HEART OF THE MATTER - BLOG

Need Forgiveness

¹…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²For You Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on You.

God would never have made provision for forgiveness if there wasn’t a need for it. Even as Christians we are in constant need of forgiveness. ³The spirit will continually be warring against the flesh. When I’m strong in the Spirit my spirit wins and I don’t sin. And when I’m weak in the Spirit my flesh wins and I sin. ⁴The Bible says sin has pleasure for a season. We wouldn’t sin if there was no pleasure in it. But what happens when that season is over? God’s judgment! Yet, God is always ready to forgive us. ⁵In the Bible story of the prodigal son, the son has left home with his inheritance to live sinfully. He runs out of money and now is eating with pigs. (That’s us living in sin). He decides to go back home to seek forgiveness from his father, (That’s us going to God). The Bible says when the father sees the son “yet a far off” he rushes to the son to receive, embrace, and forgive him. What a picture! God anxious, running to, and always ready to forgive us. We should be the same toward others who have sinned against us. And they should be ready to forgive us when we are in need of their forgiveness.

When we have sinned against someone, we should humbly and sincerely go to them to apologize. I have a friend who hurt someone very deeply with her words. She went and apologized and asked for forgiveness and that person “said” that she was forgiven. But, that person did not forgive and has been spreading gossip and lies ever since! What do we do in such case? First off, we forgive them. And second, we continue to pray for them. We are now clean before God. The blood of unforgiveness is on their own hands. Forgiveness is a two-way street. ⁶I heard a Bible teacher say that the one who apologizes first, is actually the more spiritual. Touché.

God loves holiness and obedience. Unfortunately, our flesh does not. The next best thing to obedience that God has created for us is reconciliation. What a beautiful plan for such an ugly and disloyal people. But that’s our God!

⁷“But all things are of God; who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation…” As Christians we have a ministry of reconciliation to God and to others.

Matthew 5:23-24 deals with two Christians:

“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and then remember that your ⁸brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” God always puts the responsibility on us to go to the other person to make things right. They likewise should be feeling that same way towards us. We should be bumping into each other, in a rush to reconcile. But sadly, that is not usually the case. Luke 17:3 says, “so watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.” We must be led by the Holy Spirit when to rebuke and when not to rebuke. It would be very easy for grace to fall back under the law and an “eye for an eye.” Human nature says, “I have been wronged and you should apologize to me.” There is a satisfaction in the flesh to rebuke the one in the wrong! And yet, ⁹Jesus a lamb dumb before His shearers, said not a word.

¹⁰“Who, when He (Jesus) was cursed, didn’t curse back. When He suffered, didn’t threaten but committed Himself to Him (God) who judges righteously….”

We must listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit case by case and not be in such a rush to rebuke. So, let us practice the ministry of reconciliation while there is still time!

¹ Hebrews 10:22 NASB

² Psalm 86:5 NHEB

³ Galatians 5:17 (Paraphrase)

⁴ Hebrews 11:25 (Paraphrase)

⁵ Luke 15:11-32 (Paraphrase)

⁶ Joyce Meyer – Enjoying Everyday Life

⁷ 2 Corinthians 5:18 ASV

⁸ Mark 11:25 has “any”

⁹ Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:14 (Paraphrase)

¹⁰1 Peter 2:23 WEB

Forgiving Others

¹… and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  …and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  

Whether we use the word trespasses, debts, sins, or wrongs, they mean the same thing.  When the disciples asked Jesus to teach us to pray, this was the example prayer for them.  Forgiveness is very important, from man to God and from man to man!  Forgiveness between man and God is the beginning of it all.  For how can I truly forgive others if I myself have not been forgiven by God?  ²When we repent of our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins!  This is where the “forgiveness lesson” from God begins.   So in the above verse we are asking God to forgive us - as we forgive others.  “In the way I forgive them God, I am asking you to forgive me.”  Do you see how serious this so called Lord’s prayer is, just from the forgiveness aspect alone?  Because of this prayer, if I will not forgive others, God cannot forgive me!  Remember, that’s what we are asking - and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  In the way I forgive them, forgive me.  Because of this verse, unforgiveness is more than sinful it may be “second death” sinful!  So forgiving others is mandatory!

