The Freedom of Forgiveness Part 4

Intro:

Over the last three weeks we have been a series called a New Heart. Through the story of the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-25 we have learned that God puts a high emphasis on forgiveness because unforgiveness hinders our fellowship with God.

In this series we have looked at the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35 where Jesus tells a story about a servant who begged his master to forgive the huge debt he owed. The master was moved with compassion and cancelled the debt. However, after being forgiven of so much, that same servant was unwilling to forgive his friend who owed him only a small amount and sent him to prison. When the master was notified of the servant’s hardened heart, he sent the servant to prison to be tortured until all was paid.

Three truths that we can learn from this story.

You can be forgiven by God but not allow God’s forgiveness to transform who you are.

When we hold onto unforgiveness, we wrongly put ourselves in the judgment seat that only belongs to God.

Forgiveness is the key that releases us from oppression. Are constant hateful thoughts not torturing? Is bitterness not poisonous to the soul?

Forgiveness aligns us back to God and releases us from the prison that binds us to the trespasser. The reward of obedience is peace and rest. John 13:34.

In John 13:34 Jesus says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Today’s culture resists commands, yet God established these boundaries for our good in order to protect our relationship with Him. Every command draws us closer to God and in Him we find wholeness, freedom, and victory. When we choose unforgiveness, we take matters into our own hands, as if to say: “God, I can take care of this situation by myself.”

Choosing to forgive gives the control back to God opening up a once-hardened heart to allow God to do restorative soul healing. By releasing your pain to God it paves the way for Him to heal any brokenness allowing you to move forward. No longer defined or ruled by pain God can create beauty, strength, and goodness out of ashes.

Something I’ve learned is that life in Christ does not always look I thought it would. God is for us and not against us. He has not overlooked our situation. He sees us and is coming to our rescue. God cares deeply about our pain and wants to comfort and heal us, but sometimes comfort and healing don’t look like what I expect them too. This is what I want to dig into today as we look at the freedom of forgiveness.

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Submit:

I shared with you over the last few weeks from Matthew 10:7-8 the kingdom concept where God says freely you have received, freely give. Through this lens we are going to look at forgiveness today.

Turn with me to the book of John 13:34.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””

The ultimate aim of the believer is to become like Christ and live in obedience to His word. John 14:15-18.

John 14:15-18 ““If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

As we make the decision to forgive in obedience to the Word of God we will not be alone! The indwelling of the Spirit is what brings restoration. He reveals the care of God and brings comfort to our soul while leading us into transformation.

If our aim is to become more like Christ then our chief aim is to walk in love. The first step to walking in love is to first to abide in His word and keep his commands. John 14:19-24.

(read John 14:19-24)

In vs. 21 & 23 we see two amazing promises.

1) That if we keep the commands of God in love that He will reveal himself to us.

2) That if we keep His word God will come and make is home with us.

Our love for God is displayed through our obedience as we do what He says to do. The beauty of the process is that as we walk in obedience to the word the Holy Spirit will teach us all things, and bring to remembrance all that Jesus has said to us. He will give us wisdom to know how to apply the word in our situation.

Walking in obedience to the word positions us to have peace in every situation. Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Walking in love and extending forgiveness places the situation back into the hands of God allowing His peace to guard our hearts and mind.

For example: The wisdom of God reveals the depravity of the sin nature in man. He helps us to understand that we often hurt one another because of our brokenness through sin. The goal of most people is not to walk around being offensive to everyone. Yet often we all hurt others through our actions. Wisdom give us the ability to see truth. Mankind is broken and in need of a savior. This truth has the power to set us free from offense because we see our brokenness too. Romans 3:21-26.

We all have fallen short of the Glory of God Romans 3:21-26 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Hurt and offense came as a result of the fall of man in the garden of eden. The minds of man warped through sin must be renewed. God knows that holding unforgiveness, grudges, or offense towards others will impede our ability to be renewed by the Word because these things are contrary to the very nature of God.

Our motivation to forgive is that in becoming like Him we recognize that the people around us are broken too. Just as we were in need of forgiveness so are they. We are all born into sin and death. Every last one of us need the life that is in Christ.

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Apply:

To walk in love we will have to be pruned by God as a gardener prunes his garden.

Jesus tell us in John 15:1-8 that God prunes away the things that are not fruitful. This includes things like unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment because they weigh us down causing us to become unfruitful.

The root of the vine is God, our nutrients and DNA come from Him. Connection to the vine is what positions us to walk in love. As the vinedresser He will prune away the things that don’t match the DNA He desires.

When we think about forgiving the person who hurt us we must see it through the lens of who God is. Bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness don’t come from the DNA of the vine. In fact we see something quite different. Psalm 103:10, Psalm 130:3-4, Isaiah 43:25, Matthew 6:14-15, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, Matthew 18:21-22.

Psalm 103:10: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

Psalm 130:3-4: “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

Isaiah 43:25: “I, I am he who blots out transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11:25: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Matthew 18:21-22: “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

The ability to love others begins with abiding and remaining in His love. We must be rooted in the vine. John 15:9-17.

John 15:9-17 ““As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.”

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Closing:

We must understand that forgiveness is not about logic or fairness. Forgiveness ultimately does not make any sense unless viewed through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Many people wonder: “Why should I forgive? They were wrong and now I am hurt. Now I am supposed to just forgive them, without having them pay for the offense they caused?! I am the victim here. It’s not fair that they get freedom and I get stuck with pain.”

Forgiveness is not about whether someone deserves it, forgiveness is about freedom! Forgiveness takes our eyes off of people and places them on Jesus giving birth to hope. Romans 5:1-5.

Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Let God take what the Devil meant for your destruction and use it for Good. He can and will heal the wounds if we let him. Gain wisdom from the experience and put it to use in the future. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you compassion for others through what you learn from your pain. So that you might be empowered to help others.

Today, there is freedom in forgiveness. My prayer is that in obedience to His word you would step into it.

Let’s Pray!