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Forgiven! “…As
You Forgive…” Forgive Defined Original
Greek Word: ἀφίημι aphiēmi — “cry,
forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away,
remit, yield up “to omit, neglect; to let go, give up a debt, forgive, to remit to give up, keep no longer; to
abandon, leave
destitute” Only the Gospel settles the “who pays” question. Forgiveness requires
the settling of a debt. Just choosing to forgive doesn’t eliminate the cost
of what happened. The debt is still there and must be dealt with. Forgiveness
shifts the responsibility of the debt from the one who caused it to someone
else who will cover it. In the Gospel, that someone else is Christ Jesus.
Justice has already been served for every hurt, lie, disappointment, and
wound you have or will suffer. Forgiveness is applying the blood of Christ
Jesus the Messiah AS PAYMENT IN FULL for every hurt, lie,
disappointment, and wound you and I ever have or will suffer. 1 Who Pays?
Counter-Intuitive Foundation I Adam and Eve sinned. And out of God’s pure, complete
love for the highest good of humanity came God’s justice and wrath. His wrath
is His holy and just indignation against sin, because sin is what separates
humankind from Him, His love, and His benefits (Exodus
12:13, 23; Rom. 1:18-32; 5:9-11; 11:22; 1 Thess. 5:9-10; 1 John 1:5). Instead of permitting Adam & Eve to die physically,
God sacrificed animals as substitutes; God covered Adam and
Eve with tunics of skin from the first (animal)
blood sacrifice, required for God to participate
with corrupted people. And this was a foreshadowing of Messiah – Christ the
Redeemer (Gen. 3:15-21; Lev. 17:11; Isaiah 53; Matt.
1:21; 26:28; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:26). Who Pays?
Counter-Intuitive Foundation II Under the Old Testament Law of Moses,
other substitutes died to cover their sins when God’s people sinned again by
breaking His commands. God gave very strict and exact laws to Aaron, the
original high priest, regarding how he was to present animal sacrifices,
including the perfect lamb (a
symbol of Christ Jesus, the Messiah), for the atonement of the sins of God's
chosen family. We can read about what happened to the
people after the high priest offered the lamb sacrifice (Leviticus 16, 17).
The blood of
one of the goats (also a symbol of Jesus the Messiah,
who was the sacrifice for the people's sins) was to be brought within the
tabernacle veil and sprinkled upon the place of mercy and in front of it.
This covered the broken commandments and humankind's sins contained in the
Ark of the Covenant. After the rite of atonement was
completed, the live goat was brought in. The high priest laid
both hands upon the head of the live goat and confessed all the people's sins
over it. Then he sent the goat, with all these sins on it, into the desert
where no one lived. This was the "scapegoat," and it took all the
sins away. After
first covering the people's sins so that they could accept them, God removed
all evidence of sin. God speaks of the highway of holiness,
which reaches right down to earth (Isaiah 35:8). Through mercy, man approaches God on
that highway. Christ Jesus the Messiah was and is God's holiness extended to
us, and He provides the way because He IS the way. Who Pays?
Counter-Intuitive Foundation III FORGIVEN “Since we
are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by
His blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of His
grace.” (Ephesians
1:7) “Your
heart can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you
worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to you by living in
the light. He has rescued you completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness
and has translated you into the Kingdom realm of His beloved Son. For in the
Son all your sins are forgiven and you have the release of
redemption through His very blood.” (Colossians
1:12-14) “For God
was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting
people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message He has given us to tell and show others.” (2
Corinthians 5:19) When we do
go into sin: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we
say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John
1:7-10) “Christ Jesus has graciously forgiven you; therefore, tolerate the
weaknesses of others, forgiving one another in the same
way. If you find fault with
someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. You are always and
dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of
God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you
endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward
all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. For love
is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of
true maturity. (Col.
3:12-14) “Forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us.” (Matthew
6:12) “And
whenever you stand praying, if you carry something in your heart against
another person, release them and forgive them so that
your Father in heaven will also release you and forgive you of your faults.
But if you will not release forgiveness, don’t expect your Father in heaven
to release you from your misdeeds.” (Mark
11:25-26) Forgiveness of self and others is the condition of forgiveness by
God. Who Pays?
Counter-Intuitive Foundation IV “…AS YOU FORGIVE…” The owner
of this website has a close friend who was born again as an early teenager.
