Forgiving One Another
EVEN AS
Christ Forgave You
HOW to Forgive One Another:
Even As Christ Forgave You
Introduction:
- Even as = in accordance with; equivalent to; to the
same degree; in proportion to…
- This indicates
that OUR forgiveness of others is to be equal to the Lord’s forgiveness of
us: to the same degree!
- So if we want to know
HOW we are to forgive one another, we must look to HOW did God forgive us.
- How DID God forgive you
and me? Let’s see what the Bible says.
A.
Upon repentance
- At the moment of
salvation – II Peter 3:9.
- God is not willing that
any should perish – but MOST men will perish.
- God’s heart desire is
for all men to REPENT… so that they will NOT perish.
- Repent is = believing
here (change of mind – from unbelief to belief)
- The moment a man
changes his mind God saves him and forgives his sins.
- God required nothing
more from the sinner but that he repent… a synonym for believe.
- For every sin after
salvation – confession (I John 1:9)
- Here John is speaking
about those who are already saved; those whose sins are already forgiven
judicially.
- But even after we are
saved, we still sin… and that sin breaks our communion and fellowship
with the Lord UNTIL we make it right.
- We are told here to
CONFESS (speak the same thing)… agree with God concerning our sin. This
concept incorporates the concept of repentance…
- When we were sinning,
we were walking in darkness. When we repent of that sin, we change our
mind about it. We agree with God that the sin is to be rejected and
forsaken. Thus, we choose to walk in the light.
- Agreeing with God
implies that we see it as wicked; sinful; something to be rejected
and forsaken! That’s what God thinks of our sins; and confessing
sin means we agree with Him!
- We can’t say that we
agree with God about our sin if we are unwilling to forsake it!
- But when we GENUINELY
agree with God, He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all
unrighteousness.
- He forgives our sins
and wipes the slate clean and pure!
B.
To the same degree
- Even as Christ forgive
us, we are to forgive others:
- Our forgiveness of
others is to be in proportion to God’s forgiveness of us.
- We should be willing to
forgive others the equivalent of what God forgave us.
- We should be willing to
forgive others their deepest sins against us, because God forgave our
deepest sins against Him.
- To what degree was
Christ willing to go to provide forgiveness for us? Tow hat degree was
the Father willing to go to provide forgiveness for us?
i.
Christ gave HIMSELF for us… the
cruel death of the cross… He spared not even His own life.
ii.
The Father spared not His only
begotten Son… the most precious One to the Father… the Son with whom He had
fellowship, love, and communion for an eternity in the past… He spared not His
Son.
iii.
When we contemplate this truth,
it will put our forgiveness of others in its place…
iv.
This will put all of our grief,
suffering, and sorrow in its place…
v.
As we think about the cross, it
will cause us to see that the person who sinned against us did not put us
through NEARLY as much suffering, as our sin caused the Lord Jesus…
vi.
Remember the illustration Jesus
used, of the man who forgave the debt of 10,000 talents… and that servant was
unwilling to forgive his fellowship a debt of a few pence?
vii.
We are infinitely more indebted
to God for what He forgave us… than the relatively puny offence committed
against us by our brother!
viii.
We are to forgive to the
same degree that Christ forgave us.
- Without exception – (John
6:37) –
- No one is turned away,
regardless of his or her past… regardless of the sins committed… the
amount of sins… the severity of the sins…
- God’s grace is
sufficient to cover ALL sins…
- The blood of Christ is
sufficient to pay for ALL sins…
- To an infinitely
holy God, there really isn’t all that much difference between one
man’s sins and another’s.
- There is an infinite
gap between God and ANY sin…
- One sinner is the same
as any other sinner: for ALL have sinned & come short (infinitely
short) of the glory of God!
- When a sinner repents,
ALL his sins are gone – no matter how many… no matter how grievous… no
matter how long he lived in sin… when he repents, he is forgiven!
