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Forgiveness
May
10, 2000
About a year ago, I was asked to teach a lesson for my Bible class at school for Mr. Livingston's class. Although this may not make perfect sense, this is the outline of what I taught. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me.
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Introduction
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Personal
problems with forgiveness (Who here has been betrayed? What did it feel like?
Did you want to forgive that person? What exactly is forgiveness?)
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Definition
of forgiveness
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Forgive
(verb) 1. To excuse for a fault or an offense; pardon. 2. To renounce anger or
resentment against. 3. To absolve from payment (of a debt, for example).
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Example
of forgiveness: Matthew 18:23-35… parable of the ungrateful servant:
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Synopsis:
A servant owes his master 10,000 talents, but his master forgives him his debt
totally. The servant found a fellow servant who owned him 10 denaraii, a pitiful
sum. However, the servant had no forgiveness towards his peer, and had him cast
into jail. The master heard of this, and confronted him about his lack of
forgiveness. Then the unmerciful servant was thrown into jail to be tortured.
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Moral: No
matter what anyone does to you, we are told to forgive each other, without
exceptions. Even though it is impossible for us to fathom God's mercy, we should
look at Christ's example, as shown by the master.
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C.H.
Spurgoen (1834-1892): "We may go from strength to strength in thoughts of
goodness and piety, but Jesus is higher still, and evermore we must be looking
up to him as we climb the sacred hill of grace."
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God's
Word: Why should you forgive? Key Verse: Ephesians 4:32
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"Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you."
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"Just
as in Christ"
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God has
bestowed all good things upon us, but most especially the forgiveness of our
sins.
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God's
love, along with His extreme justice, compels
him to not blot out the sins of people until some sort of atonement is
presented. God readily forgives our horrible sins because Christ offered a great atonement for us, His death.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
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God bears
a deep love for Christ, His Son, and the union, which exists between them, is
intense beyond all conception. God the
Father will do anything for Christ, so when we plead for forgiveness in
Christ's name, God will be delighted to comply, as a result of His love for His
son. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
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So, in
essence, God forgives sin for the sake of glorifying Christ.
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"God
forgave you"
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"The
moment a sinner looks to Christ, the burden of his sin rolls off his shoulders
never to return." God continuously
forgives us, because we continually sin.
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This is
reassuring to the new Christian, who, at times, is skittish of the knowledge if
God has truly forgiven them. This forgiveness is eternal, fully, divine,
and most importantly, unmerited by human
effort.
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"Forgiving
each other"
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We all
are unworthy of anything in the sight of God. So, really, for God to forgive,
it's something great; for us to forgive, it should be regarded as a small
matter.
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A
Christian should find it a joy to forgive each other, for Christ's sake. You
must forgive or you cannot be saved; however, at the same time, you must not do
it from compulsion, you must do it freely. "Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than
yourselves." (Philippians 2:3)
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"Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21) Only
through God's guidance are we able to forgive and do any good. If someone
offends you, do not be tempted to repay his evil, but allow God to act through
you.
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Who are
you helping when you forgive?
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When you
forgive, you're helping yourself more than any other person. When you give up
your grudges to God, He will deal with the people who hurt them if we put them
in his hands through forgiveness.
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Mark
11:25 "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,
forgive him, so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins"
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In 1
Corinthians 2:10-11, Paul says that we are to forgive in order to keep Satan
from gaining an advantage over us. So, be
quick to forgive. It's impossible to both love and hate at the same time, so
when we are bitter, we are only hurting ourselves and the ones that we love.
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As
Christians, we are told in Ephesians 4:3 "Make every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." God wants us to be
peacemakers who love one another.
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How do I
forgive?
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Decide :
Allow God to soften your heart to make a quality decision about forgiving
another person.
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Depend :
Ask Jesus to send His Holy Spirit over us, so we are able to forgive, for it's
impossible for us to do it on our own. God will enable us, but we need to cry
out for humbleness.
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Obey : In
the Bible, we are told specifically what do to about our enemies, but most
especially love them.
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Pray :
Include your enemies and your grievances in your prayers. Pray for their
happiness and welfare. Do not speak evil about them, or continue to talk about
them."He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the
matter separates close friends." (Proverbs 17:9)
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In terms
of spiritual growth, forgiveness is a huge step. Remember
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only
what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen." (Ephesians 4:29) Forgiveness is an essential
part of Christianity, but unfortunately it's overlooked by many, including
myself.
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