THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS, MATTHEW 6

The Power of Forgiveness          (Matthew 6: 12, 14)          June 7, 2003

                 "And forgive us our trespasses as we
           forgive those who trespass against us."
 

   A “rule of thumb” is something one does in every situation, as it
          applies. 

So, a good rule of thumb might be, “always forgive,” period.  Immedia-
tely upon discovering  Scripture concerning  forgiveness in the “Lords 
prayer,”  verses 12 and 14,  we realize  forgiveness  is  basic  to a  right 
relationship to our  God and our  fellowman.  We miss  this one princi-
ple and all is lost.  It is plain;  if we fail to  forgive  others, our God will 
not  forgive us.  There are  other  considerations,  but  this  is the most 
important.   Forgiveness  of  our  sins through  faith in  our Lord Jesus 
Christ is  the basic  tenet of  Scripture  relating to  the new birth.   It is 
our entree into  eternal  life.  This is  what  Christ’s  life, death, burial, 
resurrection,  ascension and  intercession are  all  about.  His incarna-
tion was for  the express  purpose of  redeeming,  through forgiveness, 
the lost, you and me.   This is  accomplished  through a heart  belief in 
the Savior; that God has raised him from the dead, publicly confessing
Him to  be Lord.  (Romans 10: 9-10) 
        "That if  thou shalt  confess with  thy mouth  the  Lord Jesus, 
         and  shalt  believe  in thine  heart  that God  has  raised  him 
         from  the dead,  thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man  
         believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession 
         is made unto salvation."  
         This is not God's "simple" plan for salvation, but it is plain.  

     The other considerations  mentioned concern our relationship with 
others  who inhabit  planet earth and our own  mental and emotional 
health and well  being.  Not only will the Lord  refuse  to offer forgive-
ness of our sin, rendering us outside redemption, there are the penal-
ties  of   fractured  relationships with  others and  emotional  stability.  
Mental health professionals have long held that  unresolved personal 
conflict  is the  single most  important  factor  in  emotional  instability.  
In other words,  if you or I were to practice immediate  forgiveness of 
any who offend us, the most important  cause of emotional  instability 
would be a non-factor in our lives. 

It is obvious that bitterness, hatred,  jealousy and the like have  detri-
mental effects on the one who harbors such feelings.  To be noted; my 
bitterness toward, hatred for,  or  jealousy of  another has  no adverse 
effect  upon  the object of  my  emotions.  Forgiveness,  by  it’s  nature, 
cleanses us of all these negative factors.
       
  How does this discipline become a part of my live?  If you or I make 
it a practice to forgive no matter the situation, and do this on our own, 
we will fail miserably.  It is impossible, on our own, to forgive one who 
has  wronged us  greatly;  at times  even  minor  offenses are  handled 
poorly and  become issues with us.  The  answer is  to forgive  by faith. 
According to God’s Word, if we have issues  effecting our relationship  
with our fellowman, we must take them to the Lord and through faith,
draw upon His wisdom, strength and love to resolve them.  
    "Without faith it is impossible to please God..."    Hebrews 11: 6
                "...Faith without works is dead."   James 2: 20

          "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to  abound: 
               every where and in all things I am instructed to be full 
                and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
            I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth  me."
                                         (Philippians 4: 12-13) 

     The Apostle Paul, in this passage indicates, we are able to meet any 
challenge in the strength of our Lord.  There  is yet a key to  the  prac-
tice,  and it is shown in the same letter,  chapter,  verses 1-9.  It seems 
there  were a  pair of  ladies of  the  church  at  Philippi  with an  issue. 
There are no details of the problem,  but the Apostle lists some things,  
following the plain statement. The first is rejoice. If one is in a state of 
rejoicing,  he will overlook the small things that cause difficulty in the 
lives of persons looking for reason to be grumpy or difficult. Next, is to 
be gentle. “A soft answer turns away wrath.”  As we look  further, “the 
Lord is at  hand.”  Nothing will cause us to overlook minor offenses as  
will the discipline of living in the presence  of  our  Savior  day by day. 
He then advises us to release our anxiety and take  them to  the  Lord  
in prayer,  resulting  in the peace of  God in  heart and  mind.

