On this trouble I’ve come across, I then wonder. If they are Christian, shouldn’t they forgive and love? In order to understand how to forgive and love, we must surely understand the meaning of each one. The world has its meaning, but meaningless sense of forgiveness and love. The church has its meaning, but even more meaningful sense of forgiveness and love. Let’s look into this in deeper sense.
Matthew 5:43-48
New International Version (NIV)
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Forgiveness
“Forgive us our debts, as
we forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
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“I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my
own sake, and remember
your sins no more. “ Isaiah 43:25
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Matthew 18:21-35
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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What is Forgiveness? Forgiveness is the act of forgetting the sins against you, that someone has caused on you. It means that you become friends with the one you have forgiven. We’ll in God’s eyes that is. God’s way of forgiving is by forgetting your sins and remembering no more the offense that you caused on him and because he in Holy and he call’s us to be Holy, as he is Holy, therefore, we are called to forget the sins that we against one another.
Sometimes we get that confused. We remember the sin and forget the person. Blocking them out of our life just makes it even more worst. Since God blocks out people who haven’t repented for forgiveness. By blocking out people from your life, you show that by that action alone, you have not forgiven that person. Just as God separates wicked from himself, you separate other people from your life, when you block them out of your life. Therefore, on that alone, you didn’t forgive the sin or the person. All you did was put a wall between you and them. Does God put a wall between him and his people? No.
Jesus calls us his friends in Gospel. We as believers become his brothers and sisters and mother and even greater than servants, we become family of Jesus. So in that, we need to forgive in away that forgets the sin and then push step farther and be at peace with the offender that you once was at war with, but are no longer. Be friend and family even, with the person.
Forgiveness doesn’t come from the mouth, but notice in verse 35 of chapter 18 of Matthew. Speaks about a forgiveness from the heart. The heart is an important topic to, the LOVE topic we spoke of before.
Point’s about forgiveness…
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Forgets the Sin, not the person
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Become friend/family with the once offender or enemy; live at peace with person
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Come’s from the heart; center on Godly love
Love
The whole Gospel and the teaching of God is based on love. God is Love. Matter in fact, the bible says that if you hate your brother, you don’t know God, because God is love, not hate. In away unforgiving someone is hate. Blocking them out of your life and acting like they don’t exist, over one or 2 or 7000 or millions of sin, you show hatred. That’s answerable to God. See the unmerciful servant showed hatred toward someone who owe him debt. That servant showed no love to the other servant, even though the king showed love to him. It back fire and the servant paid the price and on top of it, the king called them an “Wicked Servant”.
I wanted to point that out. The person who claims the faith, but doesn’t forgive is a Wicked Servant. “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment..” Psalms 1:5. See, you can’t loss your salvation. All this means is one person who claims the faith, but doesn’t forgive, they were never saved in first place. It takes the spirit of God is forgive someone. If you don’t have that spirit, you therefore are not Right With God and never have been Right With God, therefore never have been righteous in God’s sight.
What is Love? “Love is Patient, Love is Kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keep no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails.” 1 Corthinians 13:4-8
We got to question ourselves. If Jesus tells us to love everyone, even our enemies, then are we loving them according to this verse up here? Are we patient with people? Are we kind to people? Do we envy, boast, or proud? Are we rude or self-seeking or angered to other people? Do we keep a list of all the sins of other people? Remember God remember sins we commit no more when he forgives us and it was out of his love. We are called to do same. 1 Corthinians 13:1-3 “If I…but have not love, I gain nothing.” You can have your faith and hope in God, but what does that matter? Love is the action word, without that, you can forget about the faith and hope. “And these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Point about Love…
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Impossible to Love by God standards without the Holy Spirit
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True Godly Love forgives and forgets sins of people because keep no records of wrong
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Don’t Love, then you gain nothing and are a wicked servant and therefore, are not saved and never have been
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Love is Action, faith is dead without deeds (action) James 1:22 gets deep in that topic.
Reflect
Have you forgiven people in your life? If you have, then…
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Are you blocking them out or allowing them in your life?____________________
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Do you show them Godly love toward them?______________________________
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Is your forgiveness and love action or just useless talk?______________________
Do you need to just re-submit your life to God all over again? That where it truly needs to start. You on your knees asking God to forgive you completely for your sins. My friend, I would like you to understand, Jesus loves you and he died on that cross for you. 100% given, not gain. When you come to Jesus, you can never loss that salvation. It’s yours if your willing to receive it. Buddy, give your life to GOD and allow him to sow in you a new creation. Maybe you are saved, if you haven’t forgiven in this love way, then please do so today, but first, lets re-commit or re-submit your relationship with Jesus. If you want to fix your life back on GOD’s truth, please just sign your name below…
X________________________________________________________________________
TEST
God doesn’t remember the sins of us who once and still sin against him in war against him? So, do you forget the sin and stop holding list of sins against people?________________________________________
Do we show Love by not forgiving people?_____________________
What is Love? _________________________
What is Forgiveness? _____________________________
What is your name? ________________________
Where does a Wicked Servant go? __________________________
Talk with your Pastor on the answers you have given on these questions above. They can farther help you in understanding the truth in forgiving and loving one another as you Walk With God!
“BETTER AN OPEN REBUKE,
Then Hidden Love” Proverbs 27:5
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