Memorise: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt 6:12)
Read: Matthew 18:21-35
Pastor E.ADEBOYE
There is no alternative to living the ideal Christian life if we must be all God has purposed for us to be, and if we must fulfil our God-given destiny. Trivialising God’s Word has negative consequences that should make us take whatever He has said very seriously. One way many limit themselves today is through unforgiveness.
Jesus commands us to forgive those who have offended us. He also taught it in parables and in the Lord’s prayer. But the import of His teaching has yet to dawn on many. They stay that way until they experience the negative effects of disobedience. Any believer in Christ who thrives in unforgiveness is standing on dangerous ground.
From today’s reading, the king forgave his servant who owed him so much. That King is God. We could never have paid the debts of sin we owed except with our lives: and that would have landed us in Hell. But one day we heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ which offered forgiveness, and we accepted it, and our old records were erased. From that moment, God imputed the righteousness of Christ unto us, making us look like we never had a sinful past. But the Lord did not stop at that. He went on to make provision for us to be forgiven whenever we sin and confess them so that we can receive cleansing (1 John 1:7-9).
How much sin has your brother committed against you that makes you refuse to forgive him? Today, unfortunately many are living in unforgiveness. Even leaders and ministers take vital decisions to the detriment of their offenders.
Many families are stagnated because of unforgiveness. If you refuse to forgive how are you then like Christ? Do you still keep records of wrongs done to you in the black book of your mind? Some effects of unforgiveness are that it invokes God’s wrath, and makes God to hand you over to the tormentors. Is your life, business or family under heavy satanic attack?
Check your life and reconcile with those you are still holding a grudge against. Besides, unforgiveness brings a harvest of evil deeds done to your offenders upon you (Matt 18:30-34). It prevents you from benefitting from the cleansing power of the blood (1 John 1:7-9). It makes Heaven reject your gifts and sacrifices. It pegs you to the same spot and makes you a sure candidate of Hell! Deliver yourself today.
If you hold your offender in the prison of your mind, remember you too are in the prison of tormentors. If you do not release your offenders, neither will you be free.
“If you hold your offender in the prison of your mind, remember you too are in the prison of tormentors. If you do not release your offenders, neither will you be free.”
This has no scriptural base at all. Forgiveness is not releasing… and forgiveness only comes when someone repents, then the forgiveness is to allow the person to be reconciled to you in fellowship. We must forgive once the offender repents up to seventy times seven…but if he neglects to hear you, then you are to “treat him as a heathen or a tax collector”…this is so because God hates sin and the wicked…so we must not condone someone in their wrong but rather REBUKE…SHUN…CORRECT…CONVERT etc them, so that they will repent and then receive forgiveness. You teach a short cut to God’s provision to purify his church and therefore foster hypocrisy, chronic roots of bitterness in the churches and so much evil. This has become one of the damnable heresies of the new age.
You sound as though you have some people to forgive and refuse to do so. Unforgiveness is not for your offender protection,it’s for yours. God is not trying to protect your offender but you. With all due respect: I DO NOT KNOW YOUR HEART – BUT ONE THING, I DO KNOW IS THIS: Unless you forgive you have no right to ask God to forgive you, or expect to be forgiven, if you are refusing to forgive your offender. One thing that undeniable is: Only when you completely forgive from your heart do you have any legal right to ask God for forgiveness. Regardless who did it. You owe it to Jesus to forgive…Don’t bury the hatchet and leave the handle sticking out! We are the ones, who receive the most benefit, from forgiveness, not the other person. Listen: Whoever knows, true forgiveness, knows God, because God, is all about forgiveness. If you do not know how to forgive, then you don’t know God. If you are a Christian-a genuine believer in Jesus Christ – Then you should know how to forgive. If you do not take anything away from what I said note this. If you go to your grave with unforgiveness in your heart and you had the chance to forgive, come judgment day you will be saying “Lord, Lord” while Jesus will be saying, I never knew you depart from me you worker of iniquity. It is wrong for someone who has truly experienced God’s forgiveness, to refuse to grant forgiveness to others. Make no bones about it: Hell is a high price to pay for unforgiveness in your heart!