Pleasing
God
Part 4 – Forgive
Gtcotr/ss020716
Luke 17
3 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you,
rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he sins against you
seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ’I
repent,’ you shall forgive him."
“Take
heed to yourselves” … Why did Jesus say, “take heed to yourselves”?
During
the past 60 years I have discovered some truths about forgiveness.
·
Forgiveness is not the measure of the person being forgiven but
rather the measure of the person who is forgiving.
·
When we forgive someone it says nothing about them but everything
about us.
·
What you say about someone else says everything about you.
·
Forgiveness may not change the other person but unforgiveness will
change you.
·
An unforgiving heart can make a person mentally, physically and
spiritually ill.
·
Forgiveness and restoration are two separate issues.
o
Forgiveness is the responsibility of the
offended person
o
Restoration is largely dependent on the
offender
·
People who harbor anger, bitterness and resentment build a prison
for only one person - themselves.
For
these reasons Jesus instructed His followers to take heed to themselves and
make sure they were forgiving. In the book of Matthew Peter came to Jesus for
clarification and asked:
Matthew 18
21 Then Peter came to Him and
said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, “I do
not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
You
see, forgiveness is a God-given right. Forgiveness is not earned and it must be
paid for by the person who has been hurt or offended. Forgiveness to set both the
forgiver and the forgiven free whether or not the offender changes or is sorry
or even knows they are forgiven. When we forgive we turn things over to God.
As
well, there is a very strong connection between us forgiving others and we
being forgiven ourselves. Jesus taught us about forgiveness by saying:
Matthew 6 KJV
9 After this manner therefore
pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily
bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Later
Jesus instructed us further by saying:
Luke 6:37 Judge not, and you
shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and
you will be forgiven.
Remember:
When you forgive someone it is not the measure of the
person you are forgiving but rather the measure of God in you!
The
Bible teaches three elements of forgiveness. I understand them as:
1.
To release the debtor - απολυω apoluo ap-ol-oo’-o
2.
To forego the debt - αφιημι aphiemi af-ee’-ay-mee
3.
To forget the debt - αφεσις aphesis af’-es-is
When
someone sins against us or does us harm, hurts us or trespasses against us in
some way, we are called to release them over into the hands of God for His
discretion; His disposition; and/or His vengeance. It is not our place to
judge, condemn or harbor reproach. We are instructed to forgive them by turning
them over to God instead of exacting our own brand of vengeance against them,
maligning them or allowing bitterness to grow in our hearts and minds which
only gives way to further injury.
Sin,
the classic sin which is most often thought of and spoken of in the Bible, is
committed against God and God alone. God is the One Who gave the law and set
the standards of righteousness and He is the only One Who can forgive sin in
the such a way that pays for and forgets sin. The best we can do is to turn the
matter over to God. That’s forgiveness …
This
concept is not much different than when a person takes the law into their own
hands attempting to exact punitive damages or incarcerate a neighbor for some
infraction they feel worthy of punishment. True justice is out of our hands and
can be obtained only from the hand of God. For this reason the Bible tells us
to forgive and release that person to God.
When we forgive we turn others over to God
and do our best … We:
1.
Do not judge them in our own hearts
2.
Do not condemn them with our own words
3.
Do not slay them with our own hands
The First Step in forgiveness it
to declare it to God out loud. Some of you took that First Step this morning …
now, what must you do from here?
Three
Steps to Forgiveness
1.
Say it out loud to God and ask God to help you.
2.
Don’t nurse it; curse it; or rehearse it … let it go.
3.
Repeat steps 1 & 2 as often as needed.
This
will please God. Believe me He knows how hard it can be to forgive … but He’ll
help you. We are not going to leave you without some tools that will help along
the way as well. Forgive … it gets better from here on.