In his early 50s, he prayed, asking God if there was anyone he needed to
forgive. Over the next several hours, the Holy Spirit answered his prayer
with a list of 42 people, including himself, plus two organizations. “Peter
asked Jesus how often should we forgive someone who sins against us? ..Seven times? Jesus answered, ‘No, not seven times,’
but seventy times seven! Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared
to a king who, filled with pity, released & forgave a servant [#1] who could not pay his enormous
debt. When that forgiven servant [#1] would not
forgive a fellow servant’s [#2] much, much smaller
debt, the king handed him [#1] over to the tormentors until he had paid his entire
original debt. [This is when Jesus leaves the parable and conveys authentic
reality:] That's what My heavenly Father
will do to you if you refuse to forgive others from your heart.” (Christ
Jesus the Messiah at Matthew 18:21-35) Acts
7:36-60 states: “Stephen spoke the truth, ’…You
stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you
forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do
you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the
ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you
betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, even though you
received it from the hands of angels.’ The religious leaders were infuriated
by Stephen's [truthful] report, and they shook their fists at him in rage…
Then they…began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city
and began to stone him. …He fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don't charge them
with this sin!’ And with that, he died.” Jesus and His followers never let hurt, lies, disappointment, or
wounds determine whether they forgive. Only the Gospel settles the “who pays” question. Forgiveness requires
the settling of a debt. Just choosing to forgive doesn’t eliminate the cost
of what happened. The debt is still there and must be dealt with. Forgiveness
shifts the responsibility of the debt from the one who caused it to someone
else who will cover it. In the Gospel, that someone else is Christ Jesus.
Justice has already been served for every hurt, lie, disappointment, and
wound you have or will suffer. Forgiveness is applying the blood of Christ
Jesus the Messiah AS PAYMENT IN FULL for every hurt, lie,
disappointment, and wound you and I ever have or will suffer. 1 Forgiving requires faith in God’s faithfulness. This is
the power of Christ in you. We forgive intentional and unintentional hurt, disappointment, and wounds. We forgive unmet
expectations. If you choose not to forgive, your Father, who is in heaven, will not
forgive you. Forgiveness of hurt, lies,
disappointment and wounds is the condition of
forgiveness by God (Mt. 6:12;
18:21-35; Mk. 11:25-26; Luke 11:4; Rom. 12:14). GOD EXPECTS FORGIVEN PEOPLE TO FORGIVE THEMSELVES AND OTHERS SO MUCH
SO THAT HE TIES HIS FORGIVENESS TO OURS. 1 Also,
Ephesians 6:12 instructs: ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood [ourselves; other peoples], but against…the [unseen] spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.’ …And
consider the truth at Romans 7:15-25, that Apostle Paul candidly informs us,
“the sin that dwells in us” is separate from ourselves and other
people. Paul confessed: “I want to do what is good, but I don’t do what is
good; if I do what I don’t want to do, it is no longer I doing
it, but sin that dwells in me.” These dynamics are separate from ourselves;
these dynamics are separate from our offender(s). With this
simple yet profound understanding, we can learn to separate the offender from their sin.
This is the power of Christ in you. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him [God] a liar, and His word is not in
us.” (1 John
1:10) How To What
follows is an excellent guide in processing unforgiveness, resentment, anger,
hatred, and bitterness, God’s way: Express to
God aloud, “As it is written, for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to
Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful
message He has given us to tell and show others.” (2
Corinthians 5:19) OR “As it is
written, Jesus Himself is the propitiation (full satisfaction) for my sins;
and not for mine only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John
2:2) “THANK
YOU, THANK YOU FOR FORGIVING ME!” “And
today, through the name of Christ Jesus, I earnestly repent to You, Father
God, for my agreement with the sin of bitterness, including unforgiveness,
resentment, retaliation, anger, wrath, hatred, violence, murder with the
tongue, and murder—bitterness. Express to
God aloud, “Father God, I cannot do this without you, you don’t want me to do
this without you, and I don’t want to do this without you. “Father
God, because you have forgiven me, I, from my heart of hearts, forgive myself
of ____ , ____ , and ____ !” “Because
You have completely forgiven me, I, from my heart of hearts, release myself
and all of these wrongs to you. I transfer all my
debt to the cross of Christ Jesus. Justice has already been served for my
offense(s) on Jesus—He paid the entire debt. I declare I am no longer guilty.
