It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Archive for February, 2023

The “How” to Forgiveness

We spoke on who we are to forgive, everyone everything. We have explained what we are to do, forgive, because it is a directive from our Lord and King to forgive. We are told when we are to forgive, today, “let not the sun go down on your wrath.” We are informed where, from the heart, not in eye service before men but as unto the Lord we are to do this service. Why, because the blood and death of Jesus is precious to God His Father who forgave us our great debt against Himfor His Son’s sake. Now let us speak on the How of our forgiveness, it is through the power of the Holy Spirit and by faith in the completed work of Christ.

Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 

Ephesians 4:6 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. NKJ

Ephesian 6:6-7 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 

Hebrews 3:15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

How to perform every command of God is the same as the steps we take to be saved, the steps we follow to the call of faith in Christ unto salvation. All that God requires of us He has provided by grace through faith in the completed work of Christ. The how to perform for His good pleasure is given to us by the Holy Spirit. 

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Once we receive Christ as our Savior He becomes our Lord and King and through the power of the Holy Spirit we have the ability to forgive others no matter the hurt, loss, offence or debt.

The same steps of faith to receive the power of salvation, are the same steps of faith we take to obtain the forgiveness for others. They are same steps we take to receive the answers to all the promises of God, answers to our prayers and our petition to God for provision and protection. The steps of faith unto salvation are the same we need for the forgiveness of ourselves and others. 

The first step to the call of salvation is to acknowledge we are sinners in need of the Savior. The second step is to believe in our heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, to pay the sin debt that we owed God for our rebellion. The third step is to confess or to affirm that Jesus is our Lord. This is called the AB C of the gospel of faith. We use these same ABC steps to obtain the forgiveness we need toward others and are the same steps to receive any promise of God. 

Acknowledge the truth of what His word states on the matter. Father we acknowledge our wrong and our sin in that we are not letting go of our hurt, resentment and bitterness as our Lord and King has commanded us.

Believe and have faith in God to do what He promised in His word on the matter. Father in our heart we believe you are God and raised Jesus from the dead and through the power of the death and blood of Jesus, You forgave the whole world their sins.

Confess and keep on professing and affirming God’s word regarding the matter. Jesus as Lord of our life we askyou to give us the forgiveness we need to let this thing go and create in us a clean heart and right spirit.

When we acknowledge our sins, this is our will agreeing withGod’s word, that His word is right and we were wrong in our rebellious sinned against Him. We must acknowledge our wrong and our need for forgiveness. Many people want to cover their sins and pretend as though they did not sin but they are calling God a liar. When they refuse to acknowledge their wrong or as Adam did, blame someone else, they are saying they are right and God is wrong.

1 John 1: 8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.   If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

We are to believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is not just a head knowledge of Jesus or some dreamy belief that Jesus was just a good person, a good teacher or just a prophet. To believe in one’s heart, is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God who gave His life that we might have eternal and abundant life. This belief is from our heart and is a firm conviction and certainty of faith that God raised Jesus from the dead for our sins.

Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.   For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

With our mouth we confess Jesus to be our Lord, Savior and King. Some people want to believe in Jesus but are afraid to confess Him before their friends, family or community. Just as those, who lived during the life of Christ, who believed in Jesus, yet they refused to commit or confess their beliefs because they wanted to be accepted by the leaders and into the synagogues. To have faith in God’s word requires a corresponding action that reveals and reflects our belief. 

John12:42-43 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

James 2:19-20 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 

Words are powerful and they are important to God, He created the whole universe with words. If we believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died and was raised again for our sins, and we confess and commit to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we shall be saved. 

Jesus had to die for us to be forgiven of God. It was the death and blood of Jesus that allows us to be forgiven and also allowsus to be in right standing with God. God has forgiven our sinsand has given us a directive to forgive others.  We receive this forgiveness by faith just as we receive salvation by faith. Though our feelings may not change immediately, we must have faith to know that God has given us the forgiveness we asked for, towards others. 

When the enemy comes and tries to bring those old feelings of resentment back, we are to remind him that the blood of Jesus has paid for that debt and they are forgiven and so are we. 

