And When You Pray | And Forgive Us As We Forgive (Part 8.6) Embracing God's Heart on Forgiveness Excuse-Proof Forgiveness - 06/06/2021

June 6, 2021 Part 3C Passing of Bishop McKnight, Sr. Grady's / Upshurs Honoring Grads - After today's service Convention Registration "...And When You Pray" And Forgive Us As We Forgive #3B Matthew 6:12; 14 & 15 Embracing God's Heart on Forgiveness: Excuse-Proof Forgiveness Romans 5 5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us (when we were neither good nor righteous), in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Matthew 6:12; 14 & 15 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:14 & 15 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Colossians 3: 12 - 14 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Start Here on June 6. GM GP . . . This morning we're resuming our series on the Lord's Pray. If you been with us over the past couple of weeks, then you know that I have decided to expand on the subject of "forgiveness" - in particular, the petition where Jesus instructed us to pray in Matthew 6:12 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. In spending more time on forgiveness, I wanted to give us more insight on the fundamentals of this virtue. Today's message is a continuation of last week's message where I intended to provide some insight on the foundation of our capacity to fulfill Christ's command to forgive others as He has forgiven us. In some cases, we all know that this is easier said than done. Please recall that last week I posed a question to get our spiritual juices going on excuse proof forgiveness. Here's the question again: Did you know that God has made it possible for all believers to forgive every type of offense or violation suffered by them (and vice versa)? He alone did all the work to get believers to a place where we would be capable of forgiving others just as Christ forgave us - no strings attached, no excuses. His command says, "even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do". Col. 3:13b. Hence, today's message which is entitled: [SLIDE] Embracing God's Heart on Forgiveness: Excuse-Proof Forgiveness. So, how has God made it possible for believers to be forgiving and to forgive every type of offense or wrong suffered by them? The key is in understanding Christ's finished work on the cross. It is that work that gets us to the place where we can meet God's commandment of -- just as Christ forgave us, we MUST forgive other - free of all ifs, ands buts excuses. It is important for all people [saved and unsaved] to understand that only Believers, those who are Born Again, can pray and completely fulfill Jesus' command to forgive. Matthew 6:14 & 15, says . . 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. God, through Christ, is saying that only Believers can and must obey His command to forgive others as He has forgiven them. [SLIDE] Is there a time or circumstance that Believers should not "forgive"? The answer would be NO! There is no violation or situation in our lives that is beyond God's forgiveness, or the ability He gives to us once Christ becomes the head of our lives. The overarching principle here is that an unregenerate person can't completely forgive another until he or she has experienced the forgiveness of Christ for themselves. So, the commandment to forgive is really directed at Believers. Now, I want you to understand God's remedy for how to effectively apply the principle of forgiveness to our lives and our fellow human counterpart. Foremost, we have to keep in mind that forgiveness involves two things: Forgiveness from God and Reconciliation. That then leads to 2 Cor. 5: 16-21. [But first: Romans 5: 9 & 10 9 [But Now] Much more then, having now been justified [declared righteous] by His blood [after accepting Christ as our personal Savior], we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies [against God before salvation] - we were reconciled [reunited] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [and forgiven] by His life. [First forgiveness, then reconciliation. To be reconciled means God has granted forgiveness of sin and thus reunited repentant sinners to Himself based upon accepting Christ's death as payment. Every human being has this this privilege at their disposal, but not everyone will accept it in their lifetime. Ultimately, forgiveness and reconciliation leads to 2 Cor. 5: 16-21 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. [Our priority as Believers should be to meet people's spiritual needs. So, like Paul we are called to no longer evaluate or regard Christ or people, in general, according to external, human worldly standards. