SHOULD YOU BE FORGIVEN…SHOULD YOU FORGIVE…
Many of us say that if people show remorse or say something that makes them sorry for what they have done then maybe I will forgive them. However, it hardly happens like that and many excuses we use to continue in our bitterness, our anger, our desire to get even.
Let us just take a moment and look at Jesus, on the cross, no one seemed sorry or repentant, asked for forgiveness. The crowd was laughing, mocking, even shouted insults at Him, they taunted Him, saying if you are the king…save yourself. The people were pleased when He died, Pilate washed his hands clean of the whole affair, the Jews hated Him with their whole hearts. No one said, ‘this is wrong, this is a mistake, we are fools.
Yet Jesus forgave them…. In Luke 23:34, it says, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
We need to say it to people who hurt us repeatedly, to those who attacked us and still do, to those who have wounded us, to all around us and to our fellow Christians.
What does it mean to forgive?
It is mentioned 75 times in the bible which makes forgiveness an important word. Forgiveness is a matter of the heart, it is a decision made on the inside to refuse to live in the past, it is a choice to release others from their sins against you, so that you can be set free. It allows you to let go and move on, yet it is so easy for us to mouth kind words of forgiveness while harboring anger and bitterness within…
IF I WERE TO ASK: How many of you have committed murder, you should all say, never. Yet I am here tonight to tell you that you all have, just by thinking boy, I could kill you to someone in your family, or when someone really upsets you, you say I wish you were dead. Then you have committed murder, SHOULD YOU BE FORGIVEN FOR THAT?
IF I WERE TO ASK: How many of you want what others have and really go out of your way to get it, by any means necessary, no matter the cost to others and to you, SHOULD YOU BE FORGIVEN FOR THAT?
Look if you have hate, or even dislike in your heart, you are a murderer in your heart and you are guilty before God for the murder even though you never actually committed it. Let me explain it this way: Forgiveness does not mean:
Approving of what someone else did wrong.
Making excuses for other people’s bad behavior.
Overlooking abuse.
Letting others walk all over you.
Refusing to press charges when a crime has been committed.
Pretending that you were never hurt.
That you must tell the person that you have forgiven them.
That you must restore the relationship to what it was before.
That all negative consequences of sin are cancelled.
Turn with me to Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy- seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he began to settle, one debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents. But since he had nothing with which to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. Therefore, falling before him, the servant said, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will repay everything to you.' "And having compassion, the master of that servant released him, and forgave him the loan. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And taking hold of him, he was choking him, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' "So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet and kept begging him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he was not willing, but going off, he cast him into prison till he should pay back what was owed. So, when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and they came and narrated to their master all that had taken place. Then summoning him, his master said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, as I also had compassion on you?' "And being angered, his master handed him over to the tormentors until he should pay all that was owed to him. Thus, also My heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not forgive each one his brother their trespasses, from your hearts."
Jesus said what happened to that man will happen to you unless YOU LEQRN TO FORGIVE AND FORGIVE AND FORGIVE.
WHAT TORMENTORS?
The hidden tormentors of anger, bitterness that will eat your insides out…
The hidden tormentors of malice, frustration that will make you sick, ulcers, headaches…
The hidden tormentors of envy, revenge that make you lie awake at night thinking over of every bad thing that has happened to you… WHY? BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO FORGIVE FROM THE HEART.
No wonder we are so angry, bitter, no wonder we have problems, no wonder our friendships do not last, no wonder we do not get along. We have not learned the secret of unlimited forgiveness, the tormentors will continue to get it right, making your life a misery.
So, first of all, we need to realize that all people are sinners just like you and me, second of all, we need to let go of all the anger, bitterness and surrender our right to get even to those who hurt us. And third of all, we need to take Jesus seriously, bless those who hurt you, love your enemies, pray for those who speak against you, do good to all.
FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN OPTIONAL PART OF BEING A CHRISTIAN, IT IS A NECESSARY PART, WE MUST TOTALLY FORGIVE IF WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW JESUS.
Our sins are like this servants debt, something we could never repay in our lifetime, we come as debtors to God with empty hands and we say ‘I cannot pay’ God who is rich in mercy replies ‘ I forgive all your sins, My Son has paid the debt, you owe me nothing’
WHAT? WOW? YOU ARE FORGIVEN, YOU OWE NOTHING, YOUR DEBT IS PAID. Now since you have been forgiven, sin is still in your life. Many people come and confess sin, like teenage boys, saying I love sex and engage in it most of the time but now is scared after reading about lust and adultery in the bible, concerned God will judge him. He has become a victim of a sin that has become a bad habit.
