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Forgiveness - the Choice of Life
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Forgiveness – the Choice of Life
What a privilege it is to be forgiven.
To know that every sin we have ever committed is under the blood, never to be remembered against us again.
The dispensation of Grace that we live in is without a doubt the greatest of all the ages and how very privileged we are to be living today.
However, just as we take our physical freedom for granted until we go to another country and see what bondage, corruption and torture others live under.
We also take our spiritual freedom for granted until we take a journey back in time and see what desperation, conviction and oppression our predecessors lived under.
- We were all lost without hope.
The basis for a divine revelation of what forgiveness truly is, comes from a basic understanding of where we (as humans) stand with God. (with and without Christ)
Rom 3:9-10
9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Isa 64:6
6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
But for the grace of God, there go I.
Pride must be cast down, before we can know forgiveness, understand forgiveness, of express forgiveness. Because pride, arrogance, and self justification are the fatal enemy of the spirit of forgiveness.
Confession of fault and confession of sin is always the basis for forgiveness.
Even when there may be someone else to blame, or to fault or to point a finger at for how we have become, forgiveness comes from our accepting responsibility for our actions and confessing, repenting and turning from that bitter heart unto the heart of God.
So before forgiveness can ever be enjoined we must first humble ourselves, see our self as we truly are, and repent.
- Christ paid the price for sin.
Once we understand that our sin is no different that the sin of those around us, we must then understand that we are obligated to forgive, just as Christ forgave us.
Jesus died once and for all, for all sin.
Heb 10:9-14
9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Man is not worthy of forgiveness. There is nothing that any man can do to earn forgiveness, even your forgiveness.
The debt of sin is "paid in full."
Jesus took their sin, their offence, their trespasses (the sins against him, against themselves, and the ones against you) and nailed them to his cross the very same time he nailed your sins to his cross.
Therefore, before we can ever truly enjoy or experience true forgiveness, we must first realize that Christ bore our sin, your sin, my sin, their sin.
ALL SIN he carried to his cross and he died so that the price be paid in full.
That is why he said while hanging on the Cross, It Is Finished.
Heb 10:14-18
14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
The price for all sin was paid in full, the debt is satisfied and the slate is clean.
- Forgiveness of our sin was God’s will, but Christ’s Choice.
The next thing we must realize about forgiveness is that Forgiveness is always God’s will.
But Christ had to pray and make it his choice to forgive.
The bible says it pleased God to bruise him.
Isa 53:10-11
10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
In God’s way and in God’s plan Christ was his perfect plan and will for man’s redemption.
Rev 13:8
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
It was God’s plan to make Christ the sacrifice for sin, before man was created, before the world was created, even before the foundation of the world was laid.
Remember Jesus, praying in the Garden?
Luke 22:41-42
41And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
What was he saying? He was saying, "I know your will … your will is forgiveness through the sacrifice of my life. But My will is different. I don’t want to die, I don’t want to go through with this thing, if there be any other way let’s do it."
But there in that Garden, Christ made a clear choice.
Though it was very painful, though it required him to be abused, beaten, humiliated, spit upon, ridiculed and even killed … he made the choice to die for our sin.
God did not nail him to the cross.
Satan did not nail him to the Cross.
Jesus Lay down his life for sinners.
John 10:18
18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
He crawled on that cross, laid his arms out and let them nail his hands and feet to the cross.
Before we can ever possess the spirit of Forgiveness, we must first understand that forgiveness is a choice and that choice is something we choose to do.
- We are commanded/expected to forgive others, as Christ has forgiven us.
Once we understand that all men are in the same situation, and that forgiveness has been paid for, so there is nothing that someone should, may or even can do to earn forgiveness, and we then understand that forgiveness is our choice … it is up to us.
Then we must make steps to practice what we have knowledge of.
Un-forgiveness is a cancer that will eat you up from the inside out and literally consume you.
