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| Forgiveness |
| Introduction Esau & Jacob King David Jesus No sin is too great. Confess our Sins Forgive Others Conclusion |
| In one way or another, we all struggle with the issue of forgiveness. For all of us, there is that one person that makes us mad and angry. For some of us, the anger we feel to someone is so strong that no matter what the other person does, we will never forgive them. For others, they have such guilt for a past transgression that a dark cloud overshadows their Christian walk. They are not able to forgive themselves and believe that God will not forgive either. But as Christians, we are command to forgive and God has a desire to forgive us. In the time of Isaac, it was customary for the father before they died to place a blessing onto one of his sons. Whichever son received the blessing became the head of the family. Esau was Isaac's favorite son, but in Genesis 27, Jacob was able to trick Isaac and stole the blessing intended for Esau. Earlier, in Genesis 25:31-34, Jacob gave Esau a bowl of stewed lentils in exchange for Esau's inheritance. Since Esau was the first born, he was entitled to have a large portion of the inheritance. At first, Esau is angry and plots to kill Jacob, but in Genesis 33 we see that Esau forgives his brother. King David is one of the most beloved and greatest people of the Old Testament. Yet, in 2 Samuel 11 through 2 Samuel 12 we see a story of lust, adultery, and murder surrounding David. It is generally accepted that David's Prayer for Forgiveness in Psalm 51 was written after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba was brought to light by the prophet Nathan. David's action caused grave consequences, but David admitted his sin, sought forgiveness, was forgiven, and continued on as a great king. Starting in Luke 22:47, we see Jesus arrested, falsely accused, condemned to death, and then led to the execution hill on Calvary with two criminals. There, He was nailed to the cross and His belongings were divided among those that were there. In Luke 23:34, Jesus says "Father, forgive them, for they do no know what they do." What a powerful symbol of forgiveness! Read 1 John 2:1-2. God has forgiven murders and adulterers and God can forgive your sins. Not only will God forgive our sins, but Hebrews 10:16-18 tells us the God will also forget them completely. Read 1 John 1:19. For God to forgive our sins, we must first confess our sins. In Psalm 32:1-5, we are told that sin that is hidden can not be forgiven. Often we hide the sin we have by defending our actions and not admitting when we are wrong. Read Luke 11:4a. One of the main keys in our relationship with God is that we are to forgive others. We are to forgive others as God through Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Jesus asked for the forgiveness of His executioners who did not know what they were doing, we are to also forgive others for what they do not realize what they have done. This does not mean that we are to allow people to "walk all over us" or trusting someone who has done something to destroy that trust. When we hold a grudge or we are vendictive, often it is ourselves that the most damage is done to. Forgiveness is moving away from the hatred and being at peace. Since God will forgive any sin that we confess and we are commanded to forgive each other, then we must also forgive ourselves when we have failed. |
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