I am acquitted and made right.” Declare aloud,
“Father God, thank you for blessing, protecting, smiling on, and being
gracious to me. Thank you for showing me your favor and giving me your
peace.” Ask Father God, “Show me ways
of receiving Your bless.” Listen, and obey; He will empower you. Express to
Father God aloud, “You know that ___ (the offender’s name) did ___ and ___ and ___ and ___ . And You know how wrong it was for them to do any of
these things to me, and You know how much they offended [or hurt] me! Father
God, You know their motives as well as their
actions. “Father
God, I cannot do this without you, you don’t want me to do this without you,
and I don’t want to do this without you. “Because
you have completely forgiven me, I, from my heart of hearts, release ___
(offender’s name) and all of those
wounds and wrongs to you. I declare ____ is no longer in my debt. I
transfer all their debt to the cross of Christ Jesus. Justice has already
been served for this/these offense(s) on Jesus—He paid the entire debt.” (We
forgive both
the wounds and the offender.) Declare
aloud, “Father God, bless, protect, smile on, and be gracious to ___ (the
offender). Show ___ your favor and give ___ your peace.” Ask Father God, “Show me ways of blessing
___ when possible.” Listen, and obey;
He will empower you. For one
example, my ex-wife had an ‘extracurricular relationship’ while we were
married. I soon completely forgave her from my heart and earnestly prayed
that she would enjoy a rich, fulfilling, Godly, holy matrimony with her
future husband. I continued to pray for her. (By the way, she later genuinely
invited Christ Jesus into her heart, and married a man heading into ministry.
She invited me to her wedding, and I gladly attended!) If you
cannot bless the offender, you have not earnestly forgiven them from your
heart. Jesus empowers us:
“Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” “Love your enemies! Pray
for those who persecute you!” (Luke
6:28; Matt. 5:44) “Bless
those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless
them.” “We bless those who curse us.
We are patient with those who abuse us.”
This is the power of Christ in you. (Rom.
12:14; 1 Cor. 4:12) Declare aloud, “Father God, I intentionally forgive from my heart and
forget this/these offences.” Forgiveness
is always required, and
what about reconciliation? How do you bless someone who is no longer living? Here are a few suggestions: #1. Ask God to tell them that you have
forgiven them and that you are okay with them. Go even further and express
your love for them. This may sound bizarre, but we have found it to be very
powerful because, again, the issue is the posture of your heart. “God, would
you please tell my mother-in-law, ___ , that I have
forgiven her and I’m okay with her? Tell her I love her, and I miss
her." Some people even express their forgiveness and love by writing a
note to the person. “Grandma, I forgive you. I’m okay with you and I love and
miss you!” Powerful. #2. Ask God to bless their descendants.
Elaborate how you want Him to do that, such as draw them to Jesus, heal them
of any wounds the deceased person may have caused, bless them relationally
and financially, etc. “God, please bless all my grandmothers’ descendants. I
ask that you draw each of them to You, the greatest blessing, and may they
walk with You throughout their lives." #3. Ask God to change the way people
remember them, such as remembering the good things about them, not the
negative things. “God, would you please remind people who knew my grandmother
of all the good things she did and represented? Please cover the negative
with Your sacrifice. I desire to honor my grandmother." Blessing
those who have wounded us after we have forgiven them is powerful. We
experience the love and compassion of the Lord Jesus flowing through us. We
see the person through Christ’s eyes, and our hearts are forever changed! Don’t believe
the lie that since the person who wounded you isn’t here anymore,
you are no longer obligated to forgive. “For if while 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.” (Romans 5:10) While we were enemies, in other words, while we were dead, i.e., separated
from God, God blessed us with the greatest blessing of all, the death of His
son to pay for our sins. Your freedom is on the other side of your
forgiveness experience, even with those deceased people in your life who
wounded you deeply. If and when your Adversary accuses this person to you in the future, earnestly
thank God aloud because you “distinctly remember Him helping you forgive this
person's offense(s): I praise you for the freedom forgiveness has brought
me!” When your Accuser experiences you
praising God aloud a few times, he will cease his (false) accusations. 1 God is
always faithful in forgiving your sins when you “walk in the light as He is
in the light and confess them to Him.” (1 John
1:7-10; Matt. 11:28; Ps. 66:18) And God is
always faithful in forgiving others when they do the same. That is good news! To download
this “How To” as a PDF, click HERE Life From Death As our Father God stated to Os Hillman: “Son, each
of my sons and daughters must experience their own personal cross in order to fulfill their destiny; there has to be a death before life can really be experienced.
