Sermon Tone Analysis

I. DEFINITIONS: THE MANY FACES OF FORGIVENESS

Two years after the war, Corrie is speaking at a church in Munich.

She has come from Holland to a defeated Germany, bringing with her the message that God does indeed forgive.

There in the crowd, a solemn face stares back at her.

As the people file out, a balding, heavyset man moves toward her—a man in a gray overcoat, a man clutching a brown felt hat.

Suddenly a scene flashes back in her mind: the blue uniform; the visored cap with its skull and crossbones; the huge room with its harsh, overhead lights; the humiliation of walking naked past this man … this man who is now standing before her.

“You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk.

I was a guard there,” he says.

“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.”

He extends his hand toward her and asks, “Will you forgive me?” Corrie stares at the outstretched hand.

The moment seems like hours as she wrestles with the most difficult decision she has ever had to make.

Corrie knows Scripture well, but applying this passage seems to be too much …

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

(Luke 17:3–4)

A. What Is Forgiveness?

Assume you need to borrow one hundred dollars to help pay a medical bill.

You ask a friend for a loan and promise to pay it back at the end of the month.

But when the time comes for repayment, you don’t have the money.

In fact, for the next three months, you still don’t have the money.

Then unexpectedly, out of the kindness of his heart, your friend chooses to “forgive” the debt!

This is one facet of forgiveness.

The Bible says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8).

• Forgiveness means dismissing a debt.

In the New Testament, the Greek noun aphesis denotes a “dismissal” or “release.”

— When you grant forgiveness, you dismiss the debt owed to you.

— When you receive forgiveness, your debt is dismissed.

(You are released from any requirement for repayment.)

— When you grant forgiveness, you dismiss the debt from your thoughts.

Jesus expressed the heart of forgiveness when He said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”

(Luke 6:27)

• Forgiveness is dismissing your demand that others owe you something, especially when they fail to meet your expectations … fail to keep a promise … fail to treat you justly.

Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”

(Matthew 5:39)

• Forgiveness is dismissing, canceling, or setting someone free from the consequence of falling short of God’s standard.

— The holy standard of God is perfection, yet we all have sinned.

— The penalty for our sins is spiritual death (separation from God).

— The penalty for our sins (our debt) was paid by Jesus through His sacrificial death on the cross.

Therefore, instead of being separated from God, we can have our debt dismissed by God and experience eternal life in heaven.

“Everyone who believes in him [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

(Acts 10:43)

Question: “Is it possible to sin beyond God’s ability to forgive?”

Answer: No. God promises to purify us from all unrighteousness, not just specific sins, but we need to first confess our sins.

(Confess means literally “to agree”—to agree with God.)

And if we agree with God about our sin, we not only admit we have sinned, but we also turn from our sins and turn to Jesus, entrusting our lives to the One who died for our sins.

“I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

(Psalm 32:5)

B. What Is Forgiveness Not?

Misconceptions abound when the word forgiveness is mentioned.

Some think forgiveness is the equivalent of excusing sin … saying that what was wrong is now right.

Yet this is not the example of forgiveness that Jesus displayed.

When He encountered the mob of men eager to stone a woman caught in adultery, He chose not to stone her; however, never did He excuse her.

Instead, He said, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11 KJV).

To help correct any confusion, you need to know what forgiveness is not!

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”

(Proverbs 1:5)

• Forgiveness is not circumventing God’s justice.…

— It is allowing God to execute His justice in His time and in His way.

• Forgiveness is not waiting for “time to heal all wounds.”

…

— It is clear that time doesn’t heal wounds—some people will not allow healing.

• Forgiveness is not letting the guilty “off the hook.”

…

— It is moving the guilty from your hook to God’s hook.

• Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation.…

— It takes two for reconciliation, only one for forgiveness.

• Forgiveness is not excusing unjust behavior.…

— It is acknowledging that unjust behavior is without excuse, while still forgiving.

• Forgiveness is not explaining away the hurt.…

— It is working through the hurt.

• Forgiveness is not based on what is fair.…

— It was not “fair” for Jesus to hang on the cross—but He did so that we could be forgiven.

• Forgiveness is not being a weak martyr.…

— It is being strong enough to be Christlike.

• Forgiveness is not stuffing your anger.…

— It is resolving your anger by releasing the offense to God.

• Forgiveness is not a natural response.…

— It is a supernatural response, empowered by God.

• Forgiveness is not denying the hurt.…

— It is feeling the hurt and releasing it.

• Forgiveness is not being a doormat.…

— It is seeing that, if this were so, Jesus would have been the greatest doormat of all!

• Forgiveness is not conditional.…

— It is unconditional, a mandate from God to everyone.

• Forgiveness is not forgetting.…

— It is necessary to remember before you can forgive.

• Forgiveness is not a feeling.…

— It is a choice—an act of the will.

A loose woman was caught “in the act,” and the stone throwers were ready.

The penalty for adultery was clear—stone the adulterers to death!

Jesus challenged the stone throwers to examine their own hearts before condemning the woman’s behavior.

“The one who is without sin—you cast the first stone.”

No one moved.

Then, after all the stones dropped—one by one—and the stone throwers left—one by one—Jesus focused His attention on the woman.

He looked beyond her fault and saw her need.

She needed to know the life-changing love of God.

Unexpectedly, Jesus gave her a priceless gift—His merciful favor and forgiveness.

(See John 8:3–11.)

“ ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared.

‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ ”