3 The Sin of Unforgiveness If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. (And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.) 1 John 1:8 & 9 (The Living Bible paraphrase) A NEW BEGINNING MUST BEGIN WITH FORGIVENESS! Unforgiveness, with its many faces, is always a roadblock to God's blessings. It paralyzes and holds you captive. Forgiveness, however, is God's cleansing agent. It frees you by removing the sinful stain from your life, and establishes you in right standing before Him. Forgiveness is a choice you make based on what you know, not what you feel. Do not try to justify what you feel or think about your right to keep your unforgiveness. Know that unforgiveness is a sin before God and a barrier to your new beginning. Forgiveness has the explosive potential to clear even the heaviest burdens from your path. All it takes to light the fuse is to ask God to forgive you as you forgive others. He will help you with those whom you are unable or unwilling to forgive. He is faithful and will empower you with the strength and willingness to do so. PRINCIPLE: Forgiveness is dynamite. You must be willing to light the fuse! 3-1 Robert Abramson 2003
Living From John 5:1-9 Waters Lessons on God s Comfort and Assurance After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.... Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. John 5:1-4 (NKJV) Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?' The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.' And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. John 5:5-9 (NKJV) Are you serious about a change? It was at the time of a feast in the city of Jerusalem and the crowds had gathered. There was a pool near the sheep market in a place called Bethesda. At the side of this pool lay a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. The pool was used to wash sacrificial animals for the temple, and was a filthy, crowded and unpleasant place. Jesus came to this man and asked Would you be healed? In other words, Jesus said: Are you serious about a change in your circumstances, or would you rather just lay there in filth for the rest of your life. We are often comfortable where we are, even in our own discomfort. After all, when you are crippled like the man at the pool, no one expects or demands that you get up and walk. Unforgiveness is a crippling thing. When the Lord says: Would you be healed? you must examine your heart. Is it full of unforgiveness because of past hurts? Are these hurts your own personal treasure, kept and guarded in a secret place? Do you take them out once in a while and polish them up a bit? Do these hurts make up the unforgiveness that is your treasure? Would you surrender the unforgiveness, and be healed? After all, your unforgiveness does not affect someone else as much as it does you. It eats up your energy, your time and 3-2 Robert Abramson 2003
your well being. When you began to let go, the true nature of this highly prized treasure will come to light. You will see it for what it really is... dirty, stained and decaying garbage. You will be amazed that you have embraced it for as long as you have. The hardest part of giving up this treasure is making the choice to be healed, or cleansed of it. Once the choice is made, the results are dynamite! Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23 & 24 (NKJV) The psalmist says: God, help me to see inside my own heart. Then he asks to be led in a way that continues forever. The connection is obvious. Knowledge of what is in you is of no consequence until you do the right thing with it. Giving your treasure to God is the right thing to do. Ask God to show you areas of unforgiveness that may be deeply buried in the rubble. There are other options open, other ways you might use to try to bury the past and be empowered for the future. Many of these seem good and even pleasant ways to handle the past hurts. But are they God's ways? Will they work? Can you make it your way instead of God's way? The answer to that question is found in Genesis, Chapter 3. It is the first Biblical example of choosing what seemed good, pleasant and desirable, and finding the results a disaster! This illustration clearly shows that unless you are led by God, what seems good, pleasant and desirable can mislead you, deceive you and even kill you! Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was GOOD for food, that it was PLEASANT to the eyes, and a tree DESIRABLE to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6 (NKJV) It seemed good and pleasant, but it was not God's way. After eating what was forbidden, Adam and Eve chose not to come to God for forgiveness. They tried to 3-3 Robert Abramson 2003
hide their sin from Him, and when God confronted them they tried to make excuses. The result was spiritual suicide. It is no different today when we refuse to say: God, show me what my part is in the sin. I will repent and ask your help in going on with my life. Forgive me and help me to forgive myself (and others). If you choose not to do it God's way, then you are saying: God, I value the treasure of my unforgiveness above saying to You: Yes Lord, You can have it all. Do not be misled. You can do what seems good, pleasant and even desirable and find yourself dying a thousand deaths. Only an attitude of forgiveness will clear the way for you to walk toward a new beginning. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NKJV) From 2 Samuel 12:1-13 What is in your heart? When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and subsequently had her husband killed, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: 'There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.' The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity....then Nathan said to David, You are the man! 2 Samuel 12:1-5, 7 (NKJV) 3-4 Robert Abramson 2003
You are the man! When the prophet said to David: You are the man! David was faced with his sin. He could have been like Adam and Eve and excused it. After all, he was the king. He could have ignored the truth and gone on with what felt good, pleasant and desirable - to be with Bathsheba as if nothing wrong had happened. Instead, he acknowledged how blind he was in his sinful behavior, and God forgave him. So David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV) Like adultery, or lying, or so many other wrongful actions, unforgiveness is sinful behavior and contrary to the Word of God. Another way to say the same thing is, unforgiveness is agreement with Satan. He wants to kill all your dreams, steal your joy and destroy your life. Agreeing with the devil to hold onto your unforgiveness will destroy you. Agreement with Satan is hell on earth! These are strong words, but they are true. The Bible says, and rightly so, that Satan is the father of lies. There is, however, one way to make Satan tell the truth Agree with what he says about you and watch it happen! Remember though, he has nothing good to say about you. Who will you agree with? PRINCIPLE: Agreement with Satan is hell on earth Agree with what he says and watch it happen! Agreement with the Word of God brings restoration and peace. It brings the opportunity for you to move ahead with your new beginning without any roadblocks or barriers to a successful new phase of life. Trust God and be obedient to doing things His way! Choose to forgive. In later years David reflected on the goodness and mercy of God and wrote this psalm of thanksgiving: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old. Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 3-5 Robert Abramson 2003
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You. In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! Psalm 32:1-11 (NKJV) PRINCIPLE: Agreement with God s Word is heaven on earth Agree with what He says and watch it come to pass! Are you ready to give up unforgiveness and be blessed by the Lord? Why don't you do it God's way? Why don't you ask God for forgiveness right now? He will receive you gladly, and will bless you with His best. 3-6 Robert Abramson 2003