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus first forgave every believer of an immeasurable debt of sin. It is that initial forgiveness of sin that we should never ever forget or lose sight on. The forgiveness bestowed upon us at salvation came with a price. That price was the life of an innocent Savior. Our ability and need to forgive flows out of our understanding of Christ's willingness to forgive us - even when we were yet sinners and sinning. When we reflect on His unselfish sacrifice of dying for us, even when we were yet sinners, and yet not even considerate or respectful of His determination to die for us - it should lead us to never hold grudges or withhold from others the unlimited supply of forgiveness that Christ has transferred upon us. Unless Christ's suffering and death is recognized, appreciated, and embraced as the reason behind our forgiveness - then, I'm afraid true forgiveness will be a confusing, selfishly-defined concept in our Christian walk. If we see forgiveness from Christ's perspective, then it is near certain that we're going to apply it as He requires. But, if we refuse to see it from Christ's perspective, then neither will it ever be extended toward others as Christ Himself demonstrated. Our ability to forgive hinges on our knowledge and understanding of Jesus' forgiveness of each one of us individually. Understanding that Jesus first forgave us is the beginning of our complete forgiveness to others. True forgiveness begins with Jesus and it begins, in earnest, for the Believer at salvation. Everyone who has ever truly forgiven unconditionally, got their start from Jesus. [SLIDE] What is true forgiveness? First, it is complete forgiveness. It is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they deserve your forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. [The measure of forgiveness we receive from God is driven by the measure of forgiveness we extend to others. Yet, we have to be aware that there is no such thing as limited or partial forgiveness - only complete forgiveness. Limited forgiveness will never do. Complete forgiveness is required if you and I are to know personally and fully that God is our loving heavenly Father, and if we are ever to reach our personal destiny in this life. The only thing that will get us to the place of receiving God's forgiveness is forgiving others. Forgiving others is the measure by which we will be forgiven. [SLIDE] And by now, we know that Jesus did more than that. Romans 5:8 says . . . But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. True forgiveness on our behalf begins when our practice of forgiveness is driven by an understanding of Christ's forgiveness of us. If you never fully understand Christ's forgiveness in your life, then neither will you appropriate or understand the significance of forgiveness. It is Christ who sets in motion the need to be forgiven in our lives. It is God who gives us the capacity to forgive self and others. Without Him and a perspective of His priceless forgiveness demonstrated toward us, I don't think we possess the ability to forgive completely. At best we would fall into a category of May the Lord watch between me and thee. Forgiveness doesn't belong to us; it belongs to God. It is His alone to share, enact and bestow upon whomever and/or for whatever He elects it to be applied. I consider forgiveness a gift from God that is given to every believer in great supply. I believe each one of us has been given an unlimited supply of forgiveness from God. This would seem to confirm that we all have the capacity to forgive 490 times at every level. I believe, according to Scripture, that God loaded us with an unsurmountable supply of "forgiveness" which he expects us to freely and wisely exercise toward others who offend us. How are we expected to do this? By maintaining a constant remembrance of Christ's love and forgiveness of our personal sin. [SLIDE] James 1:16-18 NKJV says 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. I'm closing with this passage because it talks about gifts - good gifts and perfect gifts. The Apostle James emphasizes that every good and perfect gifts is from above which means they are divine gifts from God. I believe the virtue of "forgiveness" is a gift from God bestowed upon every Believer as constant reminder of our Lord's forgiveness of us. Every time we forgive, God forgives. And every time we forgive, we experience God's heart on reconciliation, reunion and forgiveness. Every opportunity to forgive is a reminder of God's forgiveness of us. Equal to this, I believe God gives every Believer an abundant supply of forgiveness to extend toward where a need for forgiveness exists. The supply God provides to each of us is so generous that there is never a need or time to withhold or skimp on lavishing forgiveness upon those who have violated us or with whom we have an indifference. Keep in mind, the gift of forgiveness is from God and comes from above. He is the owner and originator of it. It is not ours to handle selfishly or with bias, but rather to give unselfishly and generously - just as He has freely poured it out upon us. Just know that there is nothing that occurs in our life that is beyond God's forgiveness - whether it's me or you in need [or someone one like Apostle Peter alluded to in his desire to limit his forgiveness of them to seven times. It is there that Jesus made it clear, we have unlimited capacity to forgive up to 70 time 7 or 490 times for the same infraction. Embracing God's Heart on Forgiveness: Excuse-Proof Forgiveness 1