Forgiveness: A Radical Way to Live Forgive as Christ Forgave Doris Barr October 12, 2014

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1 Forgiveness: A Radical Way to Live Forgive as Christ Forgave Doris Barr October 12, 2014 I wonder if any of us fully understand the power of forgiveness and just how radical it really is to live a lifestyle of forgiveness. What would our world be like? What difference would it make in your family, in your relationships, in your workplace, in our world if everyone would forgive as God forgives. Earlier this morning we heard this verse: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Our call to forgiveness to this radical way of life - is to forgive just as Christ forgave you. Some of my most profound spiritual insights come these days from my grandchildren. For the past two years Braden attended a Christian Preschool, and learned a great little song to sing as grace before meals. So one day about six months ago, I sat down with Braden and Alayna to have lunch, we took hands and without prompting, as usual, they broke into their song which we had sung many times. But a few lines into the song, Braden, who was 4 at the time, tugged at my hand and said, Wait, wait, Nana! He scrunched up his face and began, Our Fodder, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name He had learned a new prayer and to my amazement recited it perfectly from beginning to end. But there was one part of the prayer that jumped out at me that day. When he got to the forgive us part, it wasn t debts or trespasses, he used the word sin. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. I found myself reflecting on that over and over again. I grew up reciting the Lord s Prayer with either debts or trespasses, and somehow I find it easy to gloss over those words, but there s something about sin that catches our attention. I could say debts easily because I didn t owe anyone any money, and the trespassing part was easy too, because I hadn t trespassed on anyone s property lately. But sin? Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. In this prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to ask for forgiveness, but there is a stipulation. Forgive us, as we forgive. We are forgiven as we forgive. That puts a whole new spin on forgiveness. The story is told that one day John Wesley visited General Oglethorpe when he was governor of the colony of Georgia. The general mentioned an incident involving a man who had angered him and remarked, "I shall never forgive him!" Wesley answered, "Then I hope, sir, you never sin." What is our response when someone offends us? In these two simple scriptures on forgiveness, we have juxtaposed two profound realities. We are called to forgive as God forgave us, and we will be forgiven in the same way we forgive others. Last week, we looked at the cycle of forgiveness. God through Jesus forgives us our sins. We in turn forgive others, and in forgiving others, we somehow release them to encounter the grace of God through our gift of forgiveness. It s a beautiful picture of the power of forgiveness to change and transform our lives and relationships. When it comes to forgiveness, Jesus is our model. He both taught and modeled forgiveness. When he walked among us, he taught, 25 And when you stand praying, if 1

2 you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25 Great teaching! We could say well, that s easy for Jesus to say. He was the Son of God, so of course he would forgive. Yes, He was the Son of God fully divine, but Jesus was fully human, too, and he encountered the most grueling test of forgiveness anyone could ever face as he went to the cross for us. Listen to this account of the crucifixion of Jesus. Allow yourself to enter the story, to see Jesus in these experiences, feel his pain and suffering, and hear his words of forgiveness. Luke 23:13-25; (NIV) 13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him. 18 But the whole crowd shouted, Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us! 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) 20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, Crucify him! Crucify him! 22 For the third time he spoke to them: Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him. 23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Father, forgive them. In his moment of greatest suffering, even as he faced death, Jesus extended forgiveness. It cost him his very life, but it was also the pathway to life and resurrection. What was true for Jesus is also true for us. Douglas Webster wrote, The cross of Jesus not only teaches us to forgive others, but it inspires and enables us to do so. Nothing else will. The cross of Jesus is central to the message of forgiveness. Jesus died not just for the sins you ve committed, but for every sin committed against you. Every offense needs to go to the cross. Jesus understood the reason for his suffering and death, and there is no doubt but that forgiveness of our most scandalous sin as well as the most scandalous sin committed against us was on his heart as hung dying on the cross. When Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they don t know what they are doing, it wasn t just for those who were crucifying him in that moment. It was 2

3 for your sin, and for every sin committed against you. Jesus has already spoken forgiveness over you and over every person who has ever sinned against you. The path to forgiveness is painful. Jesus felt the pain. He was not somehow immune because He was God s son. Jesus sweat drops of blood, he bore humiliation, shame, nakedness. He was stripped of all his rights, denied justice, felt abandoned even by God the Father. we feel the pain and suffering caused by sin ours and others. But resurrection is coming. Jesus didn t stay forever on the cross, in that place of suffering and pain. There is life after death, and the experience the power of the resurrection. That same resurrection power is available today to you and to me. We don t need to stay stuck in the pain and torment of sin and unforgiveness. We have a Savior. Forgiveness is a gift we receive from Jesus for Ourselves We can only give what we have first received. Sometimes the reason we struggle to forgive others is that we ve never deep received God s gift of forgiveness for ourselves. We may know and believe in our heads that God has forgiven us, but we still feel and live as though we need to beat ourselves up for past sin. We hold ourselves in judgment and never really forgive ourselves. In essence we re saying, Jesus, what you did on the cross for me is not enough. I need to beat myself up. When we condemn and judge ourselves, we will condemn and judge others. If, on the other hand we feel forgiven, it will be easy to receive God s forgiveness and extend it to others. Is there a sin you ve committed that you believe God could never forgive? Is there something in your past that still haunts you even though you ve asked forgiveness? If so, it will not only block your relationship with God, but will block the flow of forgiveness to others. In 1 John 1:9 we read, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. That s the truth for you today. You don t need to stay stuck in a prison of unforgiveness. To personally receive God s gift of forgiveness is to receive the greatest gift of love ever given. Forgiveness and Love go hand in hand. In Psalm 103, we read, He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him, and as far as the east if from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Love is an endless act of forgiveness. God s love for us and our love for others. 1 John 4:7-12 is one of the most powerful scriptures about the love of God. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. As I read this scripture this week, and thought about love being an endless act of forgiveness, I wondered what it would be like to substitute the word forgiveness for love in this passage. Listen as I read it again. 3