If we only could learn from examples in the bible already given to us, look at David, a true servant of God, after God’s heart, he had enemies all around him. When he was right with God, none of his enemies succeeded, (let me repeat that), however when David sinned (we all know what he did), it caused him to lose his courage, confidence, making him weak. Then God sent the Prophet Nathan to David, not tell him oh it is ok, let us see how we can sort it out. The Prophet said, ‘you are guilty of secret sin’. It says in 2 Samuel 11:27 that David displeased the Lord.
Are you in that place, repented, asked forgiveness, yet you still do that secret sin, are you displeasing the Lord?
Is this weeping, barefooted, broken man the one we read about in 2 Samuel 15:30, the great king who defeated two world powers. IT WAS SIN, NOTHING ELSE, A SIN HE COULD NOT LET GO OFF.
Need more examples, Sampson, Solomon, Saul. The Disciples.
God is still at work, we need to remember that we are not fighting against flesh (well if you are, you need help). Our enemies are more powerful: fear, depression, guilt, condemnation, worry, anxiety, loneliness, emptiness, despair, suicide.
Can it be that these modern-day enemies are overpowering many of God’s people because of hidden sin and backsliding. GOD’S MESSAGE IS CLEAR, OBEY AND BE BLESSED OR DISOBEY AND SUFFER (ROMAN 8:6)
YOU CANNOT HEAL CANCER BY PUTTING A PLASTER ON IT, IT HAS TO BE REMOVED. WE WILL BE BOUND AS LONG AS WE EXCUSE THE SIN IN US, BURDENED WITH GUILT AND CONDEMNATION, WE LIVE IN DISOBEDIENCE AND COMPROMISE.
We hear it all the time, sin is your enemy, lay aside that sin you keep on doing.
Yet how do you overcome a sin that has become a habit, you all know what I am talking about. You have prayed. Asked for forgiveness. Live in victory and bang, it comes back again.
I DO NOT HAVE AN ANSWER, OR A SIMPLE SOLUTION, ONE THING THAT I DO KNOW IS PAUL FOUGHT THE SAME KIND OF BATTLE.
Romans 7:11
For sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and by it, killed me.
I am talking to believers, am I not? I want to talk about our forgiveness towards each other because the church EVEN AT ITS BEST IS A gathering of sinners.
We all offend people.
We are guilty of saying wrong things.
We behave in wrong ways.
We have caused people to stumble.
We failed to give what people need when they need it the most.
The only way to deal with all these offenses is FORGIVENESS, now I am not saying that you go to the person and ask forgiveness, unless God directs you to, YOU ASK FORGIVENESS FROM YOUR HEART TO GOD.
Not being able to forgive is self-destructive, bitterness will develop, out of the bitterness comes hatred, out of the hatred comes anger which leads into vengeance. As long as you do not, will not forgive and leave the past in the past, then you are bound to that event, kept alive by the pain, you continue to pick at an open sore, you keep it from healing, you may even enlarge it, your sentence, a future much worse.
Surely no offense against you is worth hatred and unforgiveness.
Are you supposed to forgive everybody?
YES, YOU ARE, IMMEDIATELY, TOTALLY, COMPLETELY REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS.
ALL SIN IS AGAINST GOD, the fact that it is against you or me is incidental, it is a minor detail, DO NOT let it ruin your life. If God forgives, WHO ARE YOU NOT TO?
If you call yourself a Christian, a child of god, then you will understand that forgiveness is necessary.
Just for a moment, I want you to look back at your life, you have been forgiven all your sin, all your transgressions from your birth until now.
Peter asks the question, how many times shall I forgive? The answer: Jesus said just keep on forgiving.
What!!!, to keep on forgiving others is not easy, to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son,
HOW? HOW? HOW?
WE HAVE TO HUNGER FOR GOD, TO LIVE FOR GOD, GOD HATES SIN SO SHOULD YOU. HAVE A HOLY FEAR OF GOD.
You cannot expect to be excused or given special treatment; sin is sin. God hates it so much.
Remember when Jesus hung on the cross full of our sin, God turned away from Him.
DO YOU WANT GOD TO TURN AWAY FROM YOU?
It is not an overnight victory but one small victory at a time.
I know it is hard to forgive, believe me, I have battled with it, I do not know what you deal with, maybe it is your parents, a family member, a friend. I do know however once you forgive from your heart, you will be much happier. Accept the love God offers to you, freely, he is always there, waiting for you. Listen to the Holy Spirit, He tells you when to fight, to run, what to do next.
ARE YOU READY TO DO HIS WILL AT ALL COST, THE BATTLE MAY FEEL LIKE IT IS AGAINST YOU, IN THE LONG RUN, THE END, GOD WILL WIN.
Do you want victory over your enemies? Then deal with your sin, remove it from your life, you will become mighty in God. God has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13
Let us pray:
