What is Total Forgiveness

Series: Total Forgiveness

What is Total Forgiveness

Luke 23:32-36

Theme: Jesus teaches us through His life what total forgiveness is.

Introduction: Forgiveness is beyond a doubt, the most difficult action we can do. In fact, there are many people, including Christians, who are living daily with unforgiveness in their hearts. If you have lived in this world for any length of time, someone will hurt, say things about you, criticize you, or mistreat you. A family member may have abused you mentally or sexually or emotionally. A friend may have betrayed you and hurt you. Someone may have said something about you or disrespected you or lied about you. Whether it is true or not the pain can go deep into the heart.

Words and actions can be very damaging to people so we must also be mindful of how to handle hurts.

The title Total Forgiveness carries a meaning which we will unpack over these next several weeks. Tonight is the set up because we will go into Stewardship Days next week. Total forgiveness means totally.

Mankind can forgive partially but struggles with total forgiveness. Unforgiveness is the way those who are hurt use to hurt back or punish those who have hurt them. It has been said, “hurt people hurt people.” Unforgiveness can cause people to not only punish the person who has hurt them, but others in their world. A spouse who has been hurt by someone in the past will most often take it out on their spouse or family. Unforgiveness has noticeable steps from hurt to anger to bitterness to striking back at families to striking back at others.

Are you carrying unforgiveness for something that has happened to you? Maybe when you were a child or teenager? Or maybe it was friend or family member? Or maybe it was a church situation or a pastor or church worker?

While indeed forgiving is the hardest thing a person can do, it is still the best thing you can do. Forgiveness is more for you than for the other person.

There was a perverse and angry crowd who wanted Jesus crucified. He did nothing wrong and even the trial itself was unjust. Jesus demonstrates to us total forgiveness here in this passage. Tonight, we will learn from Jesus and ask Him if there is any unforgiveness in our life.

Unforgiveness robs us of joy. Unforgiveness robs us of peace. Unforgiveness robs us of fullness of the Holy Spirit in our life. Unforgiveness robs us of answered prayer.

I. The proof of total forgiveness

A. Release from personal guilt

1. Jesus has forgiven them in His heart.

2. The personal harm they caused Him, He forgave them-though He was ridiculed, beaten, and hung on a cross to die, Jesus forgave them.

3. To be able to personally forgive someone who has wronged us is definitely a work of God in our lives. If you have unforgiveness right now in your heart towards someone, ask God to give you the ability to forgive.

4. Notice many times they don’t know what they are doing. People cannot read your mind, know your thoughts or feelings.

5. Obviously, some things are apparently wrong to you, the person who is wronging you, and everyone else-but there are some things people don’t realize.

B. Release to God’s blessing

1. Here is the deeper level where we pray for God to forgive them which is a greater gesture.

2. When you ask God the Father to forgive them, you are now have forgiven them and asking God to release them from the guilt and punishment on them.

3. “The ultimate proof of total forgiveness takes place when we sincerely petition the Father to let those who have hurt us off the hook—even if they have hurt not only us, but also those close to us.” (RT Kendall, Total Forgiveness”)

4. A spiritual depth that transcends the hurt is asking God to bless the person who hurt us the most—

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” (Genesis 50:20–21)

II. The power of total forgiveness

A. A changed life

1. When the world sees forgiveness, they see a changed life.

2. When you experience total forgiveness with God in salvation, there is the changed life.

3. They see something the world cannot explain or even comprehend.

4. The Roman world seeing Jesus hanging on the cross forgiving those who wronged Him, had never been in their life.

5. A changed life is not natural but supernatural.

B. A changed outlook

1. Forgiveness and reconciliation is something the world cannot understand.

2. For the believer when we experience the forgiveness God gives to us, we begin to see forgiveness in a whole different light.

3. While we are not perfect, we need daily forgiveness-others around also need forgiveness.

4. This is what Jesus meant in His prayer“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15)

The Bible is a book of forgiveness. You cannot read the Bible without seeing the forgiveness of God to man and the forgiveness of men to others.

III. The process of total forgiveness

A. Realize its mandate

1. The Scriptures give clear passages where God command us to forgive others

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

2. God mandates this for ourselves-there is nothing more difficult to deal with in our life than unforgiveness-we may suppress it or try to forget it-but it is like having a pebble in your shoe-as you walk around it hurts and feels like it is huge.

B. Recognize its practice

1. Total forgiveness doesn’t mean we spend our vacation with them.

2. It does mean we do not hold people responsible for what they have done to us.

3. We do not tell other people even our closest friends-we lay under the cross.

4. Total forgiveness does not mean we close our eyes to those who will continue to harm others.

Conclusion: Are you struggling with unforgiveness in your heart? Jesus shows us it is not just releasing them from the guilt towards us but also praying for God to release them from their guilt with Him. Responding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction regarding this matter could be life changing.