12/19/2018
You are a believer in Jesus Christ, and you do your best to order your life by His teaching, but do you believe, truly believe, that He forgives your sins? If you do, if you believe in who He is, and you believe that He is capable of forgiving your sins, then why is it that you can’t forgive yourself, and let those sins go? Why is it that you continue to carry the guilt of having sinned when God has decided not to remember them?
“And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."”
Luke 7:48-50 ESV
There are two parts to being forgiven of our sins, there is God’s part in which He wipes our sins away and chooses not to remember them, and then there is our part in which we must believe and have faith that He has done so... and count ourselves as forgiven; in this way we truly let those sins go and we can go and sin no more. We ask for forgiveness, even in the midst of tears, and if someone asks us if our sins were forgiven we say “Yes”, but then deep inside we doubt. I say we doubt because if we honestly believed, then we too would have let go of our guilt... but there it is. Why is this, and are our sins really forgiven?
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 ESV
Perhaps it would help us to consider the words of the Lord’s Prayer. In it we hear this said...
“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Matthew 6:12 ESV
Do we forgive others? God is able, and actually does, forgive us, but until we are able to forgive others are we able to forgive ourselves, and is our forgiveness complete?
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 ESV
There was a man I worked with who lied and otherwise treated me poorly. I prayed for him often and asked that the Lord forgive him, yet after saying these prayers I still wrestled in my heart with forgiving him myself. Have you done this in your life? Have you asked God to forgive someone, and been unable to do your part? My forgiving this man was no different from my being able to forgive myself. The only difference was the subject of my attempt to forgive. In other words, for God to forgive us we must forgive ourselves, and for God to forgive us we must be able to forgive others. This is a hard lesson, and is one that requires much faith. It is also one of those targets on which Satan has set his sights.
“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 6:14-15 ESV
How many times have you reached the threshold of forgiving someone only to be reminded of their trespasses, and falling back to that point where you first sought to forgive them? Perhaps the person did that same thing to you again, or maybe someone reminded you of a hurt that you had endured which brought it right back to the surface again. Satan attempts to cut off your ability to forgive by reminders and repetition. He knows that as long as we are unable to forgive ourselves and others then we are lost. So scripture tells us to continue on in our attempts to forgive...
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,”
Philippians 3:12-13 ESV
The wonderful thing about forgiveness is not in being forgiven, but comes in our forgiving... this is where the blessing is realized. It is good to know that another has forgiven us, but the real healing comes when we ourselves forgive. When at long last we are able to let go of the harm that has been, or is being, done to us, and forgive, then we are lifted up in spirit and are reinvigorated in the joy of God. At that moment of release we feel the peace of Christ, because that is the moment of our own forgiveness, and our own sins fall away. God forgives us, but until we accept His forgiveness by forgiving ourselves then we do not receive the blessing of truly being forgiven.
“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 ESV
Forgiving isn’t easy. Under the law it required blood, and for God to forgive us under the new covenant, it required the suffering and blood of Jesus. The lesson of forgiving is hard, and requires a level of faith that must be sweated over, suffered through, and sometimes even bled for. God knows how hard it is, and couches it in language such as this...
“Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18:21-22 ESV
Forgiveness isn’t a one time affair... it is something that requires our constant attention. So seek out the forgiveness of God by forgiving yourself and others. Find the blessing and joy in being forging by forgiving. Are you ready to tackle this challenge of faith? Are you ready to forgive, and forgive again... over and over?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your forgiveness, and for separating my sin from me as far as the east is from the west. Thank you for this example that leads me in my faith, and teaches me to forgive myself and others. Help me Holy Father as I not only strive to forgive those who have trespassed against me, but to accept the fact that you have truly forgiven me by my forgiving myself. Help me to realize the blessing of your forgiveness in my letting go of sins you have forgiven. Help me to find joy and release in forgiving others as you have forgiven me. Strengthen my faith Merciful Father so that I can do this, and give me perseverance so that I can continue to forgive time and time again. In as much as sin abounds in this world, so my ability to forgive must abound in me... help me to shed sin and obtain forgiveness like a strong roof sheds water. Give me your steadfast nature, and constant promise of forgiveness. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who sets my feet on the rock of righteousness, and chooses not to remember the mud I was once covered in. Praised be your name, and may my new forgiven self be a blessing to you and glorify you always.
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."”
Mark 11:25 ESV
Rich Forbes