April 21, 2024

BEYOND WORDS: THE FREEDOM OF FORGIVENESS

April 21, 2024

Charles Billingsley

 

Has anyone ever done you wrong? Mary H. of Florida visited a killer in prison, offering forgiveness to him, while her family lambasted her for doing so, as he had slain her daughter in a jealous rage. How much did it cost her to do that? How much did it cost God to give His only Son to die for our sins, two thousand years ago? Forgiveness is not cheap: it dearly costs the one who gives it, yet the one who offers it finds a freedom that is indescribable. Today we look at forgiveness—and how God views unforgiveness. He commands us to forgive our enemies, as well as our friends, who hurt or harm us beyond description.  The only way that is possible is to understand how much God has forgiven us. To forgive is a big command (Phil. 4:13), but we must be obedient if we expect Him to forgive us (Mark 11:26).

Focal Passages: Matthew 18:21-35, 6:12-14, Luke 6:37, 17:3-4, Mark 11:25-26, 1 Jn. 1:9.

Accept the Forgiveness of God

  • Read Matt. 18:21-22. How do we become a person who forgives when someone has wronged us? What is the first step we must take? Read Matt. 18:15-16. What are some ways you can be wronged?
  • Read Matt. 18:25. How seriously does God take it if we don’t forgive someone who has sinned against us? Is it a suggestion or a command?
  • Can anyone share an example when someone did them wrong? Did you forgive them immediately? How did you get the strength to forgive them? What kind of reaction did you receive? How is it possible to forgive someone, but unrealistic to expect to forget the situation? Does ‘not forgetting’ mean you haven’t forgiven? No.
  • Who is the hardest person to forgive? Who is at the root of making certain we never forget that we have committed an “unforgiveable” action? How can we get beyond that?

Practice the Forgiveness of God                                                                                                                         

  • In our parable for today, how much did the servant owe the king? How much did another man owe the servant? Why did the king forgive the servant? Why did the servant not forgive his debtor?
  • If God said, “You owe me $1.2 Billion in order to spend eternity in heaven,” could we pay it? Why did (does) He extend His forgiveness to us freely? What did it cost Him?
  • We accept God’s free gift, so why do we withhold forgiveness from a friend who has not repaid us $5K? What are some ways it costs us to forgive a wrong done to us? What type of freedom do we get when we forgive someone who has hurt us?

REACHing for the Forgiven—an Acronym for Forgiveness:

  • R—for RECALL-remember the hurt that was done to you as objectively as you can.
  • E—for EMPATHIZE-try to understand the viewpoint of the person who wronged you.
  • A—for ALTRUISM- think about a time you hurt someone and were forgiven, then offer the gift of forgiveness to the person who hurt you.
  • C—for COMMITTING-publicly forgive the person who wronged you. (This is not always possible).
  • H—for HOLDING ON-not forgetting the hurt but reminding yourself that you made the choice to forgive.

Forgiving Like God

How does God forgive us:

  • God forgives us completely! Read 1 John 1:9.
  • God forgives repeatedly! Read Mark 3:28.
  • God forgives us generously! Read Luke 7:47a.
  • God forgives freely! Read Eph. 1:7.

Close:

                  As most of us know, sometimes it is not the forgiving of others that causes us to lose sleep as much as that we do not allow our own hearts to forgive ourselves for heinous sins which we have committed. We can waste a huge amount of time regretting things we have done that disgraced or grieved the heart of God. Yet if God has forgiven us, (and He has if we have genuinely repented and offered to Him a broken heart and contrite spirit), why do we hold our own standards above His and grieve Him even more by our unforgiveness toward ourselves? We need to take this seriously and stop letting Satan ruin our days or nights over sins that God has put in the depth of the ocean.

How do we accept His forgiveness? By an act of our will. By making a choice to do so. How do we accept the truth of salvation? How do we accept that He loves us? How do we accept that Scripture is “inspired by God”? We accept it because He cannot lie, and His promises are true.  1 John 1:9 states that if “we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So we either believe that, as a promise of God, or we reject it and say our sin was too big, too bad, too long-reaching for Him to forgive. Shame on us.

As Charles finished today, he asked you to examine your life: If there are people you refuse to forgive for what they’ve done to you, you need to ask yourself “AM I REALLY SAVED?”

By Sandy Day                                                                                                                                                                                                                April 21, 2024

 

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