Faith & Forgiveness

The King of Kings

What an awesome way to start the day! Knowing that there is one name above all names, Jesus Christ. There is one way to the Father, Jesus the Messiah. If we believe the living Word of God this morning, there is no arguing, there is no debating, and there is no vain philosophy that can change this fact! The heart of Christ, the mind of Christ, the character of Christ, and the hope of Christ is the very cornerstone of our faith, Jesus delivered to you and me the very promise of God! Equal heirs with Jesus to the Kingdom of Glory. Amen!

There is one word that is synonomous with Jesus Christ. It precedes salvation, His grace is unrecognizable without it, and a person of faith practices it as they mature. This verb appears in the Lord’s pray, from the cross, and is heavily emphasized throughout the New Testament.

Forgiveness

Luke 23:34

Luke 23:34 KJV 1900

34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

In His first of seven utterance from the cross, Jesus said “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He did not say “forgive some of them.” He did not say “forgive just him or her.” He pleaded with God to forgive all of us as He suffered an agonizing death.

Let’s go just a little further back from the cross for a moment. Come with me for a moment to the night before. Jesus Christ is in the Garden at Gethsemane. God has fully revealed to Jesus what was going to happen. With the horror of the cross facing Him, Jesus prayed that God would remove the cup of suffering “If it be God’s will.”

Jesus was on death row, he was facing the 1.8 mile journey to the cross, down the Via dolorosa. Beaten and scourged to the point of being unrecognizable, ridiculed, spit on, and finally crucified. To be the perfect sin covering for you this morning. To utter “forgive them” from the cross.

Imagine for a moment that Jesus is on the cross, He looks toward the heavens and says “Father forgive them, except for these people (pointing to congregation.)”

We often talk about the will of God. “God’s will for my life, God’s will for your life.” Let’s start with this: God’s will is that you forgive others. Do you accept God’s forgiveness through Jesus yet refuse to forgive others? That is not the example that Jesus set. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the release, on the part of the creditor or offended party, of any expectation that a debt will be repaid or that an offender will receive punishment for an offense.

When describing the removal of an inappropriate offense in this way, the removal does not condone the behavior or suggest approval for the offense.

Jesus Christ died so that you and I did not receive the punishment for our offenses against God. He does not condone unholy behavior, He does not approve of sinful behavior, yet we do not have to pay the penalty of those offenses.

Forgiveness is giving up the right to get even. We are not expected to condone what is wrong, nor are we to say “hey its okay.” It has nothing to do with feelings, and everything to do with the will of God. Forgiveness speaks to the love, mercy, and grace that Jesus has planted in our hearts.

Colossians 3:13 NLT

13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Get ready! People are going to disappoint you. The people closest to you are going to disappoint you at times. You have probably disappointed others at times. People are not perfect! Guess what, your not perfect and neither am I. So often, we will withhold showing love, mercy, or grace to someone as a way of punishing them because we have unforgiveness in our hearts.

When we believe that somebody has wounded us, we want retribution. So what do we do? We will give them the silent treatment, act short, maybe speak in a sharp tone or completely withdraw. We begin to withhold kindness because we have not forgiven them. Jesus Christ could not have been more clear than when he was teaching His disciples to pray:

Matthew 6:12 KJV 1900

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Many people think of money when we read this part of the Lord’s prayer. It can be about money, but it is about forgiveness. To forgive a debt means that we relieve them of a debt. Along with that, the guilt and the punishment and the expectation of such are removed.

What expectations do you have of others who have wronged you this morning? How far do they have to go to receive your forgiveness? How much work, how many hoops do they need to jump through to get into your good graces?

Let me ask you this: What do you owe Jesus Christ? How much is it going to take to pay Him back? What did you do to earn His grace? Nothing, that debt has been forgiven. His grace was freely given.

How many people here have ever overdrawn from a bank account? Maybe bounced a check or two? Your balance is negative? Less than zero. We have to bring it back to a zero balance to pay the amount we overdraw, plus fees, plus interest. When our faith brings us to a place of Kingdom thinking, we have a different kind of bank account. Not only did Jesus bring your and my balance to zero, he is adding to our Kingdom account beyond measure!

How many “emotional bank accounts do you have out there where people owe you and you refuse to forgive their debts until they pay back with penalties and interest?” It is the absolute will of God that we forgive others. It is selfish and not Christ-like to accept His gift of forgiveness and salvation and not offer others the freedom from the bonds of unforgiveness.

Our faith in Christ mandates that we forgive others. Forgiveness looks the same whether the person is alive or dead. If forgiving someone requires action on the offenders part, we have not forgiven them. We are requiring something in exchange for our forgiveness. “I will forgive you if...” That is something different. If that is our thought process, we are seeking closure or restitution.

Now, I am not just talking about things that have happened a year ago, or ten years ago, or longer. What about today, this week, last week? What is stopping you from forgiving a husband, a wife, a friend, a brother or sister in Christ for some of those things that happen in a moment.

You all know what I am talking about. “They were mean to me, so I will be mean to them.” “I am going to give them the silent treatment.” “They hurt me, so I am going to hurt them.” “I am going to punish them by withholding love from them.” These thoughts and actions always create a root of bitterness. The root of bitterness is the beginning of a harvest of bitterness, anger, hate, and unforgiveness.

Are our pride, our ego, our desire to be right more important than delivering on what we claim to believe? Are they more important than representing Jesus? I pray not.

Jesus uttered seven things from the cross. This was the seventh and final thing He said:

John 19:30 NLT

30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Tetelestai, it is finished. This same word appears on Greek business documents meaning “done, fulfilled, paid in full.” Jesus Christ conquered the world, victory, making salvation and reconciliation available to those who accept Him as their LORD and Savior. Jesus was only 33-35 years old when He said this. When He paid the price for you and me.

Worship Team to Stage

Are there “it’s” in your life that are not finished? Are there hurts you refuse to let go of this morning? Are you carrying unforgiveness in your heart today? Is it time to, as the Prophet Micah stated “Do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your LORD?”

Maybe you need to offer forgiveness? Maybe you need to seek forgiveness from someone? You may have to be the one to initiate it, let today be the day that the burden of unforgiveness is lifted from you and from them. Let us strive to live out our faith moment by moment.

Alter Call/Prayer

If you feel led to pour your heart out at the alter, it is always open. If you want personal prayer this morning, we have prayer warriors in this church. Simply raise your hand and they will come to you. You can come forward, or fill out a prayer request here or online.

If you want to know more about Jesus Christ this morning, you are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses that would love to share. If you want to know Jesus Christ as your personal LORD and Savior, please, let today be that day.