Colossians 3:12-13 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye”
I want us to center our attention on the word FORGIVENESS here that the Apostle Paul uses as he is attempting to teach those CHRISTIANS at the ancient city of COLOSSAE.
Forgiveness is the cornerstone of our religeous belief, Without forgiveness we cannot even begin our CHRISTIAN JOURNEY. We cannot become “BORN AGAIN” until GOD forgives us through JESUS CHRIST and washes our sins away. Then when we are “BORN AGAIN” or “BORN ANEW” we must then FORGIVE as CHRIST FORGAVE us. When someone does something to you that offends you or they do you wrong, you, WE, must forgive them. But to do this we must know what FORGIVENESS means, we must know the definition of it. Listen please as read these difinitions and synonymns of the word FORGIVENESS taken out of some Bible dictionaries and then to some scriptures that show what JESUS and some of the APOSTLES thought about this subject. First the definitions:
To grant as a favor, that is gratuitously, in kindness, to pardon or to rescue or to deliver, or to (frankly) forgive, to (freely) give, or to grant in any sense.
To send forth, in all instances, to forsake, to lay aside, to NOT demand but leave alone, to graceously let alone, to let be, to let go, to let someone have their freedom or not demand their payment of whatever they may owe you, to leave out or to omit a person’s debt, to put away or to send away, to remit, NOT as you remit a payment of money that you owe, but to cancel or refrain from exacting or inflicting a debt or punishment., to yield up.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth and gave these instructions. Turn with me or listen attentatively as I read in the book of 2nd Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should het an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
Walking the CHRISTIAN walk or attempting to live a CHRISTIAN life is at it’s best “HARD”. It is not easy, especially in this world or at this time that WE now live in. Also as WE attempt this awesome task we have an enemy that we must contend with, and of course that is satan, and we must contend with him every day of our lives. Before we were saved or “BORN AGAIN” he didn’t bother us much because we were not in his or his angels way while they were trying to destroy the CHURCH, and never think that he is NOT your enemy, because when you become part of the BODY OF CHRIST you enter into a SPIRITUAL battle that is RAGING and has been since time began, since GOD spoke this world and yes this whole universe into existance. Satan will take every ADVANTAGE you give him, and holding grudges and not forgiving others leaves a CHINK in your armour that he can really hurt you and make you struggle along on your JOURNEY. Listen to what the Apostle Paul told those at Rome: Turn with me please to the book of Romans:
Romans 13:10-14 “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer that when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
So!!!! FORGIVE, so you don’t give the devil the advantage in this war we are waging. UNFORGIVEN sin is a BURDEN, is a HEAVY WEIGHT upon you. This NARROW road, this NARROW pathway that we must walk is hard enough to travel without carrying about all that extra weight that UNFORGIVENESS adds to us.
Now what does JESUS say about us forgiving others.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:24-26 “therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
You can’t even get your PRAYERS ANSWERED unless you forgive others. Can you imagine going through your life without being able to pray or to have your prayers answered. Can you imagine trying to live in this day or time without having direction and forgiveness to help you along the way.
As the APOSTLE PAUL preached at ANTIOCH he said: please listen as I READ from the book of ACTS.
Acts 13:38 “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:”
You have to begin your journey by being “BORN AGAIN” maybe you are thinking, how do I get that way, how do I become “BORN AGAIN” well don’t worry because listen to what JESUS explained to Nicodemus in the 3rd Chapter of John 3:14-16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up . That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he have his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Place your heart felt belief in JESUS’s atonement through HIS death upon the cross and you can be saved.
The GOD will give you the strength to forgive others as “CHRIST FORGAVE YOU”!
