Forgiveness

If you could see into the world of souls, you would see a lot of people carrying baggage. Sometimes people don’t realize they are carrying baggage. Some don’t want to admit it.  They have issues in life they don’t want to face. We carry this into our relationships and we don’t know how to function with them so we try to cover them up.

Each of us approaches the subject of forgiveness with a different perspective. Maybe you grew up unscathed and don’t know what it means to have a deep injury to your soul. Others grew up in home where you were exposed to all kinds of things and had a great deal of injury.

It is important when we look at scripture we have to rightly divide the word of truth.

Matthew 18:15-35 ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[a] sins,^[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[c] 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.  ¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be^[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[e] loosed in heaven.  ¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  ²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^{[f]  23} “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[g] was brought to him. ²⁵ 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.  ²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  ²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  ²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’  ³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.  ³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

He was talking to Jews who were knowledgeable of the law.  They knew a trespass was a serious offense. It was a serious injury that if not fixed you would consider ending the relationship. Little petty things you blow off…minor things.  The major things we deal with different… here Jesus is telling us that they are steps we take in dealing with these things.

In our culture it is common to go to everyone else instead of the one who we need to go to. Peter is thinking about this and asked in vs 21 how often should I forgive him? Seven is a number of completion.  So he asked him seven times?  Jesus said no seventy times seven. Then Christ went into a parable.

Don’t miss this principle: Forgiveness is an amazing force for overcoming evil. Unforgiveness is a weight that will hold you back and open doors for trouble. 

 Ephesians 4:32   ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

There are going to be times that people will sin against us that they can never pay it back.  How do you pay back murder, molestation….? There are people that cannot possibly ever pay back.

You know why people don’t have faith in forgiveness… we think we are letting them off the hook.  Forgiveness is not justifying, understanding, or explaining away some one's behavior. Time does not heal all wounds. If time was the healing factor then people would simply get better over a weeks or months. This is a misused and damaging cliche. Forgiveness is not denying that we have been hurt or pretending it was no big deal.   In fact this attitude works against the forgiveness process.

Jesus is teaching you will lose. The servant fell down….have mercy, the master forgave the debt.

Vs 29-35 If you harbor a grudge it brings shame on you so you are wrong and others can see it. We can be so easy on ourselves but tough on others. It is so easy to write people off. If it is a severe offense we should not just blow it off.  He gives us a process.

Note:  How do we deal with the people who wrong us and refuse to acknowledge their debts?  The person that is totally unrepentant.  We cannot allow the weight of unforgiveness to stay in your heart. Lev. 19:17-18

>>What Unforgiveness Looks Like

It is a desire open and or secret for revenge.  …the will to retaliate. The imagination is about retaliation. When you do that you become a prisoner to that person. You have that person on your back. You may have been raped, molested, ripped off.

When you are praying for bad things to happen you are a prisoner to that person. You are in Gods way.

Proverbs 24:29, Romans 2:6, Romans 12:19,  When you hand it over to the Lord, God steps in. If you are doing it yourself you are in territory you should not be in. Vengeance is God’s domain.

God says let me deal with it. We have to be satisfied that God will fix this problem. Trust me, He will deal with it. At that point it is a spirit of forgiveness. We have to watch God.  Remember that forgiveness is for our benefit. When we live with an unforgiving spirit towards other people we are simply placing ourselves in emotional and spiritual bondage. When we really understand that we are forgiven people through the cross of Christ, then and only then are we prepared to forgive others.

>>What Forgiveness Looks Like

As seen in the life of Joseph

A.  The heart of a forgiving person believes God is sovereign in His dealings and makes all circumstances work for good.

Gen 45:5-8  ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

 Gen 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

Acts 7:9-10 The patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

B.  The heart of a forgiving person has allowed the breaking points in life to become grace encounters.

Gen 39:2-3, 21  The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.    21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

C.  The heart of a forgiving person has been softened by life's hard experiences.

Gen 42:23-24 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

Gen 43:30-31 Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, "Serve the bread."

Gen 45:2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

Gen 45:14-15 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

D.  The heart of a forgiving person does not live in the pain of the past.

Gen 41:50-52 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

E.  The heart of a forgiving person does not take on God's responsibilities in dealing with offenders.

Gen 50:17 Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Gen 50:19-21 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.