FORGIVENESS PART 2

Rarely a day goes by without an opportunity for us to become angry or hurt by someone we encounter. Whether it be a loved one, a friend or someone we never met, our patience will be tried, or our feelings hurt. Sometimes these hurts run very deep. When this happens, there's nothing that can be as crippling as the inability to forgive. It can rob you of life, joy, health and peace of mind. It can consume your thoughts and fill them with hatred. And to top it all off, it is at those times that the devil comes to you and me as an angel of light, telling us that we are justified in out stewing and brewing and bitterness. But as Christians, Jesus desires our first response to the problems in life be according to His truth, and not our feelings. Beloved, when you and I choose to follow the path to forgiveness as laid out in Scripture, it brings a life-changing freedom.

As we saw last week, according to the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 18.21-25 and Matthew 612;14 & 15. If we hold fast to an unforgiving spirit, we will not be forgiven by God. Anyone who would seek loopholes in the command to forgive all debtors, and any who would teach others to withhold forgiveness, should soberly and fearfully read again the clear teaching of Jesus (see also Mark 11.24, 25).  If we continue on in that way, then we will not go to heaven, because heaven is the dwelling place of forgiven people.  The reason is not because we can earn heaven or merit heaven by forgiving others, but because holding fast to an unforgiving spirit proves that we do not trust Christ. How so you ask? If we trust in Jesus, we will not take lightly His teachings and way of life. To trust Christ means that we yield our lives to His Lordship and control in spite of what we think or feel. Jesus is going to say at the end of this Sermon on The Mount, Why do you call Me Lord, and do not what I say?  If we have fully understood the debt of our sin and trusted Him for forgiveness, then we will not be able to take forgiveness from His hand for our unpayable debt and withhold it from a fellow sinner who owes us little in comparison to what I have been forgiven.

What does it mean to forgive practically speaking? Let me give you 8 biblical things that a person who seeks to walk in biblical forgiveness will do, by the grace of God.

1. Resist thoughts of revenge: Ro 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
2. Will not seek to do them mischief: 1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
3. Will choose to bless them when the opportunity arises: Lu 6:28 Bless them that curse you.
4. Will not grieve at their calamities or misfortunes: Pr 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
5. Will pray for them: Mt 5:44  Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
6. Will reach out and seek reconciliation with them: Ro 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
7. Will be willing to come to their relief: Ex 23:4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
8. Will determine to not talk about the hurt or pain inflicted again: Pr 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

Here is forgiveness: when you feel that someone is your enemy or when you simply feel that you or someone you care about has been wronged, forgiveness means,

1.   resisting revenge

2.   not returning evil for evil

3.   wishing them well

4.   grieving at their calamities

5.   praying for their welfare

6.   seeking reconciliation so far as it depends on you

7.   and coming to their aid in distress.

8.   I will not repeatedly talk about that person or situation over and over to others.

***EXCEPT FOR #8, THESE 8 POINTS ARE TAKEN FROM DESIRING GOD WEBSITE.

Thomas Watson wrote: we are not bound to trust our enemy, but we are bound to forgive them.  As I mentioned last week, the awesome demonstration of God’s love—the sacrifice of Jesus—is the perfect example of forgiveness that sets the standard by which God’s children are to forgive others. Ephesians 4:32, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What forgiveness is not:

·      Forgiveness is not the absence of anger at sin. It is not feeling good about what was bad.  Forgiveness of sin is not feeling good about horrible things that happen to you or others, it is committing all wrongdoings that others have done to me to The only One Who judges righteously (1 Pet 2.23). Do not deny that you have been hurt. Forgiving is not denying. Scripture says, be angry, but do not sin (Eph 4.26)! Anger is a secondary  reaction to a deeper issue (in this case unforgivness) that is given to guide us toward a solution toward change for God's glory and our good. The solution of course is the cross.

·      Forgiveness is not the absence of serious consequences for sin. Should there be consequences for what others have done to us, it is God that determines the extent. As Christians, being forgiven vertically does not remove the necessity of godly discipline and correction, as we read in Hebrews 12. Through Christ, the curse of God for our sin has been removed, but the chastening rod of The Father due to the consequences of sin is necessary that we might be partakers of His holiness.

·      Forgiveness does not mean that trust with another person is automatically regained.Forgiveness does not mean that you immediately trust the person who injured you when you forgive them. That wouldn’t even be logical. If a person has been stealing from you or abusing you and has repented, you must accept what they say, but trust is something that is earned, and oftentimes that trust takes place over a period of time.

