FORGIVENESS
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 10/15/00
We are living in an increasingly reprobate culture and one of the key
characteristics that a culture is reprobate is the proliferation or
increase of people who refuse to forgive. Testimony of this truth is
found in Romans 1:28-32. The key word I point you to is implacable
found in verse 31. This is a translation of the Greek aspondos (as'-pon-dos;
786) which means, as noted in the defined King James Bible one who is
unappeasable, irreconcilable and or relentless. The word describes
someone who refuses to lay aside enmity or consider terms of
reconciliation. Hence it is describing someone who will not forgive!
Refusing to reconcile, refusing to forgive, refusing to lay aside bad
feeling is a mark of reprobation. The New Testament directs believers to
forgive! Why? Because Christ has forgiven us! Ephesians 4:32 "And
be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." I remind you that
Christ himself practiced what is preached in the New Testament (Luke
23:24) as did the first New Testament martyr, Stephen (Acts
7:59-60).
Therefore, we must follow their examples and not surrender to the spirit
of the age. In light of this, I want to examine the Bible’s teaching
on forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS is, choosing to pardon, remit, or overlook the mistake,
fault, offense, hurt or injury of the offender without demanding, a
penalty, punishment or retribution.
Forgiveness is "never free," though it can and should be
freely given to others. Let me explain. When a person is forgiven, the
one who extends the forgiveness chooses to accept the pain of the
offense and foregoes the right of retribution or retaliation. The one
doing the forgiving PAYS the price. He or she endures the hurt and
suffers the sorrow in order to forgive you.
Paying the price for forgiveness can best be illustrated by the
forgiveness God extends to us in Christ. The blood Jesus Christ shed on
the cross pays the payment for your sins. Since Christ paid the price
for our sins, God does not demand that the punishment we deserve be
carried out, if Christ is our Savior. The work of Christ on the cross is
sufficient for the Father to forgive all our sins. Colossians 2:13-14 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; God the Father forgives us in Christ. In light of that,
He expects us to forgive others. When you choose to forgive others, you
will discover the cost is worth it. You receive from God the strength to
carry out the actual forgiving. The love of God brings healing into your
life, renewed relationships, and release from bitterness and bad
feelings. Some other wonderful things happen, you identify with the
character of God and are better able to understand the sacrificial act
of forgiveness. There is new freedom released in forgiveness. The bonds
of unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment and depression are
broken.
The dividends of forgiveness far out weigh the cost
you pay to forgive.
Understanding What Is Included
In Forgiveness
- Forgiveness includes the removal of guilt or
fault.
Psalm 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity
have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgression unto the LORD;
and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
The Hebrew word translated "iniquity" means evil, guilt,
crime, or fault. Now, consider what David, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, was saying in that verse. God forgave him the "evil,
guilt or fault" of his sin. In other words the portion of the
episode that violated God's standard of holiness is pardoned, removed,
forgiven. You are declared NOT GUILTY because of Christ's payment and
God's mercy & grace.
So what is the application? When you forgive someone, you pardon
their evil, crime, or fault. You let them off the hook. You treat
them as if they were not guilty. You follow God's example and extend
them undeserved grace and mercy. You are saying, "I choose to
release you from guilt. I do not hold you guilty."
- Forgiveness includes the commitment never to
use it against the person in the future.
Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more."
The word "remember" (3415) is a translation of a
Greek word (mnestho) which is in the emphatic, future negative tense in
the Greek. That means you could actually say, "...their iniquities
I will NEVER, EVER remember again! This idea is seen over and over again
in the Scriptures in passages such as Isaiah 44:22, Micah 7:19, Hebrews
10:17.
But that does NOT mean that our all knowing God is suffering from
amnesia. Dr. Clark Martin points out that, "Once the guilt is
gone...in God's eyes the event is no longer sin." God will
never use the believer's sins against him in the future. Romans 8:1 says "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus..." Verse 33 & 34 says, "Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is
he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen
again, who is ever at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us." John 3:18 says "He that believeth
on him is not condemned..." Read John 5:24 "...He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death
into life."
