I’ve been thinking about forgiveness a lot lately. We are called to live as THE FORGIVING because we have been FORGIVEN. In my message last week, I briefly stated that Jesus Christ has paid for our sin and has forgiven us and removed our guilt and depravity out of this creation. We are free of sin because of what Jesus Christ has done. That means that as created beings who trust in Jesus Christ, our sins have been removed from this creation. We are genuinely holy creations in Jesus Christ. We are just a tiny little bit of God’s restored creation that no longer is defiled by sin. Super cool thought. Now that does not mean we never sin or are perfect, but what it does mean is that we are cleansed and made pure by the blood of Jesus Christ by faith. We are forgiven. We live as the forgiven.
Now, we above all who walk this earth, because we are the forgiven, should live forgiving others. And like God in Jesus Christ forgave us even while we were yet sinners, we should walk grudge free, anger free, fully forgiving others even if they have wronged us and have not done anything to make it right. Why? Because, what have you done to make yourself right in the eyes of God? Nothing. God did that all. All you had to do is believe that God did it all in Jesus Christ. That means believing something to be the truth is all that was required of you to receive such grace, such forgiveness.
The crazy thing is that the sins of the world are all paid for in Jesus Christ, whether a person believes it or not.
The sad thing is that many are unwilling to believe it simply because along with that belief must come the recognition that Jesus is Lord. Many people would instead reject that free gift to remain the lords of their own life. Sad.
But, we who are “the living forgiven” should walk in forgiveness always. Here are some great verses that challenge our hearts towards this truth.
Colossians 3:13
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Luke 6:37
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Ephesians 4:31-32
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Even Jesus on the cross lives out this truth as an example for us to follow.
Luke 23:34
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
So the question is… How are you doing at being the living forgiven? How are you doing at forgiving others? Even if they don’t deserve it?
So often, we think of those who have seriously wronged us, and we do need to forgive those. But we often miss all the little areas in our lives where we are living in unforgiveness. Note that in Ephesians 4:31-32, Paul has several things listed that happen when we don’t forgive. When we don’t forgive, we grow bitter, get angry, brawl and argue, slander and try to tell others what a terrible person the other is, and become malicious towards that person. We think that those words listed by Paul are for the big stuff, the big sins of anger. But not, that is not what God is saying here. Yes, anger that leads to stabbing someone to death is wrong and seems like a big sin. And you might justify yourself by telling yourself you are not angry like that. You would never do that. You may say to yourself that you are just hurt or just upset with that person. Often we tell ourselves we are confused and don’t understand. We try to use a host of other words to call our anger, bitterness, rage, and malice something that sounds better. But truthfully, God sees what we are. We see and know what we are. We are hurt, so we get angry. No, not stab a person or shoot them or anything like that angry. But let us be honest, we are anger. Let us be honest; we can and do become bitter. We often say things about people that make them look bad, and we justify it because it's true, or we feel and think it is.
But look in this passage and ask yourself:
If you forgave everyone and everything… every offence against you right after it was done, would you be hurt or angry?
Would you say anything bad about that person?
Let’s go one step further. With God, when we are forgiven, all our sin is washed completely away. We are to remember what it took for that to happen, but we are never called to remember our sins, nor does God continue to throw our past sins back in our faces. No, with God forgiven means our sin is wiped away and forgotten.
Now, if that person’s sin against you was compactly forgotten or even more if it never even happened, how would you be treating that person? Would you be angry about something that never happened?
Well, no, that would be silly.
Would you be bitter about something that never took place?
Well no, logically, you shouldn’t be bitter about something that never happened to you.
So, how are you doing at truly forgiving the people around you that even in small ways, and even in small portions make you a little bitter, maybe just a little angry and maybe make you want to say just a couple little things against them?
Do you forgive as Jesus forgave you?
Forgiving like Jesus is impossible to do without Jesus living in you. We must go to Him in humble prayer and walk in His daily presence if we are going to live life as the forgiving forgiven. If we are going to live life with Jesus, filled with His love and mercy. Without Him, we will make excuses and try to convince ourselves that we are not bitter, not angry and not slandering others. And the sad thing is that the only person we will likely truly convince is ourselves.
Let us go to Jesus if we realize that we are perhaps struggling to live as the forgiving forgiven. Don’t just relent, repent. Ask Jesus to forgive you if you are living in unforgiveness towards someone. Pay attention to your words. Who are you talking down about? How are you angry at? Who are you trying to make sound bad or foolish? Who are you trying to make yourself look better then? These are signs that you are not forgiving like Jesus forgave you. There is hope in Jesus Christ. No matter how much you feel it is impossible to forgive them, Jesus is all about doing the impossible. He died and rose from the dead so that we could be forgiven.
Amen.
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