Articles
Forgiveness
Ephesians 1:7-10 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
WHAT DOES FORGIVENESS MEAN TO YOU?
Forgiveness is an undeserved grace that the one who was wronged grants the one who wronged them. Forgiveness involves a WRONG ACTION, an OFFENDER and a VICTIM.
Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment and/or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you.
Forgiving is a very mature act. It requires great internal strength.
We would be terribly mistaken if we thought forgiveness was a kind of soft feeling that certain tender-hearted people are capable of experiencing. The boldest act of forgiveness the world has ever seen was in the bloodied, beaten and torn body of Jesus Christ.
God does not simply overlook our sin and say, “You’re forgiven.” God sees our sin. He knows and feels our sin against Him. But He stands ready to forgive us because He made provisions for our forgiveness – He sent His perfect son Jesus to fully take on OUR sin and pay for those sins by His death on the cross
Psychologists say that forgiveness sustains relationships. That is never truer than when God forgives us. Before we are forgiven, our sins have separated us from God. We live in a world without a relationship with God.
Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
God does not hear us because He’s turned His face away from us. Our sins made him do so. Without God, we are in an endlessly hopeless situation. Ezekiel 18:20 tells us "the One Who Sins Will Die"
We are doomed to eternal death because of our sins -- if God had not elected to provide a means of forgiving those sins. He did. He provided His Son to bear the most costly penalty of all time - an extremely cruel death on the cross while bearing all of our sins.