·      Here is a big one beloved. Forgiveness is not an emotional reaction. Emotions are often described as the idiot lights on the dashboard of life. Whenever a warning light pops up on the dashboard of your vehicle, it's not the lights that need fixing, but the underlying issue they reference. Anger and other emotions operate in a similar way, indicating and warning us that there is something brewing below the surface that needs our attention.Feelings can be stirred substantially in situations pertaining to forgiveness, but forgiveness, at its core, involves a choice. Such a choice is a matter of the will. Thus, biblical forgiveness rests on the power of a purposeful decision as opposed to the intensity of strong emotions. Forgiveness does not mean that I will never think about what was done to me again. Memories related to forgiven sins can resurface and along with these memories there may be overwhelming emotions. While we cannot control those thoughts from entering into our minds, we can choose to reject them and move ahead in The Lord.

·      Sometimes forgiveness can be confused with condoning what someone has done to us: “You have hurt me deeply, that’s OK. Why not do it again?” That is not okay and that is not what biblical forgiveness means beloved. We are not under any obligation to tell unrepentant people that we desire to be reconciled with them apart from them asking for forgiveness because that will communicate the message that “they are off the hook.” Nevertheless, as Christians who have been forgiven an unpayable debt to God, we are to forgive them from the heart. But know this, unrepentant offenders are not off the hook with God, and, depending upon the nature of the offense, they may not be off the hook with the legal authorities. Also remember that the doctrine of hell and eternal punishment means that nobody who hardened their heart against Christ will get off the hook. Vengeance both now and eternally belongs to The Lord.

·      As I said a moment ago, forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation. It is possible for one party to forgive another from the heart while the other party remains hardened in self-righteous bitterness. To put the matter another way: in some contexts, forgiveness is bound up with reconciliation, but in other contexts forgiveness reflects the stance of the one who forgives, even though no reconciliation with the other party has taken place."

Beloved, when you and I have unforgiveness in our heart towards others, it will directly affect our spiritual health and well being, which is one reason why Scripture tells us to guard our heart with all diligence. Unforgiveness will affect my fellowship with Jesus Christ. It will affect every other relationship that I have in one way or another. Therefore, in a very real sense, biblical forgiveness is one-sided. The Bible doesn’t teach us to forgive others as they forgive us. The Bible simply instructs us to forgive as have been forgiven.  

Our Creator knows that unforgiveness is detrimental to our spiritual, physical, mental and emotional health. Unforgiveness causes a root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts. According to Hebrews 12, that bitterness will defile our lives and the lives of other people as well.Bitterness is a devastating sin that can be directly traced to the failure to forgive. You become caustic when you continually nurse the wound inflicted by another person. You talk about it all the time. Malignant thoughts and harassing memories eventually distort how you look at life. Anger begins to rage and can easily get out of control. As your emotions begin to run wild, your mind may do the same. You entertain desperate ideas for revenge. Even casual conversations with others become your forum for slander, gossip, and innuendo against the offender. Your flesh, that horrible remnant of your old sin nature, has gained control and Romans tells us that those who live after the flesh cannot please God.  

Don Dunlap wrote, "When we harbor resentment against someone, certain glands in our bodies, including the pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands, produce excessive amounts of hormones. These hormones can cause a breakdown in any part of our bodies."

Forgiveness is good for your heart -- literally. One study from the Journal of Behavioral Medicine found forgiveness to be associated with lower heart rate and blood pressure as well as stress relief. This can bring long-term health benefits for your heart and overall health.  

*** I am not saying that if you are sick or have some kind of disease that means that there is unforgiveness or some other sin in your life. But I am saying that unforgiveness does have an affect upon ones well being.

If I have offended another person, how do I ask for forgivness?  If you are a believer in Christ and ask another person to forgive you, be sure to speak the truth about your sin(s). Truth means “bringing everything to light.” In the Bible, this is described as being verifiable, indisputable, without pretence or deception, devoid of any hint of falsehood, unconcealed, and complete with all the facts. Eph 4.25. James 5.16.

Let me also say before I close this morning that it is important for us to forgive ourselves for the sins that we have committed and the wrongs that we have done to others. Col 2.13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Let me close by saying something that I pray will get into the very DNA of the soul of KF, and it is the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a theo-centric or God centered message and not a man centered message. Forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity. There is no activity of Christian life that is more closely aligned to the love of God and the willing sacrifice of Christ than forgiving others. While it is true that you and I do benefit when we forgive as the bible tells us to, the primary reason that we are to forgive others is for the glory of God. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Let us seek to live as people who forgive. Let us never forget our sin; that massive accumulated weight and debt; and the grace and kindness of God in removing it. And in obedience to Christ, let us learn what it means to forgive immediately and unconditionally from the heart. Amen.

Beloved, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message from God about forgiveness of sin. 

1Cor 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. 

Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father. 

1John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

·      The atonement of Christ is sufficient for all, but it is only applied to those who repent of their sin and turn to Him.  Do you know the forgiveness of sin that comes from God through faith in the sacrifice of The Lord Jesus Christ? Will you trust Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin today? We would love to pray with you after the service.