Elevate To The Next Level - "Living In Forgiveness”

Elevate to the Next Level

“Living in Forgiveness”

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Forgiveness is one topic I never tire of teaching, because it is one of the more necessary doctrines, or teaching that believers in Jesus Christ need to hear and understand. This is especially true if we ever want to go to the next level in our discipleship in our Christian lives. 

To begin, let me just say that the happiest people are not those who are more forgetting; rather, it’s those who are more forgiving. 

All of us are going to be hurt by someone, somewhere, and at some time. It may be a co-worker’s grudge, a parent’s broken promise, a spouse’s unfaithfulness, a friend’s careless words, a child’s unkind act, or a stranger’s resentment.              

Sometimes these hurts are verbal in what others say to us or about us, or the names people call us. These hurts may also be non-verbal, like when people turn their back on us, or a lack of affirmation through an appropriate touch. These hurts may also be physical like abuse. 

People carry around deep and painful wounds; wounds of betrayal and disappointments that defy others or even our own ability to cure. But there is a cure, and it’s called forgiveness. 

Forgiveness is life’s antibiotic to the hurts and pains associated with life, and when taken, it will bring health to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It’s life’s antibiotic that brings back life. 

Today, I’d like to look at why we need to forgive, the misconceptions that inhibit forgiveness, and how to extend forgiveness.

Why We Need to Forgive?

1. Because God Has Forgiven Us

In his letter to the Colossian Church, the Apostle Paul said that God has delivered us from the power of darkness and into the kingdom of His Son, whom we have redemption through the blood He shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:13-14). 

According to Paul, it is imperative to forgive others as God has forgiven us. He said, “Forgive one another (and) if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13 NIV)

Paul also brings this out in his letter to the Ephesian Church. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NKJV)

When we remember how much God has forgiven us, and that Jesus died upon the cross for this forgiveness; it becomes far easier for us to forgive others their sins against us. 

How much has God forgiven us? He's forgiven all the sin and bad stuff we’ve ever done, from our past, to our present, and into the future. 

When we add to this the fact that Jesus went to the cross and died one of the most horrific deaths ever devised by humanity, there isn’t anything that should be beyond our forgiveness of others. 

Maybe we should think of it this way; “We’ll forgive no one more than what God has forgiven us for.”

Let me give a picture illustration. Envision two piles of offenses. One of those piles is all the things others have done to us, and the other pile is all the offenses we’ve committed against God. When we look at them side by side, there isn’t any comparison. Our offenses against God soar as high as the Empire State building and beyond, while the offenses others have done against us may only reach the top of our heads. 

2. Because We Need God’s Forgiveness

The second reason we need to forgive is because we need God’s forgiveness.

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV)

Jesus is saying that if we want our sins forgiven, we better forgive others. Earlier in the prayer, He said, “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12 NLT)

Think about what we just prayed. We’re saying, “Lord, I want you to forgive me as much as I forgive others.” 

Now there’s a scary thought, and that’s a scary prayer. Do we want God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others? I don’t think so, but that is what God requires. 

Therefore, let’s not limit God’s forgiveness by refusing to forgive others. 

3. Because Resentment Isn’t Worth It

The third reason is because holding onto resentment and bitterness, which is the natural conclusion of unforgiveness, isn’t worth it. In fact, it’s counterproductive.

“To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.” (Job 5:2, The Living Bible)

There are many stories in the Bible that illustrate this truth, but the one that illustrates it the best comes from the life of King David. David was running for his life from His Son, Absalom. Absalom had rebelled against his father and had secured an army for this purpose. So, David left Jerusalem, actually, escape might be a better description.