Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus tells a story about a servant who owed his master a tremendous amount of money. Because the amount of the money was so great, the master forgave the entire debt. The servant had a fellow servant who owed him a little money, but he did not forgive the debt. In fact, he had this person thrown in prison because of the debt. When the master heard about the lack of mercy of his servant, he chastised him for not having compassion and “delivered him to the torturers until he should pay back all that was due him.”
The servant was forgiven by his master, but refused to forgive his fellow servant. The Father warns us that we place ourselves in severe judgment when we do not forgive. To forgive is an act of the will, not of the feelings.
I believe that a person who refuses to forgive does not understand what he has been forgiven for. He does not understand the gravity of his sin against God. In my opinion, this is evidence of a faith that is not genuine, a salvation that is not genuine. We are commanded to forgive; it is not optional.
6 comments:
we can forgive - does this also mean we should forget? Sometimes a person can appear to forgive, but if they don't "let it go" or forget, then they are not really forgiving, are they??
I believe strongly that we will never know the kingdom of God if we continue to not forgive those who have "sinned against us" or "done us wrong" so to speak. But sometimes it's really really hard, and frankly takes even more than seventy-seven times.
Wonderful comments and questions, Jude. Good to hear from you.
We are commanded to forgive, and as I mentioned in the article, it is an "act of the will." It is not optional. Either we obey or we do not obey.
Allow me to give an example of this dynamic:
Let's say you were sitting in front of me and you say, "I have a headache." I give you a command, "Get up from your chair and go and sit in another chair." And so, you get up and move to another chair. But guess what, you still have the headache!
What happened here? I gave you a command and you obeyed it. Your obedience was an "act of the will." But when you changed chairs you still had your headache. Getting rid of your headache is another matter altogether.
When you are angry with or saddened by someone who has hurt you, it is like the chairs and the headache. You forgive (move to another chair) because you were commanded to forgive (you obeyed). God commands us to forgive.
But now you ask, how do I get rid of the headache, i.e., let it go? Here is the crux of the matter: You can't let it go on your own, it must be done for you. You have done your part and obeyed, but help must come from the outside, and I do not mean from the person who hurt you. None of us has the "power" to forgive, or anything else for that matter. Only God can forgive sin. We only have the will to obey or not obey.
The "power" to forgive comes from the Holy Spirit of God. And as you know, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in a person once he receives Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only then that one has the "power" to truly "let it go." In response to our obedience, this "power" repairs our damaged feelings and even instructs us to pray for and bless our enemies!
Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees His Father doing in Heaven," John 5:19. If Jesus can do nothing on His own, what can man expect to do on his own? He cannot forgive on his own. He can only be obedient, and do what God says.
It is not just hard to forgive, it is impossible without the Holy Spirit of God giving us the power to do it.
How come there is so much "incest" in the old testament? Did not God have a rule about this?
Debbie
Initially, there were no rules against incest. Sarah was Abraham's half-sister. The rules came with the Mosaic Law, which we are about to get into.
Speaking genetically, I suppose the genetic pool of man was stronger, initially, before the Flood, but after the Flood, there were many more pressures upon man's genetic pool, making him more vulnerable to genetic mutation from inbreeding.
Morally speaking, I can't answer your question. But you are correct, there is much incest in the Old Testament. It is against the law in our society and also a taboo, and a shameful act.
Just keep reading and studying. Pray that God will give you wisdom about your questions, James 1:5, and I will do the same.
Interesting. The James reference you give to Debbie applies to me also. I don't doubt. But I also don't expect an answer right away. It is continual perseverence (as James goes on to say!)
I have asked God for wisdom for many things, and I agree, we must wait upon His timing. And there are many ways by which He answers our prayers.
However, I have noticed that He always gives me the wisdom I ask for. I'm sure your experience is the same.
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