WE ARE TO FORGIVE AND COMFORT OTHERS

PROCLAMATION

“If anyone has caused grief … not to put it too severely … you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”  2 Corinthians 2:5-7 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  In this chapter Paul addresses the forgiveness of an offender.  He told them that if a brother offends them, they should forgive him and comfort him.  They should also reaffirm their love for him. (2 Corinthians 2:8)  Rejecting him could cause him to be overwhelmed.  They should show him love and restore him to the fellowship.

 

APPLICATION

Forgiveness is very important in the life of a believer.  We are encouraged to forgive a brother who has caused us grief.  We should also forgive a brother who has messed up in other ways. (Galatians 6:1)  Remember, we all have sinned in the past and were in need of forgiveness. (Romans 3:23)  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus The Christ, said that we are to forgive those who have done us wrong.  In fact, He said that we should forgive our brother “seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)  He also said that if we do not forgive others, then we will not be forgiven of our sins. (Mark 11:26)  Having an unforgiving spirit is not Christ-like. 

 

WE ARE TO FORGIVE AND COMFORT OTHERS

Proclamation:

“If anyone has caused grief … not to put it too severely … you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”  2 Corinthians 2:5-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  Here Paul addresses the forgiveness of an offender.  He said that if a brother offends them, they should forgive him and comfort him.  They should also reaffirm their love for him. (2 Corinthians 2:8)  Rejecting him could cause him to be overwhelmed and they should restore him to the fellowship.

Application:

Forgiveness is very important in the life of a believer.  Here Paul encourages us to forgive a brother who has caused us grief.  However, he also states that we should forgive a brother who has messed up in other ways. (Galatians 6:1)  Remember, we all have sinned in the past and were in need of forgiveness. (Romans 3:23)  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus The Christ, said that we are to forgive those who have done us wrong.  He said if we do not forgive others, then we will not be forgiven of our sins. (Mark 11:26)  Having an unforgiving spirit is not Christ-like. 

WE MUST FORGIVE TO BE FORGIVEN

Proclamation:

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors ... For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:12-15 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples and to the surrounding crowd during His Sermon on The Mount.  First, He taught them that when they pray they should ask to be forgiven as they forgive others.  Then He told them that if they forgive others, then God would forgive them.  But if they did not forgive others, then God would not forgive them.  Jesus explained to them that they must first forgive those who have sinned against them in order to be forgiven of their own sins.

Application:

We all have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  None of us is righteous on our own. (Romans 3:10)  If we are righteous, whatever righteousness we have was credited to us by God just as it was credited to Abraham, the father of the faithful. (Romans 4:20-24)  We have done wrong to our fellow man but the sins which we committed were sins against God. (Psalm 51:4)  Only God can forgive us of our sins.  If we admit that we have sinned and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, He will. (1 John 1:9)  However, we have to ask God for His forgiveness.  In the model prayer which Jesus taught His disciples, He said that we should ask our heavenly Father to "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."  When we ask for forgiveness, we will only be forgiven as we are willing to forgive others.  Jesus made it clear that if we do not forgive others of their sins against us, then our heavenly Father will not forgive us of our sins. (Mark 11:25)  Simply put, we must forgive in order to be forgiven.

ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE IT IF YOU BELIEVE IT

Proclamation:

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:24-25 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle Mark, on the day after He drove the money changers out of the temple.  Jesus said when you pray and ask for something, you must believe that you have already received it and it will be yours. Then He said when you pray, if you are holding anything against anyone, forgive them.  This was one of the lessons that Jesus taught His disciples during the week prior to His crucifixion.

Application:
When we pray and ask for something that gives God glory, we will receive it if, and only if, we believe it.  We should believe and act as if it is already done.  However, we should not ask for anything while we are harboring an ill will against our brother because of a wrong done to us.  We must first forgive them before we ask for what it is that we want.  The point here is that we should not ask to be blessed while we are mad at someone.  Let’s not allow negative feelings cause us to miss out on a blessing.

DON'T JUDGE OTHERS FORGIVE THEM

Proclamation:

“Do not judge or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples and to the surrounding crowd during His Sermon on the Mount as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  Only Jesus has the authority to judge anyone and He will judge everyone. (John 5:22 and 1 Peter 4:5)  Those who judge others will be judged in the same way that they judged others. (Matthew 7:2)

Application:

Human beings are sinful by nature.  We will frequently do, say, or think the wrong things. However, all too often we are quick to condemn others for their wrongdoings.  None of us is perfect. (Romans 3:10)  All of us have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  To those who wish to condemn others, Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone ..." (John 8:7)  It would be better for us if we would forgive those who have sinned against us and pray for those who have done wrong.  For if we forgive others who have sinned against us God will forgive us of our sins.  If we do not forgive others then we ourselves will not be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15)  So, let us not be quick to condemn and judge, let us be quick to forgive.

DON'T STAY ANGRY

Proclamation:

“In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Ephesus while he was a prisoner in Rome.  Paul reminded them that they were saved by the grace of God and that they were to behave in a Christ-like manner.  He said that it was okay for them to get angry, but it was not okay to stay angry or to let anger control their lives.  Getting angry did not give them the permission to sin.  They were to forgive the person who made them angry and not let the devil use their anger to cause them to sin.

Application:

We have all gotten mad or angry at some time in our lives.  Anger is a natural emotion.  The “anger” is not the issue, but what we do about it or what we do when we get angry that becomes the problem.  The world says, "Don't get mad, get even" but that is not the Christian way of doing things.  The Bible says, "Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:26-27 KJV)  The Bible also says "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32 KJV)  Acting out of anger allows the devil to take control of our behavior and speech and we do not give God glory.  According to Bible scholar Rev Dr John Mac Arthur, "bitterness can be likened to a smoldering resentment (that gets worse with time).  Wrath has to do with rage, the passion of the moment.  Anger is an internal, deep hostility.  Clamor is the outcry of strife out of control.  'Evil speaking' is slander.  And 'malice' is the general term for evil, the root of all vices."  We need to do the right thing, be righteous and Christ-like.  We may get angry, but we should not stay angry or act while we are angry.  We need to forgive whoever made us angry and not wait a long time before we do it.  Forgiving them will probably require us to pray a long prayer and ask for God’s help, but we will be better off for having done so.

We Must Forgive In Order To Be Forgiven

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

The Apostle Matthew records these words of Jesus as He spoke to His disciples, and to the surrounding crowd, in His Sermon on The Mount.  He said, if you forgive others, then God will forgive you.  If you do not forgive others, then God will not forgive you.

Jesus made it perfectly clear, if we want God to forgive us of our sins, then we must forgive those who have sinned against us. (Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25-26)  He also made it clear in the model prayer which He taught His disciples, that we would only be forgiven as we forgive others. (Matthew 6:12 and Luke 11:4)  Forgiveness is an important part of Christ-like behavior.  When Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive one who sins against him, the reply that Jesus gave him was "seventy times seven". (Matthew 18:21-22)  Even while He was hanging on the cross, before He died, He prayed for the forgiveness of those who had sinned against Him. (Luke 23:34)  That prayer was not just for the solders who crucified Him, it was for all of us also.  All of us have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  All sin is a sin against God. (Psalms 41:4 and 51:4)  We must confess our sins and ask to be forgiven, and He will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)  However, God will only forgive us of our sins if we forgive others of their sins against us.  We must forgive in order to be forgiven.