"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." (Matthew 18:21-35).
Forgiveness is a topic that people don't like to discuss much. We want other people to forgive us when we wrong them, but we are not always so quick to forgive them when they wrong us. We feel they don't deserve forgiveness. We just can't seem to forget the hurt and pain they caused us, so we can't forgive. Peter was struggling with this issue and asked Jesus how many times a day he should forgive someone who sins against him. He was probably hoping Jesus would say a really small number, then he would be justified in holding unforgiveness in his heart toward someone. Jesus told him seventy times seven. Now, I'm sure Jesus wasn't saying walk around with a note pad and pencil or calculator and actually keep count of how many times they sin against us in the same day. He was just saying, forgive no matter how many times they say "I'm sorry". Our mindset seems to be after one or two times that we are not obligated to forgive them anymore. This is not the case. How many times does Jesus forgive us? He is patient with us and forgives us when we ask. Should we not show the same patience toward others?
It isn't enough to say with our lips, "I forgive you", but we must show it with our actions. Forgiveness brings peace and joy. Forgiveness shows God's love. If we do not truly forgive others, then we cannot expect the Lord to forgive us.
"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." (Matthew 6:14-15).
This passage makes it very plain to understand. If we want God to forgive us, we must forgive others. If we do not forgive them, He will not forgive us. If He doesn't forgive us, we cannot enter into Heaven. It's that simple. To be forgiven, we must be willing to forgive.
People may have done some terrible things to you. They may have hurt you in ways unimaginable. They may have done things that would seem unforgivable. Sometimes, we cannot forgive on our own merit or strength. We can't find it in our hearts to forgive them. This is when we ask the Lord to help us forgive them. They deserve forgiveness just like we do. They deserve grace and mercy to be shown to them just like we do. Once forgiveness has been given to others, the peace of God that comes can not be compared to anything else in this life.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, dying for the sins of the whole world, He forgave the men who were torturing and crucifying Him. He showed the greatest love, mercy and grace by forgiving them for their terrible actions toward Him. He could have retaliated and fought back. He could have cursed them and called angels to come and take Him down from the cross. He did not do those things. He forgave. He showed them love.
"And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." (Acts 7:60).
Stephen was being stoned to death because He followed Christ. As they were throwing these stones at him; cutting into his flesh, knocking teeth out, hitting his head and taking his life, he prayed for them and asked God to forgive them. These men were angry at him. They were hurting him. They were killing him. They were not showing him love, mercy or grace; yet that is what he was showing them. How could he do that under such terrible circumstances? It says he was filled with the Holy Ghost (verse 55). He knew that forgiveness of other people would benefit him as much as it would them. He knew the importance of forgiving others...even when they don't ask for it.
Did someone hurt you? Did they wrong you? Are you holding unforgiveness toward them? Do you think you cannot forgive them? Do you feel they do not deserve forgiveness? Maybe they don't seem sorry and haven't asked for your forgiveness. Forgive them anyway. That's what Jesus did, and He is our example to live our lives by. That's what Stephen did. Pray and ask the Lord to help you forgive others, no matter how deep the hurt they may have caused you. Pray for them as Jesus and Stephen did.
Have you asked Him to forgive your sins? Ask Him today. He is faithful to forgive you. He will not hesitate to forgive you if you ask Him. All you have to do is call on Him.
Your eternity depends on it
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
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