Mathew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mathew 18:20-22 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?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Mathew 18:35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Mark 11:26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
What happens when we get offended? We are in conflict with one another but we need to realize that they are not my enemy and I am not their enemy. Do you know the problem we have? We are not able to separate the person from their sin. Their sin is our enemy. Not them! Therefore, they have power over you ( they may not even know it) when you remain offended and do not forgiven them.
When someone violates us, we make him or her evil along with the evil they did, don’t we? You have to be able to separate people from their sin. God did not create you from the foundation of the world as a sinner. He created you from the foundation of the world as saints before Him and His sons and daughter forever. Because of sin, we have become separated from Him. Even after conversion, we still have many things to work out.
If we don’t forget the offense it opens up the door for the spirit of bitterness to set in.
1. Unforgiveness – When the root of bitterness in Hebrews gets a foothold, the first thing that happens is a record of wrongs. Hebrews 12:15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (NLT). How many of you are still having flashbacks about things having been done against you? If I mention Aunt Sally’s name you would probably be able to give me 15 reasons why you do not like her. This is unforgiveness. After unforgiveness gets a foothold and creates a record of wrong, there’s another dimension of the spiritual dynamics. This is called resentment.
2. Resentment – Resentment is the record of wrongs being fueled by feelings of holding onto it and starting to meditate or chew on it. When we have feelings of resentment, we think of them in our mind (soul) and we feel them in our heart (spirit). Resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness are spiritual problems, not psychological problems.
3. Retaliation – After resentment gets a foothold, then we have retaliation. After resentment has started to simmer, we find ways to get back at the person who caused it. Retaliation wants to make the person pay. It’s time to get even!
4. Anger – After retaliation gets a foothold, then anger starts to set in. Unforgiveness, resentment and retaliation have been building and now a real strong feeling of anger comes along.
5. Hatred – After anger sets in, there comes hatred. Hatred says this: “Because I’m remembering what you did to me, because I have really been meditating on it and I really resent it, I’m going to get even. Hatred says: “There’s no reason for you and I to be in the same place together. There’s no reason for you to exist on this planet anymore. Hatred starts to develop into the elimination modality (state of mind)
6. Violence – After hatred comes violence. Violence says this: “Before I eliminate you, you are going to feel my pain. You are going to hear my voice. You are going to know my hatred. You are going to experience my hatred.
7. Murder – Once violence erupts, the final fruit of bitterness is murder. This can be actual physical murder or murder with the tongue which is character assassination (slander) or verbal abuse. When hatred, violence and murder are in someone’s life, they feel they are justified and everybody else is going to pay the price.
If any one of these seven areas answering to bitterness exists, all of the preceding ones will be there from the one area. If left unchecked, all the rest will surely come.
Forgiveness: What God Expects of Us – 70x7
Jesus was teaching and Peter asked the Lord, how often should I forgive my brother? Up to seven times? Jesus said, No, I do not say until seven times; I say to you seventy times seven. Mathew 18:20-22 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?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Every minute of your day when your brother blows it regarding the same issue- minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, release him. In releasing him, you release yourself. Do as the Lord instructs. Be in obedience to God and He will release you.
You do not need to carry someone else’s sin. You are not to judge him and his sin (Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged). God will judge him. Your job is to release them, get back before God, get your heart right with God, and keep on moving forward in forgiveness to all that offend you. Your freedom does not depend on their resolution; it depends on your resolution.
When you forgive others, you are not letting them off the hook but giving them to God, still wiggling on the hook. You are now off the hook.
When you forgive someone, you continue to hate their sin, but you are commanded to love them. (1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also, 1 John 4:12…If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us). To forgive, you do not have to condone their sin.
Ask the Lord who you need to forgive?
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