Bitter or Forgiving

A pastor in a sermon I listened to recently made the following observation; If we are not a forgiving person, we are a bitter and angry person. I thought about that, and realized it was probably true. If we have experienced the forgiveness of Christ within our own hearts, we will have no problem forgiving others, because of the love and gratitude we feel due to having our own sins forgiven. If we have not experienced Christ’s forgiveness, however, we will have a hard time forgiving others, and in lieu of this, anger and bitterness will inevitably build up in our hearts. The importance of forgiveness is a clear teaching of scripture, “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” (Matthew 6: 14).

If we are truly regenerate, it will be our desire to imitate Christ. Christ prayed even for those who brought him much pain and even death, “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,..” (Luke 23: 33-34). If Christ could forgive those who tortured and put him to death, how much more willing should we be to forgive the offenses of others against us? This does not mean that we will never feel angry, but that we should not hold onto that anger. The temptation to become angry will come, but we must overcome it, “…. do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27).

There is a devastating effect of remaining unforgiven and a devastating effect of retaining an unforgiving spirit. It is true, as one pastor said, “You can say you are sorry until you are blue in the face, but if the person is unprepared to say, “I forgive you,” there will be no reconciliation, no restoration..” Broken relationships are a hard and sad thing to bear.

Someone once said, “Forgiveness is as indispensable to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body.” Matthew 6:12 reads as follows, “forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.” If we are of an angry and bitter spirit, we should seriously question whether or not there is a relationship within our circle of family or friends that needs to be restored. Perhaps we need to either extend forgiveness to someone- or ask it of others. Let us not be like the unforgiving servant in the parable of Matthew 18, where he is forgiven an astronomical debt, but is unwilling to forgive his fellow servant a paltry amount in comparison, “Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18: 32-35).

As those who profess to know Christ and follow after Him, we must keep in mind the following verses from Ephesians 4: 31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Failing to Hold One Another Accountable- is NOT Loving

We all suffer the consequences to our sin, regardless of who we are. If we are regenerate, we can be assured that we will not have to pay the penalty for our sins (for all of eternity), because Christ already paid the price and they are covered by his blood. This does not mean, however, that we should not be held accountable for our sins. Galatians 6:1-3 reads as follow, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” 

TO FAIL TO HOLD ONE ANOTHER ACCOUNTABLE FOR SIN IS NOT LOVING, and it is also not scriptural. In Matthew 18:15 we are told, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” We can be assured that the greater transgression we commit, the harsher the consequences we will have to suffer, effecting others along with us. In lieu of this, only those who care about us most will hold us accountable for our sins. Proverbs 27:5-6 reads as follows, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”

I believe reconciliation with one who has offended us (or who we have offended) is only possible when both parties are obedient to scripture’s teaching. For those whose desire is to glorify God in all that we do, it will be our wish to be at peace with all those we are in contact with, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). Rather than feeling obligated to set someone straight, it will be our desire to act in their best interests, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

If we are members of the Body of Christ, we should be displaying the fruit of the Spirit within our lives, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). If we, (or others who profess to know and follow Christ,) are displaying the opposite of this kind of fruit, we should be held accountable for this, and steered to the scriptures. 2 Corinthians 13:5 gives us the following admonishment, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

To neglect to address sin in a brother or sister’s life is not being kind. Psalm 141:5 reads as follows, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” It is also humbling to remember that we are to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:20-21). (That submission being only when others are pointing us to obedience to God’s teaching.)

Matthew 7:12 tells us, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets”, and Galatians 5:14 reads,“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). Love for God and love for others is the fulfilling of the Law, so we know that Matthew is speaking only in the context of doing good to others by pointing them to obedience to scripture’s teaching. If we, or a fellow member of the Body is (noticeably) stumbling in our walk, our love for one another (and for God) should motivate us to ‘gently’ admonish the offender, in the hopes that he/she will make things right with God (and us, if need be). :)

A Half Truth is No Better than a Lie

I have been thinking on the importance of telling the whole truth of the gospel message. Not just many churches, but it seems as if many professing Christians today only want to preach the love of God.. God loves you, God loves everyone, and they just preach love, love, love... It is true that God is a God of love. In fact, He is love personified, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). God’s love is so great that He sent his only Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who truly believe in Him, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God did this while we were yet in our sin, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:5-6). It is essential that people know the whole truth of the gospel message.

While it is true, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3: 17), and “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”, people also must understand that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:18-21).

People need to know that God is not only a God of love, He is a God of wrath as well, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). Only those whose sins are covered by the blood of Christ can take any comfort in the following verse, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5: 9).

Without being taught and understanding the whole truth of the gospel message, why would anyone believe they are in need of a Savior? Why should they ever come to realize their need to flee to Christ? To take refuge in Him? Many people are being led astray because they are not hearing the full gospel message. The Bible tells us that we are to “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Too many people are being steered through the gate that makes the way easy and leads to their destruction, because they want to believe it is an easy path that leads to life, but if this is their belief, they are being deceived, and likely by people who are themselves deceived.

Too many people seem to have this idea that it is not loving to speak the whole truth of the gospel. Others only want to hear about love and we want them to feel good and not be offended, so we tell them only what they want to hear. That is NOT love,“and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14). To heal wounds lightly can be likened to handing a person a bandaid after they have had their arm severed off, NOT at all helpful. To fail to warn others of the danger to come, is NOT being loving.

To show love is to speak the whole truth of the gospel message. While it is true that, “.. he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), it is also true that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

May the following verses that Paul spoke, found in Hebrews be true of us also, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:9-12).

It is essential to speak the whole truth of the gospel message, others’ eternal destinies are at stake!