Forgiving One Another

Colossians – Jesus Holds it All

Forgiving One Another

September 30, 2018

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

What are some common misunderstandings about forgiveness?

1. I’ll pretend nothing happened.

• Forgiveness is not a river in Egypt – DENIAL ?

• I call this “Dynamite Living” – packing so much away that at any moment, a spark could lead to a deadly explosion.

Keeping unforgiveness inside destroys you and eventually destroys others.

• That just happened!!

2. I’ll trust them again.

• You can immediately forgive someone, but our trust for them may or may not return.

• Forgiveness does not excuse their behavior!!

• Our relationship with them may never be the same as it was before.

• It is very common for the person who hurt us to want everything to return to normal right away.

Matthew 6:12-15 NIV

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

The same door that allows God’s forgiveness into our hearts is the same door that allows unforgiveness to leave our hearts!

• It is choosing not to be a victim, but a victor.

How do you know if you have forgiven them?

1. Nothing is owed.

• You’re trusting God with them.

1 Peter 2:23 NIV

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

2. Nothing is claimed.

• The mental conversations with them are getting less and less

• Forgiveness is giving our anger, our hurt and our fear to God and not letting what happened to us define us a second longer.

• Forgiveness is reclaiming territory in our minds.

• Forgiveness of others can only happen when we believe we have first been forgiven by God.

• When you hear their name, you hope they are blessed, not cursed.

• Any part of our heart that is occupied by unforgiveness is an area of our heart that God cannot inhabit.

STORY

The Table:

Jesus on the cross – “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Stephen – while being murdered – “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

• Do we really value confession and contrition before God? Do we realize the enormity of our own debt?