- When a man changes his
mind and decides to come to Christ in faith, the Lord RECEIVES the
sinner… and NONE are turned away because of his sins… or where he’s been.
- Don’t ever use the
excuse, “God will never forgive me… not after what I’ve done.”
i.
That’s a cop out… a phony
excuse… a false humility… a smokescreen for NOT coming to Christ… unbelief…
ii.
Because God said He WILL
forgive all sins and turn none away! He wants us to BELIEVE Him and come for
forgiveness.
- He turns none away… no
matter how many sins we have committed.
- We are to forgive others
EVEN AS Christ forgave us…
- Regardless of how many
times they sinned… how grievous the sins… how long they lived in that
sin…
- If they repent and come
– forgive them!
- No one who repents is
to be denied forgiveness by God, and therefore, no one who repents is to
be denied forgiveness by us either.
- We are to forgive
others to the same degree that God forgave us… there IS no limit!
C.
Freely – Luke 7:41-42
- Here Jesus teaches us
something about forgiveness. He likens it to a creditor who blots out a
debt when the debtor had NOTHING to pay.
- The word “forgive” is
the same word found in Col. 3:13.
- It means to “grace
someone”… to shower grace upon them.
- Here the Lord uses the
illustration of a man who was owed a debt that the debtors could not pay…
- He forgave them FREELY…
he showered grace upon them.
- He cancelled the
debt at no charge…
- He didn’t tell them to
pay him a nickel a week for the rest of their lives… he didn’t put them
on a payment schedule… he didn’t siphon money out of their weekly
salaries.
- He freely and gracious wiped
out their debt completely!
- This kind of gracious
forgiveness incurs no debt – demands no payment. It is truly and entirely
FREE.
- When you pay off your
debt (mortgage) the mortgage company has absolutely NOTHING to hold
against you! You are free.
- When the debt is
cancelled NOTHING is owed! There are no strings attached
- This is how the Lord
forgave us. This is HIS teaching on forgiveness.
- This is how we are to
forgive others too. FREELY…
D.
Graciously –
- Grace implies without
regard to merit. – expecting nothing in return –
a.
If forgiveness is offered in
genuine grace, then it is free, and it is offered at no price…
b.
Grace is not earned or merited.
c.
The one who grants forgiveness
therefore expects NOTHING in return or it wasn’t grace… it was a
payment.
d.
Grace isn’t paid for either up
front or after the fact… or it isn’t grace.
e.
If we expect a payment in
return for grace, then the person is paying for it… on credit… “I’ll pay you
later!”
f.
Thus, when we GRACE someone by
granting forgiveness, we have no right to say: “I’ll forgive you, BUT, you had
better do this, that, and the other thing or else!”
g.
Grace is completely free – no
strings attached.
h.
This is how God forgives us…
graciously… not according to merit… expecting no payment for our sins in
return.
- Grace is sometimes
gratefully received; sometimes it is taken advantage of!
- When we forgive
someone, it is with the full acknowledgment that our grace might be taken
advantage of…
- Will people take
advantage of the grace of forgiveness? Of course they will!
- But God says to
manifest His grace anyway! Suffer yourselves to be defrauded. Turn the
other cheek… even if they keep on smiting it!
- But what if they know
this and use it to take advantage of me and make a mockery of me? KEEP ON
forgiving if they keep on repenting.
- God will execute
justice in His time and way. Our job is to obey and show grace by
forgiving the one who says he repents.
- In Col. 3, we are commanded
to be forbearing… to put up with one another. We are to refuse to
retaliate… be longsuffering… be patient…
- But we are to go way
beyond merely putting up with others and holding back on
vengeance. We are to be willing to FORGIVE them! Shower them with the
grace of God!
- That is going the extra
mile… and in that, Christ is magnified.
E.
He Remembers Our Sin No
More – Heb.10:17
- We mentioned this fact
this morning.
- When God forgives our
sins, He remembers them no more.