This is not to say people will get away with their wrongs, vengeance is God and He will repay the unrighteous for their acts. Forgiveness allows us to be set free from the pain and to trust God to act on our behalf. We no longer have to feel responsible for paying someone for what they did to us, or have to feel ashamed or belittled because of some wrong done to us. We can now have faith and trust in God’s word and that He is faithful to His word. 

Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’

This does not mean we have to allow those who does us harm into our space. God does not want His children to be misused and though we forgive them, we do not have to give those who harm us space or access into our lives.

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God Requires Forgiveness! We Are to Forgive Everyone, Everything!


Some people may think they can be a follower of Christ, and even call themselves Christians, while they are unforgiving toward others, but they are self-deceived and living in darkness. They are not in right standing with God.  Some may ask, why is forgiveness so important to God and why must we forgive everyone for the wrong they have done to us? 

God in His love for all humanity sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of the whole world. So that those who choose to believe in the death and the blood of Jesus as their payment for sin and accept Jesus as the Lord and King, they will have eternal life with Christ.  To refuse to forgive a person is refusing the blood Jesus shed on the cross for all humanity.

John3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  NKJ

It is man’s pride and self-centeredness that causes them to hold on to their hurt, anger and resentment and thereby refuse to forgive others while they disobey God. He has commanded us to forgive so that we may be forgiven. They want God’s mercy and grace for the forgiveness of their sins and yet they will deny others that same grace, charity and forbearance. Often it is because they are stuck in the old mindset of fallen mankind where their vanity and self-importance, rise above the blood of Christ and His death. Our obedience should be to the word of God and the call of God to forgive. 

Matthew 18:32-35 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ]his trespasses.”

God was operating out of His true nature, which is love, when He sent Jesus to pay for our sins. He saw mankind in their sin and depravity and with great compassion He sent Jesus to be the propitiation or payment that they could not make for their own sins. The blood of Jesus and His death, is precious in the sight of God and yet He offered up His Son and Jesus gave His life that the world and all mankind could be forgiven. To refuse to forgive is to refuse the blood of Jesus, which to God our Father, was a great price that Christ paid for their offenses.

Many people have refused God’s offer of grace, His mercy and love, which is salvation through belief and faith in Jesus Christ.  To all who believe by faith in Jesus’ completed work of redemption and choose to confess Him as their Lord, Savior and King before this world, they will be reborn into the family of God and have eternal life.  

Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.   For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

1 John 2: 1b-2 And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.    

Jesus had to die for us to be forgiven of God. It was the death and blood of Jesus that allows us to be forgiven and also allowsus to be in right standing with God. If God has forgiven our sins, who is man to bring a charge against someone when Jesus has died and paid their sin debt. God has made restitution for our freedom. Who is man to condemn or hold an offense toward another when we have been forgiven such a great debt of sin ourselves. 

Romans 8:32-34 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?   Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.   Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Refusing to forgive someone is refusing the blood of Christ which was paid for everyone’s sin, that they may be forgiven. Refusing to forgive someone is not an act against that person but against God. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the one who committed the offense but everything to do with the heart of one who was offended. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of God in us that our hearts are able to be free to forgive others. To refuse to forgive is to refuse the gift of God’s love in our lives.

Some people are waiting for an apology or an acknowledgement of the wrong doing by the person who did them wrong. They think they are justified in requiring the offender to confess and give an admission of guilt. That is because their pride is sitting on the throne of their heart while Jesus and the love of Christ has been dethroned. It is the love of Christ that indwells our heart through the Holy Spirit that give us the will and the strength to do God’s good pleasure and Hisgood work of forgiveness.

Philippians 2:13-14 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing,

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Forgiveness is not an option but a directive from our Lord and King! Forgiveness may not be a prerequisite, requirement or condition of salvation, but it is the evidence of true salvation! Forgiveness is the sign, the proof and the mark of authentic and sincere salvation, with the love of God ruling in our hearts and lives through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. 

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

God requires a forgiving heart. We are to forgive everyone, everything.

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