HAVE YOU FAILED TO FORGIVE

Date: Mon Sep 24 01:16:18 2007

Matthew 6:15

But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Mark 11:25

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Luke 6:37

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Jesus said that if we donít forgive, we WONíT be forgiven. It isnít in just one verse as you can see, though that would be enough. It is repeated several times. Can this actually be true? I mean, if a person accepts Christ into their life for the forgiveness of sins, isnít that the determinant? How could our failure to forgive ban us from an eternity with Christ? Is salvation really by works after all? Is Jesus making a requirement under the Old Covenant that would be superceded by the New? Or is Jesus using hyperbole simply to make a point and simply trying to make us more conscious that forgiveness is important and that we should not be arrogant after having received forgiveness?

John the Baptist came to preach repentance and baptized people (Mark 1:4). The result was the forgiveness of their sins. Forgiveness came as a natural result of repentance. The message Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost was the same.

Acts 2:38

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spiritî.

Repentance involves Godly sorrow. It involves a knowledge of how far short we have come from Godís holiness. It involves humility. It means we have a humble spirit and do not come comparing ourselves to others, but only to the holiness of God. We fall far short. We are placing ourselves at the mercy of God. When God sees no mercy in us, he realizes the ìrepentanceî is not genuine and does not respond to it. It really is rather simple. If we maintain pride and a sense that our sins are not all that bad, we do not have the Godly sorrow that leads to GENUINE repentance. Therefore, our sin remains.

This is not limited to the time leading up to our salvation. It also follows our salvation. We continue to commit sins after we are saved. We need forgiveness on an on-going basis. I John 1:9 says that if we have fellowship with one another, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We MUST maintain fellowship. If we hold unforgiveness toward others, God has no obligation to forgive us.

Jesus commanded us in the Lordís prayer to pray in confidence for forgiveness based upon our forgiving attitude. Jesus also wants people forgiven totally. People need forgiveness from PEOPLE as well as from GOD. Who are we to withhold forgiveness that God has offered? The simple fact is that if we donít forgive people of their sins, they do not sense they are completely forgiven and often live in condemnation. How could a repentant, forgiven person do that?

Luke 11:4

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.

John 20:23

If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Jesus further noted the pervasive requirement for forgiveness ñ for repeated and frequent sins. This helps us understand the repeated forgiveness we need from God for our frequent failings.

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.

Is it worth being under the wrath of God to hold unforgiveness??? Further, if others have forgiven, we must forgive those same offenses as well. Satan loves to maintain unforgiveness somewhere among those who know a situation. He understands how well it hinders the gospel. Do we?

2 Corinthians 2:9-11

The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgivenóif there was anything to forgiveóI have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Colossians 3:12-13

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

My friend, have you failed to forgive? If you refuse to forgive, you are hurting not only the person you refuse to forgiveand hurting the Body of Christ. You are also disobeying God and preventing him from forgiving you. That is no place for the Christian to be. We must CONTINUE in Christ, and remain in close fellowship with him. How can an unforgiving Christian be in fellowship with a forgiving God? Do not tempt the Lord your God. Rather, keep forgiving, and as we keep repenting, God will keep on forgiving us. No one should feel they can have confidence in their salvation if they are living in disobedience to the Lord Jesus. Jesus said if we love him, we WILL keep his commandments. Salvation doesnít come from works, but through faith. Nevertheless, James says that we must demonstrate our faith through our works. Without a forgiving heart, people have every reason to doubt whether we truly have genuine faith.

Why risk hurting others, and even worse, suffering the fate of being unforgiven by a forgiving God? Itís a no-brainer!