Forgiveness

 

  1. (NASB) Nehemiah 9:17But you are a God of FORGIVENESS gracious and compassionate slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness
  2. God’s most basic characteristic is love and out of His love flows forgiveness
  3. God is not angry He wants to forgive you
  4. Exodus 21:24Under the O.T.  Law of Retaliation it was eye for eye tooth for tooth
  5. Then Jesus changed that up in Matthew 5:39-4 by saying turn the other cheek, give him your coat, go the extra mile, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

 

  1. Guilty as Charged
  2. Romans 5:12Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all sinned
  3. Romans 3:23For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God

  

  1. Debt Clock in the same way that the US debt can never be repaid we can never repay the debt of our sin

 

  1. Only Jesus Christ can forgive sins
  2. 1st John 4:10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the PROPITIATION for our sins  
  3. PROPITIATION= to appease the wrath of God
  4. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and paid the price for our sins
  5. Mark 2:10But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has AUTHORITYon earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic, I say to you rise take up your pallet and go home
  6. Only Jesus Christ has AUTHORITYto forgive sins
  7. Acts 4:12Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved

 

  1. If Jesus has forgiven you forgive yourself
  2. Many times we are our own worst enemy
  3. Learn from mistakes however stop beating yourself up

 

  1. Forgiveness benefits the forgiver more than the forgiven 

 

  1. The opposite of forgiveness
  2. Judging = you are better than everyone else
  3. Prejudice =  Pre-Judging people you don’t know
  4. Grudge holding = holding in resentment and pain 
  5. List of past sins 

 

  1. Matthew 18:21The unforgiving servant
  2. 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times
  3. 22 Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven = 490
  4. Peter does the math awesome at 491 I get to go Old Testament on people!  
  5. Jesus knew by Peter’s question that Peter did not get it 
  6. Withholding forgiveness is Hypocrisy 
  7. Hypocrite = interpreter from underneath 
  8. Greek Theatre One actor played many parts and changed masks 
  9. Do you have a work mask, a home mask, and a church mask? 
  10. The word now means your actions don’t line up with your beliefs

 

  1. The principle of forgiveness
  2. Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men for their transgressions your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men then your Father will not forgive your transgressions
  3. Ephesians 4:32And be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you
  4. If God has treated us with forgiveness we must treat others with forgiveness