The Steps To Forgiveness - How To Begin Living Forgiven.

1. HUMILITY

“Humility is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most significant element of forgiveness. It is directly opposed to pride. Where pride seeks selfish gain, humility seeks selfless gain. True humility is to esteem another more greatly than yourself.”

“To humble oneself before God in repentance is mandatory for all believers. Pride and self-exaltation have no place in your life for it is God who "maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up." (1 Samuel 2:7 KJV)”

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5), “therefore humble yourselves, not only one to another, but to the great God, whose judgments are coming upon the world, and must begin at the house of God; his hand is almighty, and can easily pull you down if you be proud, or exalt you if you be humble; and he will certainly do it, either in this life, if he sees it best for you, or at the day of general retribution.” (1 Peter 4:17)

“Humbling yourself before others is necessary. It is sad when we see dissension and grievances in the church. One who was slighted by another may make disparaging remarks in return; a misunderstanding may cause anger. These all have in common one significant theme: "They hurt my feelings!" "They made me angry!" “They can’t do that to me!"

“All of this is self-centeredness. Me, myself, and I can be our three worst enemies.”

“Becoming a Christian required that you had to accept the fact you were a sinner and to repent of your sin. By doing that, you were humbling or submitting yourself to God, acknowledging that you needed a Savior because you were incapable of saving yourself. Children know that they can’t care for themselves and that they need another to care and provide for them. Humility is the acknowledgment of that need.”

“When you acknowledge by your words and in your behavior that you really do need the help of others, you humble yourself “like little children." When teaching young church leaders how to grow in grace, Peter wrote, "Young men, in the same way, be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5)”

“Each day when you get dressed, you make a conscious effort. In the same way, you must take deliberate action on a daily basis to clothe yourself "with humility toward one another.” By doing so you will learn obedience and submission.”

“If you humble yourself and repent of your foolish pride, you will find the ability to forgive the unforgivable. And when you do, you will find how easy it becomes to get through those terrible times of your life and experience the healing power of forgiveness.”

2. OBEDIENCE

“Obedience is often difficult and requires deep commitment. Webster defines the word as “following the commands or guidance of; to conform to or comply with.”

“Just so, becoming a Christian requires obedience. It is the key condition of your relationship with God. His Lordship demands obedience, and through obedience, you fulfill His commands and statutes. By accepting Him as Savior you are acknowledging that He is the Creator of the universe and your Creator; consequently, you must submit to Him as Lord.”

“For you to learn obedience, your life must first have been won over and been persuaded to live in truth. By your obedience to Jesus, you are made partakers of His salvation "and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:9) The bond of your union with Jesus is obedience through faith. You cannot be identified as a follower of His unless you are obedient. “

“If we are going to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,[we must] take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5) Obedience is an act of the will brought out by trust in His control and sovereign rule of our lives.”

“Obedience begins with the attitude of your heart. Jesus must be in every thought. As you surrender all aspects of your life and entrust them to Jesus, you will find that it becomes easier to obey His commands—not because you have to but because you want to. You learn obedience by recognizing and performing the role that God has given you, whether it be father, husband, priest of the home, wife, mother, helper, friend, employer, employee, and so on.”

“By allowing the Father access to our heart, exposing ourselves completely to His love and, in turn, His will, we allow Him to create a new heart in us. It is through our dying to self that we will be able to forgive as He has forgiven us.”