justice or mercy

notes

jesus telling us to forgive, opposite unforgivness, lie we believe is that you are justified in not forgiving

result of unforgivness in your heart is unforgivness from God

lie- you dont understand the level of forgivness you have recieved. forgiven much loves much

lie- compassion, you are weak

-unforgivness has consequences

Intro

title

joke

Q. Have you ever been wronged by someone?

Q. How bad does it hurt to be on the receiving end of an offence?

Some of you out there have a person that jumped to the forefront of your mind.

some of you may even have multiple people that have come to mind.

We have all been there.

face to face with a person that we do not think deserves to be forgiven.

Isnt it ironic that we stand before God as men and women who do not deserve to be forgiven.

Jesus is continuing in the sermon on the mount

He has just taught his disciples how to pray

And after He says , Amen

He starts on a reflection of vs 12 from the prayer, which says

Matthew 6:12 NKJV

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

Jesus illuminates the parallel truth between forgiveness and unforgiveness

You will either receive Justice or Mercy.

The choice is up to you..

forgiveness is a choice

Matthew 6:14–15 NKJV

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If- means that you are given a choice

if you choose to forgive your neighbor, you will receieve forgiveness from God

if you choose un-forgivness , God will do the same for you.

for those of you who do not know what forgiveness means,

forgiveness - release of a debt. - not counting an offence against someone.

it does not mean that you approve of the offence or condoning the behavior

it does mean that we show compassion on our offenders.

There is something inside of all of us that is uncomfortable with forgiveness

Why is it so hard to choose this path?

1 Major reason we struggle to choose forgivness.

pride

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride - thinking to highly of yourself.

This is one of the main reasons why you will choose unforgiveness in your life

How dare somebody do that to me.

dont they know who I am.

I have to get even.

didnt Jesus rebuke the personal desire of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

Story - This is actually a true story for me

my friend punched out my tooth on st paddys day in college.

the following morning he was so sorry.

When I decided to offer forgiveness for the offence my family demanded that I get him back.

pride will always tell you how important you are.

It will always leave out where you are wrong.

and it will always lead you to choose unforgivness

What is the opposite of pride....humility

humility is keeping oneself low in status- like a servant

Romans 12:3 NKJV

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Thinking less of yourself will help you to choose forgiveness

Humility will help you see the importance of forgiving all people.

our next point gets into the

We forgive men because God has forgiven us

When We gave our life to Christ, He gave us a new heart

His spirit changes us so that grow into His Character

He is a forgiving God.

When we see that God has forgiven us we in turn become eager to forgive others.

If your having a hard time forgiving others, then you should focus on the forgivness that you have recieved from God.

Your offence to God is much higher than any sin somebody has commited against you.

When Jesus says this he does not mean that if you have any unforgivness in your heart you are not saved.

Getting at is the person who is not a forgiving person is not displaying the character of a born again follower of Jesus.

He doesnt understand the forgivness he has recieved from God

and therefore may not even understand the gospel.

The good news is all about forgivness

Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

God is not just concerned about reconciliation between Him and you

But also between You and your neighbor.

Q. What if your offender has never apalogized or even sought reconciliation.

We must always be ready and willing to forgive even as our father is waiting in heaven to forgive the sinner.

we forgive because we have been forgiven