WHY SHOULD WE FORGIVE

1. Why shouldwe forgive? – 19th
December 2015
“Forif you forgiveother people when they sinagainstyou, yourheavenly Father will alsoforgiveyou.
15
But if youdo not forgiveothers their sins,your Father will not forgiveyour sins” (Matthew6:14-15).
Due to our humannature reactingverballyorevenattimesphysicallyorotherwiseevenholdinga
grudge seems somethingexquisitelysweet.The abilitytowithholdforgivenessandindulgeinself-
righteousfeelingsisaheady feelingof power. Aswe know clearlyasChristians,the Godwe believe in is
the God of justice. He doesnottell anyof us that wrongis justifiedbywrong.Onthe contrary wrongs
shouldbe righted…butnotour way butin keepingwithGod’steachingsforus.We may feel contempt
for those whohurtus. But that doesnotallow usact irrationallyandagainstGodsteachings.One’s
refusal toforgive doesn'tgrant thatperson power, butinfractit enslaves themtosin.Absolutelyno
goodcomesfrom refusingtoforgive.This iswhyJesussaidtoforgive one another “ThenPeter came to
Jesus andasked, “Lord,how manytimes shall I forgive my brother or sister who sinsagainstme? Upto
seven times?”22
Jesusanswered, “Itell you, notseven times,but seventy-seven times” (Matthew
18:22). We needto learnto forgive somuch that itbecomessecondnature—ouranautomaticresponse
to offenses done tous.
In the Newtestament givesus reasons astowhywe shouldforgive.First,Godcommandsusto forgive
others.God forgave uswhile we were Hisenemies andwe shoulddolikewisewithone another.We can
learnfromRomans 5:10,” For if, whilewe were God’senemies, we were reconciledto himthroughthe
death of hisSon,how much more, havingbeen reconciled,shall we be saved throughhis life! Second,
those whodo notforgive othersindicate thattheythemselveshave notbeenforgivenbecause atruly
regeneratedheartisaforgivingheart whichwe canlearnin Matthew6:14-15, “For ifyou forgiveother
people when they sinagainstyou,your heavenly Father will alsoforgiveyou. 15
But ifyou do not
forgiveothers their sins,your Father will not forgive yoursins”.
If we are filledwithresentmentandbitterness,we are exhibitingthe "worksof the flesh," andnotthe
fruitof the Spiritwhichis the visuallynotable evidence of true salvation:We canlearnthisin Galatians
5:“ The acts ofthe fleshare obvious:sexual immorality,impurityanddebauchery; 20
idolatryand
witchcraft;hatred, discord,jealousy,fitsof rage, selfishambition,dissensions,factions 21
andenvy;
drunkenness,orgies,and the like. I warn you, asI didbefore, that those wholive like thiswill not
inheritthe kingdomofGod.22
Butthe fruit of the Spiritis love,joy, peace, forbearance,kindness,
goodness,faithfulness, 23
gentlenessandself-control.Againstsuchthingsthere is nolaw” (Galatians
5:19-23).
Most importantly, asChristianswe mustknow that whenwe disobeyGod'scommands,suchasthe
commandto forgive,we sinagainstHim.Inrefusingtoforgive anotherperson,we sinagainstthat
person,butalsoagainstGod. ConsideringthatGod putsour transgressionsasfarfromHim as the east is
fromthe westaswe can readin Psalm103:12,”…as far as the east isfrom the west, so far has he
removed our transgressionsfromus. We must know that forgivenesscannotbe one way…forgiveness
for me and hell tothe other?God expectsusto extendthissame grace toothers.
SinseparatesusfromGod because whenwe sinwe sinagainstHim. Our sinagainstGod is infinitely
more egregiousthananythinganotherpersoncandoto us. Jesus'parable of the unforgivingservant
clearly explainsthe needplace onusto forgivesothersforthe wrongdeeds theydoto us.We findin
Matthew 18:23-35, that illustratesthistruth.The servanthadbeenforgivenamassive debt—symbolic

2. of the debtof sinwe owe toGod—thenrefusedtoforgive aminordebtof a friend. Inverse 35 we can
learn:“Thisis howmy heavenly Father will treat each of you unlessyou forgiveyour brother or sister
from your heart”
Therefore asChristianswe receive animportantlesson fromthe parable isthatGod'sforgiveness
towardus is limitless,soshouldoursbe limitlesstowardothers:“Ifyourbrother or sister[a]
sinsagainst
you,rebuke them; and ifthey repent, forgivethem. 4
Even if they sinagainstyou seven times in a day
and seven timescome backto yousaying‘I repent,’ you must forgivethem.” (Luke 17:3-4).
“Forif you forgiveother people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).