Ye Ought Rather To Forgive
Principles of the Christian Life • Sermon • Submitted
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5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
10 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;
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight’s principle of the Christian life is Forgiveness…It’s a tough one...
Corrie ten Boom, who spent nearly a year in Nazi concentration camps for her “crime” of sheltering Jews in Holland, shared a powerful testimony of forgiveness.
Years after the war, she traveled to churches sharing her testimony of God’s faithfulness and the way He had enabled her to forgive her captors who had so cruelly treated her and her family.
After one service, she was receiving guests in the lobby when she saw a man in the line who had been one of the most vicious guards at Ravensbrück. When she recognized him, she felt physically ill and could not bear to think of talking with him.
As he approached her, it was obvious that he did not recognize her. He reached out his hand to shake hers and said, “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”
She remained frozen, partly in terror and partly in disgust.
He continued, “You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk. I was a guard in there. But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein”—again, he reached out his hand—“will you forgive me?”
Corrie later wrote, “And I stood there—I whose sins had every day to be forgiven—and could not. Betsie [her sister] had died in that place—could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“For I had to do it—I knew that.… And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion—I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.
“‘Jesus, help me!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’
“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
“‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”
There are some offences which are, humanly speaking, impossible to forgive. Sometimes the ways people have hurt us are relatively minor, and sometimes they run so deep as to be irrevocable and life-altering.
In these times, especially, we may believe that it is our right to hold on to the offense and withhold forgiveness. But God’s instruction is not what we would assume.
In 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul challenged the church at Corinth to forgive an unnamed individual. Bible commentators think this may have been the individual who was under church discipline in 1 Corinthians 5. The challenge was that while the man had repented, the church seems to have not received or accepted him.
When I Have Forgiven, I Don’t Gossip About You
When I Have Forgiven, I Don’t Gossip About You
When I Have Forgiven, I’m Not Bothered Being Around You
When I Have Forgiven, I’m Not Bothered Being Around You
When I Have Forgiven, I Desire The Best For You
When I Have Forgiven, I Desire The Best For You
When I Have Forgiven, I Experience Freedom and Blessing
When I Have Forgiven, I Experience Freedom and Blessing
Conclusion
Conclusion