    Finally, the Apostle gives advice on our thought  life.  If we are to be 
at peace with our God and our fellowman, we must keep our minds on
positive  virtues;  resisting  negative  thoughts.  The list goes; think of
truth, nobility, justice, purity, beauty, virtue, and praise. In the midst 
of the list  he gives  good advice.  Listen to  conversation  that  uplifts;
refuse gossip that tears down.  (The latter, implied)  Then reminds us 
to  practice things we have learned from our leaders, and he promises 
the presence of God as results.  If  you or I  fail to  practice timely for-
giveness to  those who  "seem" to do  us  wrong,  we are not imitating 
Jesus Christ as He hung on  the cross saying; “Father, forgive them..”   
Has anyone wronged you as Christ was wronged? 
           (There is always the possibility that the wrong perceived on 
                       our part is just that, and no wrong at all.)

Consider some of the benefits of  instant or timely forgiveness.  If you
and I are consistent in this practice, walk with  our God is uninterrup-
ted and we find peace with our fellowman and with God.  We avoid the
bitterness that comes with any protracted failure  to  forgive.  Another 
benefit is the ability to meet neighbors,  family  members or any other 
acquaintances with genuine cordiality as must be a  part of the life of
a child of God.  There is also  emotional and  physical stress we avoid, 
since our insides do not constrict upon a casual meeting with acquain-
tances.  Finally, we leave the legacy to our offspring  who learn  more
more from us by observation than formal instruction. There are other  
benefits to  timely  forgiveness,  but  the  most  important is  the state-
ment in Scripture:
    “...if  you do not  forgive men  their trespasses, neither  will  your
             Father  forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6: 14b)  

      If your  trespasses are not  forgiven by the Father,  you are still in 
sin, separated  from God and eternal  life.  One other  observation,  if 
we, calling ourselves the Children of God, are not freed from this sin, 
is there not the good possibility we are not  dead to sin and are there-
fore still it’s servant?   The failure to forgive in every instance is sin...  
There  may be those who say God  did  not really mean we  would  be 
condemned  to  everlasting  destruction  because we failed to  forgive  
another.   It seems plain, this is just what  He said.  Should we be wil-
ling to risk all, on the assumption of a flawed theology, especially con-
sidering the immeasurable benefit of life lived with a forgiving Spirit?
                                                                                   
  "Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall 
    say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the 
    sea;  and shall  not doubt in his heart,  but shall believe  that those 
    things which he saith shall come to pass;  he shall have whatsoever 
    he saith.  Therefore,  I say unto  you,  what things soever ye desire, 
    when ye pray, believe that ye receive then,  and ye shall have them.  

   And when ye stand praying, for give, if ye have ought against any:  
  that your Father also, which is in heaven may forgive you your tres-
  passes.  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in 
  heaven forgive your trespasses."  
                                                                                       Mark 11: 22b-26

   It has been implied; if we meet the Lord's conditions in a matter, 
He is obliged to act on our behalf.  It is evident, however; our Lord 
is waiting,  with anticipation  for  one to meet  requirements as  set  
forth in the Word, in order for our Lord to do for that one just what  
He was wanting to in the first  place.  He does not act from compul-
sion, but of  joy in the doing.  The burden is always on you and me.  
It is certainly not a  burden for the Lord to do anything  for one of
His children.  On the contrary, it is a pleasure because of his great 
love for us.  Is there one among us who would claim the promise in 
the text.  It's so far removed from the way we think, we cannot con-
sider  ourselves able to exercise this  kind of faith.  Faith that asks 
and expects our Lord, on our behalf,  to move mountains.  There is 
a caveat  we must consider.  Just as in  the act of the  giving of our 
means to  the Lord,  it  is required  that we  be a "cheerful  giver,"  
not as one who gives of compulsion.  So,  in performing  righteous 
acts in the Kingdom of God and having the Lord reward those acts, 
requires they be done with hilarity, or with joy. We never serve our 
Lord out of compulsion, but out of a humility and appreciation for 
the great sacrifice He made on our behalf and in faith, with desire 
to please  Him,  in the  Name of our Lord,  Jesus  Christ.  When we 
meet the  conditions,  he acts.  Just ask and  believe  and it  will be 
forthcoming,  as we  pray according to  His  will.  "...We  have  the
mind of Christ..."   (See I Corinthians 2: 15-16)

             "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the 
                   evidence of things not seen."  Hebrews 11: 1 

              "...Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he
                   who comes to God must believe that He is and that 
                   He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 
                                                                       Hebrews 11:6 

            edited 12.1.14                         donporter 11.08.12