Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro
Hi Friends
I have a lot to cover today - let’s get started
(Pray…)
Illustration
Today, we're going to take a biblical look at forgiveness.
And I'm reminded of a story about a Sunday school teacher.
In the middle of the lesson one Sunday, two boys in the back of the room were arguing.
The teacher stopped the class and asked what the problem was.
One of the boys replied that on the way to Sunday school the other had hit him.
This is a great opportunity to teach them about forgiveness, the teacher thought.
He called the two boys to the front of the class and emphasized how much God wants us to forgive each other.
Then the teacher asked the all-important question.
“Brian, will you forgive Luke?”
“Sure,” Brian said.
He then hauled off and punched Luke in the stomach.
“Wait a minute,” the teacher yelled, grabbing Brian by the arm.
“I asked you to forgive Luke, not hit him.”
“I will forgive him,” Brian protested, “but I had to get even with him first.”
Understanding What God Wants From Us
We’re looking at forgiveness today
And we’re going to look at the parable in Matt 18 - but first I want to talk about what it means to forgive someone
And I need you to hang in there with me until the end
There might be things I say - where it sounds like I’m against forgiving one another
That’s the furthest thing from my mind
We are commanded to forgive one another
And when we forgive one another it’s in response to the wonderful forgiveness God gave us
Look at the verse again - the reason why we forgive is given right in that verse
Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
As God has forgiven me - through the blood of Jesus - I am to respond by forgiving others
Here’s another verse on forgiveness that also gives the reason why we need to forgive others
We are to forgive others because God forgave us
As Christians, why does God forgive us?
Main reason:
Through his abundant grace & mercy
God forgives us so that we can have a restored, reconciled relationship with the Father
In order that he can spend eternity with us
“What do you mean?”
I’m pointing out that God is the one who pursues us - he’s always pursued us
It’s okay to say that he forgives us so we can go to Heaven
I’m just pointing out HIS perspective
There is a repeating theme throughout the Bible - that God’s desire is for him to dwell with us
I want to be with the Lord wherever he is - that’s my desire
He reconciles us so that we have a right relationship with him
And then we get to enjoy eternal life
All of this is unlocked through our faith in Jesus
By trusting him
Denying ourselves
And repenting of our sins
We forgive others in order to bring glory to God - and to restore our relationship with them
We’re going to look at the parable, commonly called The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
And the last 2 verses ends with a very stern warning of foreboding – it says:
And we read that and think, “If I don't completely forgive someone who commits evil against me, I'm going to hell”
This is what you might have heard preached to you in the past – usually, at the end of a sermon - preachers will have you close your eyes and think...who is the person that comes to mind?
And we go away, thinking, “If I can't completely forgive my dad who used to beat me or molest me, then I must be going to hell.”
Well, two questions:
What does it mean to “forgive my brother from my heart”?
How does the Lord want me to forgive?
I want to give you some hope this morning
First, according to Jesus, our first response to someone who sins against us is actually not to forgive them
I’m going to show this to you this later through Scripture - so hold that thought
Our first response is to not forgive - our forgiveness is conditional
Also, nowhere in the Bible does it say that we need to completely exonerate someone who does not ask for forgiveness –
For some reason, the church has bought the notion: cheap forgiveness - and just quietly forgive others without a confrontation
Here's the main fear in forgiving someone: That I might give up my principles – I will somehow lose something
“For me to forgive that person, is the same thing as becoming like them – it's like I'm condoning that person”
Biblical forgiveness forgives the sin - it never condones it
Three types of forgiveness: Exoneration, Forbearance, Release
In every case where someone has wronged you - you are commanded to forgive that person in one of those three ways:
Exoneration
Forbearance
Release
There is biblical justification for each type
And there is one thing that needs to happen in your heart with all three:
Once you forgive someone - you forever give up the right to hold a grudge against that person
That means, you can’t go through life with a chip on your shoulder
And you give up the right to ever bring it up
Exoneration
Exoneration:
I know that’s sort of a legal term - but it’s the best word I can think of
It’s what we usually think of when we think of “forgiveness”
Wipes the slate clean
Restores the relationship
Why does God forgive us?
To have a right relationship with him
God forgives us to make us right with him - justification
Before we can go to Heaven - we need to be made right with God
So we repent and place our trust in Jesus
And it’s through the blood of Jesus, God exonerates us and wipes the slate clean
That restores our relationship with him - and makes us right before him
It’s way more than just going to Heaven
Exonerating someone restores relationship - but it doesn’t necessarily fully restore trust
Restoring trust may take a long time - or never
You may borrow my car and return it with a dent - and I forgive you
But then next time you borrow my car - you explain that you left the window open all night when it rained!
I can forgive you - our relationship can be restored - but I have the right to not let you borrow my car ever again
What else does it mean to exonerate someone?
This type of forgiveness - when you forgive others - means that as much as humanly possible, you have forgotten the offense
You’ve given up all rights to bring it up in the future - right, husbands & wives?
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