There are two types of forgiveness:  The first type of forgiveness is totally for self-preservation reasons.  It’s forgiving others whether they have asked for it or not - very important!  Remember, they may never ask for forgiveness.  Then why forgive them?  Unforgiveness left to itself, always turns to bitterness.  Psalm 66:18 (NKJV) says, “If I regard iniquity (or sin) in my heart, the Lord will not hear (me)".  I don’t know about you, but I need God to hear me - He is my only hope.  Part of Hebrews chapter 12 verse 15 says, “being careful not to fall short of the Grace of God, from any root of bitterness that springs up to cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…”  After becoming a Christian I read this verse about a “root of bitterness.”  I put the Bible down, looked to Heaven and said, “A root of bitterness, I’ve got a Redwood tree of bitterness!  God, how do I get rid of this?”  You see, I had fertilized and watered the “root of bitterness” by harboring anger, resentment, and unforgiveness for years unknowingly.  But little by little as I forgave others and repented of past hurts at the hands of others, peace began to fill my heart!  We’re choosing to forgive because in God’s eyes it’s the only way to be set free from our own guilt of unforgiveness.  Forgiveness is not a feeling or emotion, but a choice!

The second type of forgiveness is when the person actually apologizes and asks for forgiveness.  Then you can tell them that you have forgiven them (because of the first type of forgiveness, above).

When we ask God to forgive us of our sin, He is not forgiving the sin - He is forgiving the sinner.  The sin has just as much weight and death in it as ever.  He is forgiving us for our willingness, with His help to change. ³“ For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again…”  ⁴“And be ye kind to one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” 

¹Matthew 6:12 (Paraphrase)

²1 John 1:19 (Paraphrase)

³Proverbs 24:16 (Paraphrase)

⁴Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)

Forgiving Ourselves

God has a lot to say about forgiveness in the Bible.  ¹If we repent of our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  ²If we repent of our sins, He chooses to remember our sins against us no more!  ³He says as far as the east is from the west, I will put your sins from you.  ⁴I will put your sins in the sea of My forgetfulness, never to be remembered against you.  But, when we think our sin is too great, we don’t see how God can forgive us - and even if He can, we can’t forgive ourselves.  Doesn’t that sound righteous, holy and noble?  We’re so sorry for the sin we committed that we can’t forgive ourselves.  But, do you know that nowhere in the Bible (all 31,102 verses) does God ever tell us to forgive ourselves!  Our failure is the sinning and our restoration the repenting.  God’s role is the forgiving and forgetting!  David tells God in Psalm 51, to “cleanse me from all unrighteousness,” we can’t cleanse ourselves - to “renew a right spirit in me” - we can’t renew ourselves.  When God has cleansed me from all unrighteousness and renews a right spirit in me, the sin no longer exists!  It is as though I have never sinned.  That’s why I can go to Heaven.  Jesus took my sins, so I don’t have any!  If God has used me even one time after asking for forgiveness, and not feeling forgiven, then I am forgiven! ⁵ “Whom the son sets free is free indeed.”  Never go by your feelings or emotions.  Feelings have been given by God as a “sign post” that points to something that needs addressing, not a “rest area” to sit in condemnation.   ⁶If I have to forgive myself - I’ll never be able to come boldly to the throne of grace for restoration.  I’ll never have the faith to leave my shame, to believe God could forgive me.  ⁷Without faith it is impossible to please God.  ⁸Whatever is not of faith is sin.  ⁹Jesus said He put His faith and trust in no man, for He knew what was in all men.  So I can’t have faith in me, I must have faith in God and His promise of forgiveness!  He died for us!

 ¹1 John 1:9 (Paraphrase)

²Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12 (Paraphrase)

³Psalm 103:12 (Paraphrase)

⁴Micah 7:19 (Paraphrase)

⁵John 8:36 (Paraphrase)

⁶Hebrews 4:16 (Paraphrase)

⁷Hebrews 11:6 (Paraphrase)

⁸Romans 14:23 (Paraphrase)

⁹John 2:24 (Paraphrase)