Dec.2nd

The Sunday before Thanksgiving: The class began with the continuing study of David in II Samuel. As we talked about David's failure to deal with sins by asking forgiving and "breaking the pattern for his children", the question of forgiving ALL things became the challenge for the class. It was a lively response on the part of almost every member. So, we returned to the subject of forgiven on the 2nd.

MUCH OF THE FOLLOWING SCRIPT WAS NOT COVERED IN CLASS, BUT WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO HAVE THESE NOTES REGARDING FORGIVENESS:
God’s pattern of forgiveness is described in Isaiah 43:25,
I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Included in His choosing to forgive us, despite our failures, He chooses not to remember our wrongs. He even goes so far as to remove them a long way away from us, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psa.103:12

Colossians 3:13, “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Then we are warned, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” (Hebrews 12:15)

First let’s look at what forgiveness is NOT:
Forgiveness is not excusing. We can excuse someone their actions because of extenuating circumstances and that shows that you are understanding, but that is not forgiving.

Forgiveness is not minimizing the hurt. There is a tremendous difference between acting as if the injury is minor and pardoning the one who has hurt us deeply.

Forgiveness is not the same as trusting. Forgiveness is given and trust is earned. C. S Lewis prescribes forgiveness toward one who breaks promises but adds, “This does not mean you must necessarily believe his next promise. It does mean that you must make every effort to kill every trace of resentment in your own heart—every wish to humiliate or hurt him or to pay him back.”

Forgiveness does not necessarily mean forgetting. God CHOSE to not remember my sins. Not remembering is by no means equal to “forgetting absolutely” It means not making an effort to recall something to mind. Each time a painful memory comes to our minds, we must write “Forgiven” over the person who hurt us. Don’t allow the enemy the luxury of salting our memories with bitterness. By choosing to hold it against the offender ever again, we have given our precious Savior the opening to supply the strength to resist the temptation to dwell on the person’s sin. Forgiveness does not require forgetting, only CHOOSING to not call to mind repeatedly while God heals the memory.

Forgiveness is not pardoning only when asked, it is pardoning whether you are asked or not. There is no room for an unforgiving spirit, even if the offender never repents. Paul makes it clear that so long as we retain the right to vengeance, we can’t really love our enemies (Rom.12:19) We must let go of the offense and let it be washed into the river of God’s justice, that it may not pollute us…”Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (v.21)

We know that forgiveness is not a feeling, but rather a choice; an act of our will to clear a person’s record in our heart. Our mind plays a role as well, in that we should follow God’s ways and choose not to remember the situation any more. Forgiveness is a choice, a faith decision, not to hold an offense against a person any longer. It is not based on merit, but on grace. Don’t confuse it with emotion. Although felling might eventually follow if we maintain faith’s resolve despite temptations to bitterness, the feeling is not the forgiveness. The decision to forgive release God’s power to restore our damaged emotions.

As the Scriptures teach us, forgiveness is costly. Christ gave His life for the payment of our penalty in order for God to forgive us. All sin has consequences and someone or something pays for every wrong committed. A special part of forgiveness is that it is substitutional, meaning that one can bear the penalty for another’s wrong; be a substitute. Christ already paid the penalty for all sin as everyone’s substitute, “Who His own self bear our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (I Peter 2:24) Since we desire to receive forgiveness, we must also extend that same forgiveness to others.

We must watch out that we not allow unforgiveness to stay in our life or else we give Satan the freedom to take advantage of us, “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also; for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (II Cor. 2:10-11) We open ourselves up to Satan through unforgiveness. That is in direct disobedience to Eph. 4:27 “neither give place to the devil.”

If we will obey these words, we will have our guard up against the enemy and not be pulled into his schemes. Forgiveness is an especially powerful tool against Satan because it is really love in action; we are returning good for evil. Since God is love, Satan hates it and will flee.

God knows that forgiveness is not a flesh response so He has given us further motivation. The words we are so familiar with: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matt. 6:12, 14-15) “AS”, that tiny little word is very important. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Yet, we know that when Christ died on the cross our trespasses and sins were nailed to the tree…He forgave ALL. These two verses are not in conflict. For salvation, He forgave ALL; yet in the operation of our every day lives, free of consequences of unforgiveness entail the reality that we are to forgive others as He forgave us and He will not forgive us if we don’t forgive.

Forgiveness needs to be an ATTITUDE in which we flow whether we are asked for it or not. If we are not living this way, then we are encroaching on judgment. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” [Matt. 7:1-2]

Practically speaking, these passages combine to mean that if we are holding anything against others, no matter how big or small, we are binding ourselves on earth and therefore, in heaven. Also, if we judge others, even if they are wrong, we will be judged in return. The cause and effect sequence here is rather clear. We bring God’s judgment and unforgiveness on our own head when we judge others and refuse to forgive.