Betrayal is the tool that has often been a catalyst for this process. Even if
you voluntarily go to the cross, it usually requires a third person to
complete the process. For Jesus, it was Judas; for David, it was Absalom; for
Joseph, it was his brothers. You must learn to wash the feet of the Judas' in
your life. That is how you learn true forgiveness. That is how death works
life in you. “For it is
not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates
me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide. But it was you, a
man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng.” Psalms 55:12-14 Personal
Responsibility Adopted from a Paul Tripp devotional:
“Speaking
the truth in love.” And,
“…If another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should
gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path… If you think you
are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not
that important.” These powerful
little phrases from Ephesians 4 and Galatians 6 provide not only the
permission but also the practical definition of biblical variance when
another brother or sister in the Lord needs to be corrected. Why do we
speak the truth? “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:14). And, so that we can “grow up in every way into him who is
the head, into Christ” (v. 15). If this
results from speaking truth, withholding it would be terribly unloving! But
the justification of using Ephesians 4 and Galatians 6 must also be taken
with a warning: biblical confrontation requires checking your
own heart. Since
personal biblical ministry involves building relationships with struggling
sinners, it is impossible to serve without somehow being touched by the sin
and struggle of those we serve. The angry
person will get angry with you, the distrustful person will question your
trustworthiness, and the discouraged person will probably receive your best
counsel with cynicism and doubt. It will be
very rare that someone will accept your correction with immediate gratitude
and joy! Since we,
too, are struggling sinners, we must confess that we will need abundant grace
for these oppositional responses. In
discipleship or counseling, this step of preparation is often neglected and
the result becomes messy. It’s not only because the receiver was unteachable,
but because the ambassador was unprepared. Therefore,
biblical confrontation begins with confronting the sin in your own heart
before confronting the sin of someone else (Gal. 6:1, 2). If I do not start
with my own heart, I will tend to: Turn moments of ministry
into moments of resentment. Resentment will shape my words more than the good
God wants to do through me. Personalize what is not
personal. Horizontal offenses (against me) will seem more
significant than the person’s vertical life (relationship with God) and I
will become increasingly sensitive to things that are not personal,
but are simply indicators of where basic changes are needed in the
person’s heart. Be adversarial in my
approach. The more I am hurt and fail to deal with it, the
more I assume a “stand against” posture rather than a “stand with” posture
when I encounter the one who hurt me. It is tragic but true: we do sometimes
become the adversaries of people we are called to help. Confuse my opinion with
God’s will. My job is to hold the mirror of the Word of God in
front of a brother or sister so they can see accurately. However, when I fail
to deal with my own heart, my words will be driven by my feelings, desires,
and opinions. Settle for quick
solutions that do not address the heart. I will be less excited by what
God is doing and more eager to end the uncomfortable confrontation. Rather
than being motivated to persevere until God has accomplished all that he
intends, I will be attracted to superficial solutions that allow me to move
on. Are there
sinful attitudes you have not faced within yourself that can hinder the
discipleship and ministry relationships God has planned for you? It is
impossible to speak the truth in love when I am not dealing with my thoughts,
feelings, desires, and attitudes that stand in the way. God has ordained that difficult person to be in your life. It is not
a sign of God’s inattention but his covenant-keeping care. The Wonderful
Counselor is working on everybody involved. Not only
is God utilizing you to help this person change, but God is also using this
person to expose the areas where you need to change! It is impossible to
participate in God’s work of transformation without confessing your need for
it as well. No one is more ready to communicate God’s grace than someone who has
faced their own desperate need for it. A Prayer for Today: Father, I confess that my own heart was not right
when I felt the need to correct ___ . Thank you for your merciful forgiveness and
that “when I confess my faults you are faithful and just to forgive me and
cleanse me from all unrighteousness.” Help me to
become someone who is aware of my own need for your grace before I approach
another person in an attempt to correct them. I
admit that I am tempted to correct others out of the desires of my own
selfish feelings and opinions, so I need you to help alter my motivations as
I speak the truth in love to others. Thank you for caring enough about me to
place relationships in my life that refine and mold me more and more into
someone who humbly admits to needing your grace. By the power of your Spirit,
please convict me, and then work through me to help others know you more.
Through Jesus Christ’s blood and name, amen. Effective Prayers
for Your Protection Your desperate adversary wants
to prevent you from accessing your freedom. If necessary, please be strongly
encouraged to consider praying any or all of these prayers, with or
without meals, plus as needed. Links “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
[definite requests] with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.” –Philippians 4:6 See The Art of Prayer “And by that same
mighty power, He has given to us exceeding great and
precious promises; that by these you all might be partakers of the Divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” –2
Peter1:4 There are 750 promises in the New
Testament alone The Key
That Unlocks All
Promises Link to the list of 250 separate benefits
of the 750 New Testament promises “For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places.” –Ephesians
6:12. See the reality of evil, Satan, or the devil See the bondage of unrighteousness (sin) and
corruption “He personally bore
our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” –1 Peter “Beloved, I wish above
all things that you may prosper and be in health, even
as your soul prospers.” – 3 John 1: 2 Link to God's Plan for Mankind |
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