- That means that God
chooses not to bring our sin to his mind again…
- Of course, he
remembers… He knows what we did. But He chooses not to rub our face in
it…
- When we forgive others
EVEN AS God forgives us, we do the same. We REFUSE to bring the sin to
mind again…
- We don’t dwell on it…
we don’t remind the offending part of what he or she did… we don’t talk
about it.
- It is dead and buried.
- When something has been
buried, you don’t go digging it up again!
- We had a pet goat that
died a year ago. I buried him in the back lawn.
- It was not a happy day
when the goat died, but we dealt with it… and I buried it. It remains
buried to this day.
- I can’t think of
anything more disgusting than to dig up that dead goat! Imagine that?!
- Digging up old sins
is just as disgusting and distasteful. Nothing good comes from it.
- It is like continually
beating on old wounds or old sores. They will never heal… unless you
leave it alone.
- Don’t dig up the old
sins and remind yourself and others all over again of the pain & hurt
the sin caused.
- Aren’t you glad God
doesn’t do that to us?! He remembers our sins no more. He buries them in
the bottom of the sea.
F.
God Forgave Us For
Christ’s sake (Eph.4:32)
- Forgiveness is Christ
centered.
- God does not forgive us
for OUR sakes… although we benefit GREATLY from having our sins
forgiven!
- The Father forgives us
for the sake of His Beloved Son!
- Otherwise, Christ died
for nothing!
- IF Christ died for our
sins, and the Father did not forgive us, it would be as if the Father did
not accept the sacrifice of His Son as being sufficient.
- When we forgive others,
it too should be for Christ’s sake.
- It is not for OUR
sakes…
i.
Although those who lean heavily
on Christian psychology say so.
ii.
They say we should forgive
others because it releases us from inner stress… it takes away guilt and pain
from us… (self-centered forgiveness)!
- When we forgive a
brother, the forgiveness is not granted for the OTHER person’s sake
either.
i.
Although the one forgiven will
certainly benefit.
ii.
He will be encouraged that his
sin was forgiven… that the relationship is restored… that the sin is remembered
no more.
iii.
The one we forgive certainly
benefits from us forgiving them… but that is not the reason either.
iv.
That would be man-centered
forgiveness.
- We are to forgive
others EVEN AS God forgave us: for Christ’s sake… and for
His glory.
i.
We are to forgive others for
the sake of Christ.
ii.
For His testimony’s sake…
iii.
For the sake of pleasing Him…
obeying Him… following His example…
iv.
We forgive others for the sake
of Christ because in doing so we are demonstrating the life transforming POWER
of being forgiven by Him!
v.
When He forgave us, it so
transformed us and changed us, that we are now ABLE to forgive
others… for His sake… for His glory… to demonstrate the reality of Christ in
us.
vi.
But as true as all that is, the
original reads a bit differently.
- The English reads: God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven you
i.
Greek reads: ὁ θεὸς ἐν
Χριστῳ̂
ἐχαρίσατο
ὑμι̂ν (God in Christ has forgiven you.)
ii.
Forgiveness is granted to us
because of what the Father saw in Christ His Son.
iii.
We are not forgiven because we
are worthy, or because God saw some merit in us. We are not forgiven because God
sees anything good in us.
iv.
We are forgiven because God
sees in His Son’s work on Calvary a more than sufficient basis upon which He
can grant forgiveness of sins.
v.
We are forgiven because of who
Christ is and because of what Christ did.
- We are to forgive
others, not for our own sakes, or for their sakes, because IN
Christ there are proper GROUNDS for forgiveness.
i.
God forgave us because He saw
in Christ sufficient grounds to forgive us…
ii.
The sacrifice of His Son and
Christ’s shed blood were enough for the Father to grant forgiveness to
us.
iii.
It should be enough for us
too… to grant forgiveness to others too.
iv.
In Christ we will find all we
need to motivate us and empower us to forgive others.
v.
