Forgiveness

Ladies Class is Talking About Forgiveness

I was Asked if I would Talk a Little Bit About the Topic Tonight

Forgiveness is an Amazing Topic to Focus on

I Think it’s a Pretty Simple Principle to Understand

We Love it When it is Directed Toward Us

But it’s Not Always Easy When it is Commanded of Us

What is Forgiveness?

Freeing a Person From Guilt and its Consequences

No Longer Considering Someone Guilty of What They Did

And No Longer Treating Them as if They are Still Guilty of What They Did

There are a Few Different Words for “Forgiveness” in the NT

aphiēmi (ah-fee-ah-me) & apoluō (ah-pahl-eeyo)

aphiēmi = “Send Away”, Mostly Translated “Forgive”

apoluō = “Set Free”, Mostly Translated as “Release”

God “Sends Away” Our Sins When He Forgives Us

Psalm 103:12 (NASB95)

12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

God “Sets Us Free/Releases Us” From Our Debt

Matthew 18:27 (NASB95)

27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

We See Both Words in this Passage

When God Forgives Us…

He Releases Us of Our Indebtedness to Him By Sending Our Sins Away

We Have Sinned and Our Sin Debt can Only Be Paid Through Death…

But God has Released Us From Our Debt and Cast Away Our Sin

When We Forgive Others, the Principle Remains the Same

We Release Them From Their Indebtedness to Us and Send Away the Wrong They Did to Us

Whatever it was They Were Guilty of, They are Guilty No More

And Whatever it was They Owed Us, They Owe Us No More

Another Word for Forgiveness is:

charizomai (kah-rriz-oh-may) = to Give Freely & Graciously

This Word is Related to the Word charis = Grace

Ephesians 2:4–8 (NASB95)

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Forgiveness is All About Giving Grace

And Grace is a Gift that Comes From the…

Mercy, Love, and Kindness of God

If You Break My Phone, You Now are Indebted to Me to Buy Me Another Phone

But Let’s Say You Can’t Afford to Buy Me a New Phone…

So You Ask for My Forgiveness

If I Forgive You, I’m Telling You that You are No Longer Indebted to Me

I’m Setting You Free From having to Buy Me a Phone

Even Though You Broke My Phone, I’m Not Longer Going to Hold You Responsible

I Don’t have to Do this, But it is a Showing of Grace

It is a Gift of Mercy, Love, and Kindness

But Here’s the Thing, My Phone is Still Broken and I Still Need a New One

By Forgiving You, I’m Not Erasing the Debt, I’m Just Taking the Debt Off of You

The Price for the Phone Still Must Be Paid

But Instead of Expecting You to Rightfully Pay it…

I Pay Your Debt Myself

Isn’t this Exactly What God Did for Us?

We Were Indebted in Sin to God

Death was Our Only Option of Payment

But He Paid it for Us

Jesus Selflessly Paid Our Debt

Who Should We Forgive?

The Answer to that Question is the Answer to this Question:

Who Does God Forgive?

Anyone and Everyone Who Seeks His Forgiveness

If Someone Wrongs Us and Then Repents, Seeking Our Forgiveness…

We are to Forgive Them

Just as God Forgives Us, We are to Forgive Others

Ephesians 4:32 (NASB95)

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

When Should We Forgive?

Does God Expect Us to Forgive Everyone Who Wrongs Us?

The Answer to that Question is the Answer to this Questions:

Does God Forgive Everyone Who Sins Against Him?

No, He Doesn’t

God Only Forgives Those Who Repent and Seek His Forgiveness

God Does Not Ask Us to Do Anything He Himself Won’t Do

And He Certainly Doesn’t Expect Us to Be More Gracious Than Him

Luke 17:3–4 (NASB95)

3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

God’s Gracious Forgiveness Never Runs Out

And He Expects Our Gracious Forgiveness to Never Run Out Either

But He Doesn’t Expect Us to Forgive Those Who Don’t Want Forgiveness

Those Who Refuse to Repent Will Not Receive His Forgiveness

God Doesn’t Expect Them to Receive Ours

But, We Should Always Be Willing and Ready to Forgive Them

The Moment They Choose to Repent, We Must Offer Them Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:31–32 (NASB95)

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

We Have to Let Go of Our Bitterness, Wrath, and Anger

You’re Not Expected to Forgive Someone Who Doesn’t Repent…

But You Don’t have to Remain Bitter, Wrathful, or Angry with Them

Let Go of All of That, Because it’s Only Hurting You, No One Else

Love Them, Pray for Them, and Be Ready to Forgive Them…

If/When Ever They Have a Change of Heart

There are Other Times When We Shouldn’t Forgive

And Those are the Times Where We Should Just Get Over it

Not Everything that Hurts Your Feelings Should Be Considered a Punishable Offense

Sometimes it’s Better to Overlook a Wrong Done to Us

Proverbs 19:11 (NASB95)

11 A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

Proverbs 19:11 (ESV)

11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

11 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11 (NLT)

11 Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

How Should We Forgive?

How Does God Forgive?

He Wipes Away All of Our Guilt, Reconciles Our Relationship, and Treats Us as if We are Sinless

He “Remembers Our Sins No More”

He No Longer Holds Them Against Us

We are to Forgive Others in this Same Way

No Longer Consider Them Guilty of the Offense

Reconcile Your Relationship with Them

Treat Them as if They Have Done Nothing Wrong

Some Say, “I’ll Forgive Them, But I Won’t Forget”

Then You Haven’t Forgiven Them at All

Can You Imagine if God Treated Us in that Way?

“I’ve Taken Away Your Sins, But I’m Still Going to Keep You at Arms Length”

“You’re Innocent Now, But I’m Still Going to Treat You as if You’re Guilty”

This is Not a Loving Heart

This is a Bitter, Wrathful, Angry, Vindictive Heart

No One Said it Would Be Easy to Forgive Others

But it Wasn’t Easy for Jesus to Die on that Cross to Forgive Us Either

He’s the Example We are to Follow

If Our Wrong-Doer Repents and Seeks Our Forgiveness…

It May Not Be Easy, But We Have to Give it

And We Must Give it Sincerely and Graciously

Why Should We Forgive?

This One Should Be the Easiest to Answer Shouldn’t it?

Because We have Been Forgiven

No One has Done More Harm to You than We Have Done to God

And Yet He Graciously, Mercifully, Lovingly, and Kindly Forgives Us

But There’s 2 More Important Reasons:

Matthew 6:14–15 (NASB95)

14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

If We Forgive Others, God will Forgive Us

If We Don’t Forgive Others, God Won’t Forgive Us

One of the Best Parables About Forgiveness is in Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21–35 (NASB95)

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

26 “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’30 “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’

34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”