Forgiveness Is A Two-Way Street

In a dream, Martin Luther (16th century Protestant Reformation) found himself being attacked by Satan. The devil unrolled a long scroll containing a list of Luther's sins, and held it before him. On reaching the end of the scroll Luther asked the devil, "Is that all?" "No," came the reply, and a second scroll was thrust in front of him.

Then, after a second came a third. But now the devil had no more. "You've forgotten something," Luther exclaimed triumphantly. "Quickly write on each of them, 'The blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanses us from all sins.'"   -K. Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, p. 10.

I know that some of you are probably thinking, "Forgiven by God for all my wrongs, all my mistakes, and all my sins seems too good to be true." I can totally understand this. After all, God's total, unconditional forgiveness is tough for many of us to accept. It's simply too much of a stretch to comprehend this kind of forgiveness.

But as you scratch your heads, think about this: Forgiving you is God's idea, and is made possible by Christ's death and resurrection. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."

Yes, it's completely mind-boggling, amazing, and true. But, no matter how awful your sins may have been, God forgives and forgets. He doesn't save you because you're deserving; he saves you because he can. God is better than you ever hoped, or imagined!

Let's face it, we are very lucky that the Jesus of Scripture is so gracious, forgiving, and loving. We're also fortunate that our God is a God of unlimited second chances. Because, boy do we need it! We, as people, have an infinite capacity to mess up, so we definitely need a God of second chances (Ephesians 1:7-8; Psalm 86:5).

The Bible describes sin as the deadly enemy of all mankind. The chaotic and confused condition of our world proves this basic biblical truth. Yet, most of humankind (us) remains solidly in denial. As was mentioned above, our human nature has a powerful compulsion to sin.

Therefore, in order to receive God's gift of eternal life, we must completely forsake sin in our attitudes and intents. However, and this is very important, you can't earn the forgiveness of God. There's no room (for those who understand and know the Word of God) for the idea of penance. It's freely given (Ephesians 2:8-9).

One of the great gifts in Christ is this gift of forgiveness, regardless of background, regardless of how we've been, and regardless of what our future holds. Forgiveness is essential for each and every Christian.  And, yes, it certainly is a great comfort for us to know that we have been forgiven by God.

However, it's just as essential for us to understand that we must learn to forgive as we have been forgiven. It would be virtually impossible for someone to be a Christian and not know that God commands them to forgive. Matthew 18:21-22 demonstrates that forgiveness is commanded in the Bible!

Of course, these verses aren't saying that there's some "magic number" to forgiveness. What our Lord is really trying to say is that we need to have a "character of forgiveness" within us. In other words, we just need to be ready and willing to forgive and forgive again. Why? Because that's who God is! It's our Heavenly Father’s character to forgive, and we're His children. Thus, it should be in our character to forgive as well!

And, because Jesus forgave us, we should forgive others fully, freely, and forever, as well. George Herbert (English poet, orator and Anglican priest) wrote: “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need to be forgiven.”

How do we forgive? Not in our own strength (that's for sure!) Forgiveness is only possible through a cross. Forgiveness is simply accepting what Jesus has already accomplished for us on the cross (1 John 1:9).

Paul said in Ephesians 4:32, "Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." In other words God's forgiveness is underneath ours and creates it and supports it. So that if we don't give it to others (if we go on in an unforgiving spirit) what we show is that God is not there in our lives. We're not trusting him. And not trusting him will keep us out of heaven.

I'd like to close out today's message about forgiveness with a word from Charles H. Spurgeon. This is what the great preacher said about the topic, "To be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison with it. But yet there is one thing sweeter still, and that is to forgive. As it is more blessed to give than to receive, so to forgive rises a stage higher in experience than to be forgiven." Amen to that!

Scripture: Matthew 6:15; Luke 6:37; Romans 3:23; Acts 2:38; James 2:8; Ecclesiastes 7:20;  Luke 6:27

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the love you give me. Your love gives me strength and courage to love others in return. Please help me to show love to those who are in need of it most. Amen  

May God bless you,

Elizabeth