Having a hard time
forgiving? Drive off to the
ocean some day – just you and your Bible… and read about what Christ did
for us to provide forgiveness of sins.
vi.
Don’t stop meditating until God
makes it clear to you, that IN CHRIST is found all we need to BE forgiven, and
all we need to forgive others.
G.
Eternally –
- When God forgives our
sins, they are gone – forever!
- Our sins were paid for
in FULL at Calvary. There is no future penalty for our sins.
- They are not even
brought up against us at the Bema seat. They are burned and removed for
all eternity.
- We suffer loss of
reward, but there is no penalty to pay, for Jesus paid it all!
- God remembers our sins
NO more… now or forever!
- No condemnation – Rom. 8:1 - we are not
to hold the offence against the one we forgive… now or forever…
EVEN AS God forgave us!
H.
Entirely
- All of the offences we
have committed are forgiven (Col.2:13)
- There is no sin so
grievous that it cannot be forgiven.
- There is no grouping of
sins into mortal or venial… little white sins and big dark sins… some that
can be forgiven and some that cannot. Sin is sin with God.
- When God forgives our
sins, He forgives them ALL…
- He is FAITHFUL to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness! (I John
1:9)
- There is no sin
committed against us that we should not (by God’s grace working in us) be
able to forgive!
- We have no right to
portion off sins… into sins we will forgive and sins we will not forgive.
That’s not how God forgave us!
- And there are no degrees
of forgiveness. Either we have forgiven or we have not.
- No matter WHAT that
brother or sister has done to us, we need to be willing to forgive them…
EVEN AS God hath forgiven us!
I.
Immediately
- When we repented… when
we believed on Christ, God saved us right then and there!
- There is no time of
penance… no purgatory… no probationary period… there is no period of
proving or testing…
- We are to forgive others
EVEN AS God has forgiven us.
- If the sinning brother
repents, forgive him… right then and there on the spot. That’s what the
Bible commands.
- Feelings won’t change
immediately.
- But forgivness is not
based on feelings.
- It is an act of the
will… CHOOSING to bring up the sin no more.
- It is an act of
obedience.
- We are expected to OBEY
immediately.
J.
Warmly –
- Consider the story of the
father of the prodigal son.
- This story is not really
the story of the prodigal son. That title is not found in the Bible.
- It is the story of a
forgiving Father! It is a picture of the Father’s willingness to forgive
us… when we repent.
- The prodigal son went
off and lived in sin for a long time.
- He then came to his
senses, changed his mind, and decided to return to his father’s house.
- Luke 15:20 – read
- The father embraced him
and KISSED him… and made merry.
- Oh that we might learn
to forgive EVEN AS God has forgiven us!
- This is how WE are to
forgive others…
- Not at a distance… at
an arm length…
- Not half heartedly…
- Not reluctantly…
- But cheerfully… with
joy… embracing the opportunity!
- The father cooked up
the fatted calf and made merry. He REJOICED that the relationship was now
restored!
- The father treated the
son as if he had never run away!
- After we forgive the
offender, we are to treat him just as kindly as if he had not
injured us--- as God treats us when he forgives us!
- Warmly! This is hard to do… because we are so
inclined to allow our hearts to grow cold in times of anger,
controversy, and quarrels…
- That’s not how God
forgave us.
Conclusions:
Þ
Quarrels come for a God given
purpose… to put us to the test and help us learn to appreciate our
forgiveness in Christ.
i.
Christ had an infinitely greater
quarrel with us because of our sin!
Þ
Forgiveness is an expression of
“seeking things above.” Down here on earth revenge reigns… not
forgiveness. Everybody wants to get the last jab in… to get even. That is
entirely earthly… the way men in Adam behave.
Þ
But those in Christ have a heavenly
mindset. We are able to forgive… because we have BEEN forgiven… and our
Adamic life is over. Our new life is hidden with Christ in God… in heaven.
There is no place for revenge in that heavenly scene.