never happen to you, because quite honestly, the potential for that or even something even worse resides in all human flesh.
David committed great sins, but found great forgiveness and redemption, so much that God said of him that he was a man after His own heart. Who are we to judge others if God forgives us on this level?
Today I am thankful that I am forgiven, therefore I am free to forgive.
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