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Forgiveness
1. God forgives us
2. We forgive others
3. Others forgive us
4. We forgive ourselves
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1. God forgives us
Jesus didn’t avoid people who had done wrong; he said it was them who needed him.
Mark 2:13-17
Jesus went out by the sea; and all the crowd came to Him, and He taught them.
As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.
Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” So Levi got up and followed Him.
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him to the house.
When the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners,
they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
1 John 1:7-9
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-32
The father waits for the repentant son to come home and receives him as his son with no hesitation.
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2. We forgive others
Luke 17:3-4
If your brother sins against you, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he sins against you seven times in a day,
and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” then you shall forgive him.
Our brother means our Christian brother, the body of Christ.
What if your brother doesn’t repent?
Jesus laid out the steps to bring the brother to repentance..
Matthew 18:15-17
If your brother sins against you:
1) Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he will hear you, you have gained your brother.
2) But if he won’t hear you, then take one or two more with you so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.
3) And if he won’t hear them, tell it to the church.
4) If he won’t hear the church, let him be like a heathen man and a publican. (in other words, he is no longer your brother)
After Jesus spoke, Peter wanted to know how many times we should forgive “our brother”? After what Jesus has just said, we can know Peter is talking about a repentant brother. Even if the brother is repentant, how many times should I forgive him?
Matthew 18:21-22
Peter came to Jesus and said,
“Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
There is a familiar saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.
Peter probably thought he was being generous to suggest forgiving his brother seven times.
Jesus said to him, “I don’t say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
490 times. In other words, ALWAYS forgive your brother who sins against you.
God forgives us like we forgive others.
That is a scary thought.
The next four passages confirm this principle.
Matthew 6:9-15
Pray in this manner:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Unforgiving Servant
Matthew 18:22-35
The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
When he had begun to settle accounts, one man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
Since he wasn’t able to pay, his master commanded that he and his wife and children and all that he had should be sold and the payment be made.
The servant fell down before him, saying,
“Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.”
Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii (a much smaller amount), and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
His fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.”
But he would not, and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
Then his master called for him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?”
And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he could pay all that was due to him.
“This is also what my heavenly Father will do to you if each of you, from his heart, doesn’t forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Since God has forgiven all our many sins, we should forgive others when they sin against us.
And if we don’t forgive…
Mark 11:25-26
Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone,
forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Luke 6:37
Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Why should we forgive others?
In 2 Corinthians 2:7-11, Paul wrote:
You ought to forgive and comfort him, or else such a one may be swallowed up with too much sorrow.
Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him...
To whom you forgive any thing, I forgive also:
For if indeed I have forgiven anything,
I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
lest Satan should take advantage of us;
We aren’t ignorant of his devices.
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3. Others forgive us
Just like we’re supposed to forgive others, they are supposed to forgive us also.
Just like it’s hard for us to forgive others; it’s hard for them to forgive us. So there are going to be people in your life who haven’t forgiven you for some of the things you’ve done.
— Forgivenss takes confession and sincere repentance.
— Sometimes forgiveness takes time.
— Sometimes forgiveness needs to see a change in you.
— Sometimes forgiveness needs to see a change for a long period of time, particularly after repeated offenses.
A person in the Bible who had faith in others was Barnabas. We often hear of him as the encourager. I say he is a man who gives second chances.
Acts 9:26-27 — Saul at Jerusalem: And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him and didn’t believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And Barnabas told them:
• How Saul/Paul had seen the Lord on the road
• That the Lord had spoken to Saul/Paul
• How Saul/Paul had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus
Acts 11:25-30 Barnabas later sought Saul and brought him to Antioch to serve in the church at Antioch. Then they were sent deliver relief to Judaea
John Mark
Acts 12:25 — Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem (to Antioch) when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took John whose surname was Mark with them.
Acts 13:4-5 — Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.
Acts 13:13 — Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John left from them and returned to Jerusalem.
Acts 15:36-41 Division over John Mark: Then after some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
Barnabas was determined to take John Mark with them. But Paul insisted that they shouldn’t take the one who had left them in Pamphylia and hadn’t gone on with them to the work.
Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. So Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
We see that later Paul trusts John Mark to do the work of the ministry.
Colossians 4:10 (in one of the letters Paul wrote while he was in the Roman prison — Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with John Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received these instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),
2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get John Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me for ministry.
Philemon 1:23-24
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do John Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark. Some believe his gospel was influenced by Paul.
Yes, Paul forgave John Mark and realized he was useful for God’s work.
But John Mark might have fallen away, disappointed in himself and lost opportunities. But Barnabas gave him a second chance. He took him alongside himself; encouraged him, taught him, mentored him.
I hope you have a Barnabas in your life.
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4. We forgive ourselves
A friend told me she no longer does drugs for the pleasure of drugs, but to forget the guilt and shame.
Forgiveness includes forgiving yourself for the things you’ve done. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy/critic. It can be hard to forgive ourselves.
– Peter Denies Jesus, Feed my Sheep - John 18:15-18,25-27 and 21:15-19
Where do you think those messages of guilt from past , confessed sins are coming from?
Not from God! He promises to forgive and forget your sins.
If we confess our sins, He forgives us and cleanses us from all sins. 1 John 1:7
He throws our sins into the depth of the sea, Micah 7:19
He removes it from you as far as the east is from the west, Psalm 103:12
He chooses to remember it no more! Hebrews 8:12, 10:17
Your guilt is not from God. It comes from the evil one, who would love to see you wallow in your guilt, shame, and depression; and rob you of joy and the desire to pursue ministry.
So stop buying it! Once you confess and repent of your sin, act on faith as if you’re forgiven, because God says you are!
Do consequences from our sin remain after we’re forgiven? Sure! Even though God forgives us, he doesn’t remove all the consequences. He forgave Adam and Eve but still made them leave the garden, work hard, start aging, and have babies in pain.
Sometimes our sin might:
— Damage a relationship
— Remove an opportunity
— Ruin our health
— Change the path of our lives
— Land us in jail
Those consequences will remain and have to be lived out.
But Peter’s story is important because we can identify with him. It gives us hope of forgiveness, hope of recovery from guilt and shame and a healthy shift to serving God by serving others.
Psalm 51
A Psalm written by David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba and after he had arranged for the death of her husband Uriah.
Have mercy on me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my sins.
Wash me thoroughly from my sin and cleanse me from my sin.
Because I acknowledge my sin,
And it is always before me.
Against You, and You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
…Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
...Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach sinners Your ways,
And they will be converted to You.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth will bring forth Your praise.
...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise...
Philippians 3:12-13 (Paul’s writing)
But I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but this thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Forgetting the worldly accomplishments he gave up, forgetting the believers he had persecuted (believing he was doing right)
That is the key
Forget what’s behind, forgive what’s behind. Keep moving forward!
Matthew 6:25-33
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Which of you by worrying can change the future?
Guilt and shame are forms of worry, you worry about what you did in the past just like you worry about what is going to happen in the future. Both are useless.
Which of you by worrying can change the past?
Forgive yourself so you can move forward and serve God wholeheartedly.