Silent grumbling and a negative attitude indicate our judgment toward God. We are removing God from His position as Judge and we take His place! Positive words that are not from the heart cannot hide our heart…God is not fooled. You must have a grateful heart to keep from judging others and especially God.

When we judge, we are put into prison, locked away from God’s help. We have the key in our pocket, but we do not use it. The key is forgiving others by accepting them through the power of Christ’s love in us. This extends to others the same grace which was extended (past tense) to us; a picture of true forgiveness.

Our forgiveness needs to extend to all those who have ever come in contact with our life: parents, siblings, spouse, children, in-laws, other relatives, teachers, pastors, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and on and on. The largest hurts or wrongs will probably be from family members or close friends. These are the ones with whom we are most vulnerable.

You must be sure to forgive everyone, including yourself, which is often very difficult. Do not forget to deal with the issues that you have held against God. He is never wrong, but even knowing that we still must deal with negative thoughts and things held against Him.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and had every opportunity to blame God. However, he chose to let God judge the situation and he forgave his brothers, allowing genuine love to be displayed to them through his kindness. His attitude of forgiveness and acceptance also gave him the freedom to see God’s hand in the situation.

In Luke 14, there is a wonderful picture of our loving heavenly Father watching for us; just waiting with open arms to welcome us home so He can forgive and lavish us with blessings. However, we must have the same humble heart which was displayed by the returning son. It was a beautiful reunion, marred by only one thing; the unforgiveness of the older brother. And, he is the on who suffered, being left out of the good times because of his judgment. What a picture of real life!

What was the one thing that made such a tremendous difference in the response of the father and the older brother?

Forgiveness not only has the obvious spiritual benefit of allowing the eternal life of Christ to flow through us, but there are also emotional and physical benefits. As we forgive, a battery of damaging emotions are released from our lives: hate, resentment, revenge, anger and bitterness. Forgiveness also stops ridicule, criticism, condemnation, fault-finding and blame. All of these are dangerous to the body by causing our system to increase its acid production, which in turn, eats away our insides.

The internal peace that comes through forgiveness can even conquer disease. All sorts of maladies can result from unforgiveness: arthritis, high blood pressure, stomach problems, colitis, heart problems and more. If you have one of these it does not necessarily mean you have a forgiveness problem, but be aware that it could be a significant contributing factor.

Often we are unforgiving toward people because of their attitudes or actions which we did not appreciate. If we flow in forgiveness, we will be free to look beyond their actions to see what might have caused it. This can be a tremendous benefit in knowing how to pray for others, as well as, sometimes we see how our own actions brought on their reaction. In our relationships and communication with others, this is an important thing to keep in mind.

Another factor which comes into play regarding forgiveness is our motive. Ungratefulness, criticism, resentment, judgment/unforgiveness and bitterness are all facets of a self-serving heart. In order to flow in forgiveness, we must have a heart for serving God—which is exhibited through our service to others without looking for anything in return.

Oswald Chambers describes what Paul could have used as his life’s motto: “I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly…Paul delighted to spend himself out for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. We come with economical notions—‘Suppose God wants me to go there—what about the salary? What about the climate? How shall I be looked after? A man must consider these things.’ All that is an indication that we are serving God with reserve. Paul had no reserve. Paul focused on Jesus Christ’s idea of a N.T. saint in his life,--not one who proclaims the Gospel merely, but one who becomes broken bread and poured our wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for other lives.”

The vital principle of forgiveness can only work in tandem with a heart completely surrendered to God, ready and willing to serve others as Christ did, with no motive of gain. If you are struggling with ungratefulness, criticism or similar maladies, get before the Lord and surrender everything in its entirety about you and your life to the Lord. Only then can you truly begin to forgive others, letting them off your hook and placing them in the hands of the Lord for Him to take care of.

Choose to follow God’s awesome example of forgiveness and experience intimacy with God beyond anything you imagined possible. As you develop the practice of living in an attitude of forgiveness, you will stop judging and thereby relieve a lot of pressure off yourself and others. If you have a difficult time forgiving someone, look at the vast cumulative amount for which God has forgiven you and it far outweighs anything you might be facing.

Choose the mind of Christ. Make up your mind about forgiveness:
1. Choose to have a heart of quick forgiveness.
2. Forgive no matter how evil the deed may seem.
3. Remind yourself often of the great cost of unforgiveness. Satan will take advantage, the heavenly Father will deal with you, you will develop a root of bitterness and others will be contaminated and defiled.
4. Choose Godly behavior toward your enemies (maybe some are family or closest former friends.)
5. Recognize who your real enemy is!!
6. Keep your focus on Whose life this is!
7. Choose to hardly notice when done wrong!
MANY MANY SCRIPTURES REGARDING FORGIVENESS - search it out!

Wes shared the importance of "confessing the sins of our forefathers"! He also challenged our class members to set a time (short term) that is a possibility of when you could die. Perhaps only 6 months or a year and then to re-think what you would be doing with death imminent. What about you? Would that change anything that you are doing or planning to do?