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 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.”
Amen! I agree with all you have said because God says so in His word.
ReplyDeleteNotice in the passages you have shared i.e. Matthew 6:14 and 18:22-35, our Lord Jesus is teaching this to only His disciples (only believers or followers of Christ).
Now I have heard the famous american Pastor Charles Stanley say that a Christian who does not forgive a fellow Christian or an unbeliever in this life can still go to heaven since salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. He then went on to the explain what our Lord Jesus meant by Matthew 18:35. He said that the unforgiving Christian will suffer the judgement of His heavenly Father in this life like through a painful illness or accident or joblessness or any painful experience you can think of. He that the unforgiving christian is still heaven bound because of Christ's finished work at the cross. In other words because our salvation is secure no matter what, and so an unforgiving christian will still go to heaven.
What is your take on Dr. Charles Stanley's teaching on this?
In answer to your question; First of all, I believe if a person has truly been born again of the Spirit, it will be their desire to seek reconciliation with others and to forgive as Christ has forgiven them, “.. but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14). This verse would indicate the need for the unforgiving person to be brought to repentance. We must be forgiving in obedience to scripture's teaching for “..if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (verse 15).” If we wish to experience God’s blessing we must do so through obedience to His word, “I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God...and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God..” (Deuteronomy 11: 26-27).
ReplyDeleteThe Bible also clearly teaches the process of sanctification, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). To harbor an unforgiving spirit is not to be kept blameless. As we seek God through His word and strive to live in obedience to it, He will mold and make us more and more into the image of Christ. God will be faithful to complete the work He began in us, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
While it is true that a Christian who is living in sin may experience trials, [though trials are not always due to sin in one’s life (see John 9:1-3)], this does not mean he/she is being judged, not in the sense of being punished. A disobedient Christian is likened to a disobedient child and must be disciplined, “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Hebrews 12:8-10). Discipline is not the same as punishment, but rather correction to steer one in the right direction. 1 Corinthians 11:32 reads “If we were closely to examine ourselves beforehand, we should avoid the judgment of God. But when God does judge us, he disciplines us as his own sons, that we may not be involved in the general condemnation of the world” (Phillips translation). More often than not, the struggles and trials we undergo are as a direct result of living in disobedience to scripture’s teaching. If we seek God’s truth, and live according to His teaching, we can avoid the sad consequences of living in blatant disobedience to God’s word.
While it is true that we are saved by grace alone, if we believe that God would punish His children on this earth for their sins, then we are actually saying that we don’t believe Jesus’s death on the cross was enough to pay the penalty for all our sins. Christ did not die so that we could live in sin, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it” (Romans 6:1-2)? Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”(Colossians 3:12-13).
May we, as believers be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). May we as those who profess to know Christ show our love for Him by striving to live in obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
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