4 Dear friends, let us forgive one another, for forgiveness comes from God. Everyone who forgives has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not forgive does not know God, because God is forgiveness. This is how God showed his forgiveness among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might forgive through him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so forgave us, we also ought to forgive one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we forgive one another, God lives in us and his forgiveness is made complete in us. 1 John 4:7-12 Forgiveness is a gift we receive from Jesus and extend to others. You ve heard the old adage, To err is human, to forgive is divine. In order to truly forgive, we need God s help. We can t do it on our own. There is a divine component to forgiveness. Forgiveness is to release, to let go, relinquish. It is ultimately to get rid of sin both our sins and those committed against us, and only Jesus can do that for us. David Augsburger notes that the word forgive in the English language is an extended, expanded, strengthened form of the verb to give. By intensifying the verb we speak of giving at its deepest level, of self-giving, of giving forth and giving up deeply held parts of the self. By giving the people who have wronged us over to God, we also give ourselves to God. Parts of ourselves we have been holding are now entrusted to him. No wonder there is such healing power in forgiveness. When we release others and ourselves to God, we give up control and then his presence and power are released in us. (From Wounds that Heal by Stephen Seamands) When we struggle to forgive, we confess that we cannot do it in our own power, and ask God to give us the gift of forgiveness to extend to the person who sinned against us. We acknowledge that we don t have what it takes to forgive in our own power and we need to receive it from Jesus. Sometimes we struggle with forgiveness because are confused about what forgiveness is and is not. Dr. Lewis Smedes offers this helpful list of what forgiveness is not: i When you forgive a person, this does not mean you are immediately healed. i When you forgive a person, this does not mean you are going to be buddy/buddy. i When we forgive a person, this does not mean we surrender the right to restitution or justice when appropriate. i i When we forgive a person, this does not mean that we trust them, yet. When we forgive a person, we are not avoiding pain, we are opening the door to healing. Dr. Lewis Smedes True forgiveness is only possible through Christ. There s a lot of good self-help and counseling material written on forgiveness because all truth is God s truth. However, with forgiveness we must never lose sight of the cross of Christ. Any true forgiveness is given and received through the work of Jesus on the cross. Our own best effort will never release true forgiveness. It s a gift given and received through Jesus. 4

5 Forgiveness is a gift we receive from Jesus for ourselves. It s a gift we extend to others, and as we extend it to others, a powerful force of the love of Jesus is released into their lives. Forgiveness releases forgiveness. This week I received this a powerful story of the unexpected power of forgiveness to release another person. Dear Pastor Doris, Thank you so much for continuing to pray for me and my family and the broken relationships I have experienced this past year. As you know, there has been a lot of pain, questions, harsh words, etc. this past year and my sister has not spoken to me for more than ten months! On Sunday morning, when Pastor Layne began the series on Forgiveness, I knew the Lord was setting me up (for a breakthrough). Then, when he began to talk about the favorite one in Joseph s family, he really hit a nerve and the wounds in my family were right on the surface. When he encouraged us to not wait until the end of the four week series to extend forgiveness I knew I had to release my family to him, particularly my sister, and extend forgiveness as an act of worship to Him. In prayer, I voiced my forgiveness for all the hurts of the past ten months, and when we began to sing I surrender all, I knew the work was finished. I felt the heavy burden lift immediately. That very night, I got a text from my sister! I was stunned. She said, I m ready to talk, can we set up a time to Skype this week. I wrote the word FORGIVENESS really large and had it on my laptop as we talked. The conversation was not easy, but we were able to forgive and to reconcile. At the end, I showed her the paper, she laughed out loud, because on the SAME SUNDAY MORNING, God spoke to her to let the hurts go and extend forgiveness! Since Sunday, I have felt a freedom and an open heaven over me that has been profound. When you forgive, you in no way change the past, but you sure do change the future! To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover the prisoner was you. Lewis Smedes Forgiveness.a song by Matthew West (4:25) Our Response A Forgiveness Prayer Jesus, thank you for the gift of forgiveness that you have given me through your death on the cross. I receive your gift anew today. I choose to forgive myself just as you have forgiven me. I choose to forgive others. Give me the gift of forgiveness for those who have sinned against me. Release this gift in my heart, and give me the grace to extend it to others. Thank you that you enable to me to do what I cannot do on my own. AMEN. 5