Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Reason we don’t forgive
The offense was too great.
They won’t accept responsibility for the offense.
They aren’t truly sorry.
They never asked to be forgiven.
They will do it again.
They did it again.
I don’t like them.
They did it deliberately.
If I forgive the offense, I’ll have to treat the offender well.
Someone has to punish them.
Something keeps me from forgiving.
I’ll forgive, but I won’t ever forget.
I have forgiven a lesser offense, after excusing the real offense.
What forgiveness isn’t:
Approval
Transferring responsibility.
Excusing
Saying the offense is of no importance.
Saying you are of no importance.
Commitment to relate in the future.
It is not ceasing to be appalled that it happened.
It is automatically forgotten.
That it wasn’t painful and still hurts.
Does not have its consequences.
It was okay with God that it happened.
That you shouldn’t tell the other person how angry you are.
What forgiveness encompasses:
Our sinfulness
Our need for forgiveness
Our total forgiveness
That un-forgiveness provides a gateway to the demonic.
That vengeance is the Lord’s.
The need to focus upon the Lord and His faithfulness.
The need to live today and not in the past.
Relinquish wrath toward the person.
Give up hate or desire to hurt or get even with the person.
Knowing you have done what God has asked you to do.
Releases a supernatural healing power no matter how awful the offense is.
Will decrease self-condemnation.
By forgiving, the Lord opens the floodgates of blessings (Deuteronomy 28).
How do I know if I need to forgive someone including myself? If you get a "ping" when you think of someone or if a negative remembrance occurs, this is someone you need to forgive.
Understand, you need to separate the sin from the person. The person is not sin. It is the sin that is working in the person that may have caused the offense. This applies to us all.
How often Should I forgive someone? Jesus was very clear when He spoke to Peter.
Matthew 18:21-23
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