I'm glad I am saved because God will never use my sins against me in
the future. He has forgiven me. I will never be condemned. That is true
for every born-again believer here this morning. BUT, if Christ is not
your Savior, you will have to pay for your sins. That payment is
separation for God for eternity in Hell. Wouldn't you rather receive
Christ as your Savior and have your sins forgiven?
So how can we apply this to our own lives? It is humanly impossible
to wipe a major offense from your mind. But when you do forgive someone you
can make a commitment not to use their offence against them in the
future. Further, you won't talk to others about the person's offence
to put him in a bad light. That is what 1 Peter 4:8 "And above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins."
- Forgiveness includes a commitment not to
dwell on the offense yourself.
Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far
hath he removed our transgressions from us."
When the Lord forgives us, he does not relive the hurt we caused Him
when we sinned against Him. That is gone. That is good advice to those
of us who forgive others also. Refuse to allow your mind to
"relive" the hurt of the offense. If you catch yourself
reliving the hurt, remind yourself that you have forgiven that person
and pray that the Lord will forgive, bless and bring the offender to
Salvation or restoration.
What Forgiveness Does Not
Include
- Forgiveness does not include waiting for the
offender to ask for forgiveness BEFORE you forgive.
Someone said, "Forgiveness begins in the inner person as he
chooses to forgive before the offender repents." That's true! You
could call this the attitude of forgiveness. God has this attitude and
Romans 5:8 shows it. "But God commendeth (demonstrated) his love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God has already made forgiveness available to us in Christ. It is not
his desire that any die and go to Hell (2 Peter 4:8). It is his desire
that we see our need for forgiveness and come to Christ.
By the same token, we should forgive those who have offended us. Not
because they deserve it, but because of the example God has given us and
for Christ's sake.
Forgiving someone in your heart prevents bitterness and resentment
from building up and keeps us from sinning. Forgiveness enables you to
be open and pray for the person who has offended you, so that if his/her
heart is convicted and they come to you and confess and ask for
forgiveness you can say "I forgive you" and mean it. Yet,
while it is important to forgive others in your heart, it is not wise to
say to someone -- "I forgive you for hurting me" if they do
not ask your forgiveness. This could encourage a repeat of wrong
behavior. Though you must forgiven an in your heart, that forgiveness is
not complete until they do their part and ask your forgiveness.
- Forgiveness does not prevent you from
confronting the offender in love (not vengeance or retaliation but
for restoration).
Luke 17:3-4 "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass
against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if
he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day
turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
Is there any recourse if there is no repentance? Yes, Matthew
18:15-17; Romans 13:1-4
- Forgiveness does not negate the inherent
consequences of sin.
It is true that when God forgives, he takes away the guilt and the
eternal condemnation caused by our sins. Yet, often we are faced with the
natural consequences of our sins for weeks, months, years or the
rest of our lives!
The reason for this is that God has established laws by which he
governs his creation. There is the law of gravity. What goes up, must
come down. Suppose you were up in the hay loft and decided you needed to
get down quickly and you jumped. As you did it, you realized it was
higher than you thought, so you quickly prayed, "God, forgive me
for breaking the law of gravity." You would still hit the ground.
The law of sowing and reaping is like that. Galatians 6:7-8 expresses
this law pretty well. If you sin, you can expect consequences, even if
you ask forgiveness.
You might say, "Man, I've sown a lot of bad seed. I'm saved! I
won't be going to Hell. I've been released from guilt. Thank God for
those blessings! But is there anything I can do about the bad seed I've
planted?
Yes! You can pray for strength and wisdom. God can see you through
the consequences and work all things together for good (Romans 8:28).
In conclusion, Christ must be your Savior if you are to experience
God's forgiveness. Then, as a believer you must know what forgiveness is
and practice forgiving others.
Practicing forgiveness each day will keep bitterness away (Hebrews
12:15).
Colossians 3:12-14 "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave
you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put
on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
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