Forgiveness - part 1

[B-A-C]

I will be honest here... I'm asking this question for another reason, it has to with God's forgiveness.

But imagine the following... You're out of town on a business meeting. Your wife and kids are home alone.

Someone you know... perhaps a good friend, or even a family member... who isn't saved breaks into your house. They start stealing things, old things of sentimental personal value... things that can't be replaced...
like your wife's fine china that had been in the family for generations. It was handed down from her her great grandmother, to her grandmother.. and so on. Then he steals your gun collection, some of those are very expensive guns. Your wife wakes up, and gets up to see who it is.

This person roughs her up quite a bit, leaves bruises on her face. The kids wake up, and come out to see what's happening. He slaps them around too. He threatens them and tells them to go back to their rooms.

I suppose this is rather a graphic illustration, and I'm sorry to have to use it, but I purposely put it this way
for a reason.

The police are called, the evidence can not be found, no stolen goods are found at this person's house.
He hires a lawyer, and denies the whole thing. The investigation is on-going for some time. A year
goes by and none of your things have been recovered.

One day you run into this person on the street..... and all he says to you... "sorry, ha". what do you do?
Seriously... what would you do? What would you say... if anything. Do you believe he is really sorry?

Now... three or four years later... this person calls you. Just out of nowhere. Your first thought
is to hang up. But, he pleads for you to listen just for a minute. So you do.
He says he is sorry... he says he is genuinely sorry from the bottom of his heart. He says he wants to make
things right with you. Give back the things he took. He sold some of it, so you can't have everything back.
But he's willing to pay you whatever it's worth. (How do you put a value on family heirlooms?)
He is sobbing on the phone.. and he is begging you to forgive him.

What do you do? The ball is in your court now... what do you do?

 

[B-A-C]

Now a lot of us are familiar with verses like Matt 6:14-15; and Matt 18:35;
There is also Luke 11:25-26; ( verse 26 isn't in any of the original manuscripts).

Some take this to mean forgiveness has to be unconditional. But yet, if we look a little closer...

Luke 17:3; says "if he repents"... then, forgive him.
Luke 17:4; says if he comes to seven times in the same day..... and says "I repent"... then forgive him.

Is God the same way?
Acts 8:22; says "repent" of your wickedness.... so that the intentions of your heart might be forgiven.

Forgiveness requires repentance.

Luke 24:47; says "repentance" for the forgiveness of sins... would be proclaimed to the nations.

John the Baptist proclaimed that "repentance" is required for the forgiveness of sins.
( Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; )

Peter says in Acts 2:38; "Repent... (and be baptized) ...for the forgiveness of sins.

Now of course... obviously we need to forgive others. Especially if they repent.
But, one of the requirements for us to be forgiven... is also to repent.

 

[B-A-C]

The word used for repent in the Bible is "metanoeo". It is a verb.. an action word.
1. To change your mind
2. To turn the opposite direction.

Repentance isn't just saying your sorry.
Repentance is being sorry enough to stop doing it.

God doesn't want you to keep asking Him for forgiveness over and over again.
In fact... if you're doing the same sin over and over again... you haven't really repented.
You can't fool God, He knows your heart.
He knows if you have really "turned the opposite direction" from this sin.

 

[Christ4Ever]

I forgive them brother. Just as I have been forgiven.

The forgiveness is not about being worthy of receiving it, but one of need.
The need to unburden not just the other, for even after forgiveness it still does not take away from them the memories. The wrong that was done.

It's about us not carrying around that same burden, as God also does. Isaiah 43:25 I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Good posting brother!
YBIC
C4E
<><

 

[Dave M]

I would forgive them but I wouldn't have to much to do with them.

 

[amadeus2]

Forgive, of course, as Jesus would forgive, but go slow on not having much to do with them anymore.

The flesh may say to leave such a person strictly alone, but what if the Spirit is wanting us to work further with him? Always we need to be hearing the Lord's voice and obeying.

Sometimes we may be asked to do something that we know from past experience and even from scripture has usually been the wrong thing to do. Has God ever in scripture asked a person to do something which went against what the person had known, what he had been taught, and/or what he had thought was right?

"And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." Acts 10:13-15

God was preparing Peter's heart to minister to the needs of the gentiles or the heathen. For most of us here, that is or has been us. Drawing our conclusions ahead of time can be a very wrong thing. Is this always likely to be a difficulty with providing an answer to a hypothetical problem?

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" Ecc 3:1 Following that verse are given many opposing alternatives, but whose "time" is it? Is it not the Lord's? Is it not His decision? We have to make the decision, but if we are working right are we not listening for His direction in the thing?

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" Jerem 10:23