Forgive or not to forgive
Colossians 3:1-3:18
Introduction-
Colossians 3:1-3:18
Paul declares to us some rules for holy living. He tells us:
Set your heart and mind to heavenly things.
That as a believer, you died to self and now Christ lives in you.
Put to death (like Christ) the fleshly nature of fallen man
Sexual impurity
Greed
Idolatry
Rid yourself of anger, malice, slander, filthy language.
That’s easy enough, right?
Bible says as God’s chosen people- we “put on” and cloth ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
As if that is not enough for us to grasp- he tells us-
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgives you.”
Does the Lord really mean what He is asking us to do?
Does Christ understand how hard this is?
Yes- He means it!
Yes- He understands
Illustration- someone once said –
“A Bible in the hand is worth 2 in the bookcase. A Bible stored in the mind is worth a dozen stored in the bottom of a suitcase”.
Yes He means it
Yes He understands it
Yes He expects us to be obedient
Yes, He will give us the power to be able to do it.
Because it is something we cannot do without His help.
Scripture usually has doctrinal statements and applications. You cannot do one without the other.
If God told you to be holy, but never told you how to be holy, it would not be applicable for your life.
It would be impossible to know how to please God unless God told you what pleases Him.
The indicative statement says believers are in Christ. They have died to self and been raised in Christ. They put off the old way and put on the new way.
The imperative statement indicates what believers do as the result of the change.
Set you mind and heart on things above.
Put o death those things that displease the Lord.
Part of the new is to cloth yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.
“Forgive each other as God has forgiven you.”
Listen to Old Testament and New Testament passages on Forgiveness
Isaiah 55:7
“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts, let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Psalm 130
“But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.”
Matt. 6:12-6:15-
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 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.”
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.”
Allow me a minute to state the obvious
If you are in danger or harm, you do not put yourself back in harm’s way. That is not what the Lord expects from us.
If a person has died, you still can find forgiveness in your heart, and God can set you free from guilt and anxiety.
Forgiveness is the process of getting rid of resentments and anger for a perceived offense.
Most of the time, we get mad over what we think we heard, the way we think a person looked at us, most anger is fabricated and exaggerated.
Burying the hatchet only brings peace when it is not buried in somebody’s head.
Ever make a mistake? Ever say the wrong thing? Of course you have, so have I.
Ever stick your foot in your mouth because of a quick response?
Ever have your mouth engage before your brain engages.
We expect others to forgive us, but we struggle to forgive others for the same thing.
God offers forgiveness to us when we sin against Him, and He expects us to show the same mercy and grace to others that have wronged us.
Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz did not say that- Jesus said that!
There is power in forgiveness and God desires that you be set free from the bondage of un-forgiveness.
I believe that forgiveness is a choice.
It is a decision of our will.
I believe from God’s Word that it is motivated by our obedience to God and our command from God to forgive.
God desires to forgive us-each time we have a repentant heart, God will forgive. That does not come easy for each one of us.
So how do we forgive when we struggle with forgiveness.
BY FAITH! We forgive by faith.
We forgive by obedience to God’s Word and trust and pray that God will complete the work of forgiveness in our hearts.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Jesus Christ returns.” Phil 1”6
I believe God honors our commitment to obey him and our desire to please him and completes his work in our lives.
Corrie Ten Boom-
Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.
How do you know that you have forgiveness for that person or situation?
When we have been set free from anger, bitterness, resentment, that previously imprisoned us.
That includes forgiving ourselves. God has long forgiven us, but we have not forgiven ourselves.
Forgiveness is pardoning yourself.
Forgiveness is letting go so that you can begin a path of healing.
Forgiveness is understanding your worth to God. Our true worth comes from our relationship with Him, not our appearance, performance, net worth.
If we would grasp that- criticism would bounce off us like BB’s off a rhino.
Bible study this week, I said:
Greed is never getting enough.
Worry is being afraid that there is not enough.
We want forgiveness from God, and he offers it freely every time we ask Him- and He expects us to forgive others so that we are not imprisoned by words, actions, situations beyond our control, things that destroys our lives and our relationship with God.
Un-forgiveness damages your relationship with God
Un-forgiveness alienates you from other people.
Un-forgiveness detours you from God’s best for your life.
Bringing this to a close
Forgiveness rolls the burden unto the Lord (repeat)
Forgiveness is not based on the actions of other people. It is a reflection of your repentant and broken heart toward God, and His love, compassion, mercy, to heal a broken heart.
You take the first step- you go to God and ask Him to take charge of that situation.
You have been hurt and you want justice- but that is God’s job.
He is the one that makes things right.
When you do that, you will feel the heavy load come off of you.
Take the second step- thank God for things he has already done.
Thank him for the good people he has put in your life.
Focus on the positive, not the negative.
You will find joy coming back into your life.
Bitterness is a choice.
Forgiveness is a choice
When you choose forgiveness and reject bitterness, you will feel the peace of God come flooding into your life.
The last step- is loving God and loving others.
Reach out to God and love again. He will never fail you.
Hurting people hurt people.
Revenge does not work.
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, it is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.”
We don’t avenge, we forgive.
God does an amazing thing, He begins to heal the broken heart.
Altar Call