Knowing this, Christ made it very clear that we must forgive.
Matt 6:11-15
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
He even went so far to say that if you do not forgive, you cannot be forgiven.
Jesus told a parable of a master that had a servant who owed him 10,000 talents. The servant begged him to have mercy on him and the Lord forgave him the debt.
Then the same servant went to his fellow-servant who owed him a hundred pence and though the fellow-servant begged him mercy, he cast him into prison until he paid his debt in full.
Matt 18:34-35
34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Jesus knows that we cannot enjoy (or possibly even experience) our forgiveness until we are ready to forgive.
2 Cor 4:1
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
In other words as we have been forgiven, we forgive.
In light of what he has done for me, what he has forgiven me for and what he has delivered me from, this little thing is nothing to forgive for my brother.
Not because the trespasser is worthy, but because Jesus paid the price and he is the redeemer of all mankind.
He is the savior of the Soul, the savior of the Mind, the savior of Relationships and even the savior of the Body (to some extent – the extent that he is the healer of the body).
So we are commanded to forgive… for our own good and for the good of the forgiven.
- Forgiveness is a choice.
You say Brother Danny, I understand everything you have said, and I believe that what you are saying it true, for it is the word of God.
But how do I forgive?
I have bitterness in my heart and I can’t get victory over it.
This is when we must understand what Jesus understood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Forgiveness is a choice.
If you sit around and wait for some supernatural experience or some powerful revelation to hit you on the subject of forgiveness, you will never experience the freedom of Forgiveness.
Because Forgiveness is a choice.
- Forgiveness is an action.
Forgive is a verb, an action word.
To forgive it takes effort, action and a deliberate attempt on ones own part.
Forgiveness doesn’t just happen with time.
Forgiveness doesn’t just happen by accident.
Forgiveness doesn’t just happen by a change of circumstances or a change of location or by changing a situation.
Forgiveness is something that you do.
Whether it hurts, feels good or kills you, it is something that you determine in your heart, mind, soul and spirit, as Christ has forgiven me, I will forgive others.
And then you cast down ever imagination and every high thing that would exalt it’s self against the knowledge of God.
Forever, every day you live, every relationship you build, every situation you find yourself in you must be driven by a determination to forgive.
- Forgiveness is liberty/freedom.
Only when we learn to forgive, can we ever enjoy the peace, the love, the grace and the joy of what forgiveness brings.
An un-forgiving heart is a bitter heart.
A mind filled with un-forgiveness is a mind that never rests and never knows peace.
A life filled with un-forgiveness is a life that will always be full of trouble, heartache and brokenness.
Un-forgiveness will drive you from relationship to relationship, from friend to friend, from place to place, burning bridges and never finding peace.
You will wonder around in the wilderness like some disembodied spirit until you choose to forgive.
But when we can forgive we free the soul that we forgive, but we also free our own soul.
John 20:23
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Matt 18:18
18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
What an awesome privilege and an awesome responsibility … that we have the power to forgive or to retain, we have the power to bind or loose, we have the power to release.
Not only do we release that man, but in doing so, we release ourselves.
Forgiveness is just like Praise, Thanksgiving, Rejoicing, Witnessing, Etc… you must choose to do it and then continually bring each thought under subjection to the knowledge of God and Forgive.
We don’t always feel thankful, but the word says 1 Thess 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Ps 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
We don’t always feel joyful, but the word says in Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
We don’t always feel like smiling, shining, and being nice, but the word says Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
And most of the time we don’t feel like forgiving, we don’t really want to forgive and we don’t know how to get to that place of forgiveness. But the word says …
Luke 6:36-38
36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Only when we choose to forgive and deliberately cease to harbor those feelings of un-forgiveness can we truly experience real forgiveness know the peace that God has for us.
To forgive and be forgiven. To be at peace with ourselves and at peace with our fellow man … that is God’s will, But it is our Chioce.
Deut 30:19
19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
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