Posted on 03/28/2023 5:21:26 AM PDT by metmom
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. . . . For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).
An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms.
It's possible to confess your sins and still not know the joy of forgiveness. How? Failure to forgive others! Christian educator J. Oswald Sanders observed that Jesus measures us by the yardstick we use on others. He didn't say, "Forgive us because we forgive others," but "Forgive us even as we have forgiven others."
An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms because we are the forgiven ones! Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." God forgave us an immeasurable debt, saving us from the horrors of eternal hell. That should be motivation enough to forgive any offense against us, yet some Christians still hold grudges.
Here are three practical steps to dealing with the sin of unforgiveness. First, confess it and ask the Lord to help you mend the relationship in question. Second, go to the person, ask for forgiveness, and seek reconciliation. You might discover that he or she wasn't even aware of the offense. Third, give the person something you highly value. This is a very practical approach based on our Lord's teaching that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21). Whenever I've given a book or other gift to someone who has wronged me, I've felt a great sense of liberty in my spirit. In addition, my joy is compounded because I feel the joy of giving as well as the joy of forgiving.
Don't ever let a grudge stand between you and another person. It will rob you of the full joy of God's forgiveness.
Suggestions for Prayer
Before praying, examine your heart. If you harbor bitterness toward another person, follow the procedure given above. Then pray, thanking the Lord for the joy of reconciliation.
For Further Study
Read the parable of the servant in Matthew 18:21-35.
What question prompted the parable?
How did the king respond to his servant's pleading?
What did the servant do later on? Why was that wrong?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
Studying God’s Word ping
One of the hardest things to do for sure. I watch cop shows or i vestigwtion shows, and people who have been seriously harmed by criminals while often say that they have forgiven the heinous crimes committed agaisnt them, and I try to imagine if I could have if I were the victim of such horrendous crimes. I certainly would seriously struggle with it. I would think that the forgiveness would have to come from on high as it would be antithetical to my natural man state of mind.
For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).
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It’s uncomfortable for me to counter the Bible’s written interpretation. However, Jesus himself placed conditions on God forgiving us. We must indict ourselves for our offenses and ask forgiveness. Only then can we be forgiven.
This verse can only mean that we must accept no less from people who sin against us before we must forgive them.
I hear you loud and clear.
There does seem to be then need, woven throughout Scripture, for confession.
The real problem arises when the person neither asks for forgiveness or is dead and can’t.
I suppose that at that point, you just have to let it go and place it in God’s hands, which may be exactly what forgiveness is.
Either way, hanging onto it is very self-destructive.
Forgiveness is more for our benefit and an act of obedience. I have heard that is it stopping holding the person accountable to me, and letting them be accountable to God.
Either way, it can be very difficult.
Yes, it is difficult.
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