Forgiveness Defined
By: Pastor Harold Cephas
Ephesians 1:7 NKJV
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Let’s look at two definitions.
Harper’s Bible Dictionary: a term denoted in the by words that mean ‘send away,’ ‘cover,’ ‘remove,’ and ‘wipe away.
Tyndale’s Bible Dictionary: Pardon, involving restoration of broken relationships; ceasing to feel resentment for wrongs and offenses. Primarily, forgiveness is an act of God, releasing sinners from judgment and freeing them from the divine penalty of their sin. Forgiveness is also a human act extended toward one’s neighbor…
In thinking about forgiveness, it firstly, causes my heart and mind to be thankful. Thankful to Jesus for giving His life in my place (propitiation) for ALL the sins which I have committed in my lifetime. It’s a forgiveness that I still need very much today as long as my body is wrapped with flesh. You are going to need it as well.
I highlighted some items above, but I want to focus on forgiveness which leads to restoration of broken relationships. The original sin (Genesis 3) brought separation between God and man. However, Jesus now brings restoration of that relationship; and you and I are tasked with the same assignment (2 Corinth 5:18-20).
How do we restore relationships with our “neighbor” as mentioned earlier? Well, it’s not always easy for us to operate in this manner. Sometimes we are asked (challenged) to forgive someone multiple times for committing the same offense. The disciples had the very same conversation with Jesus in Luke 17:1-5. Jesus says that it is impossible for there to be no offenses. So, how are we to handle them when they come? If the brother or sister (neighbor) repents (asks for forgiveness), we are to forgive them. Even seven times in the same day! In verse 4 of the ESV it says we “must” forgive them. Matthew 18:21-22 says forgive seventy times seven! Upon hearing this, the apostles said, “Lord, increase our faith!”
Jesus is generous and liberal in forgiving us of all our sins, errors, faults, shortcomings and crazy thoughts. With Him being our example, we should endeavor to do likewise. Especially, for the sake of restoring broken relationships. It’s best if we keep no record or wrongs (1 Co. 13:5). As we go through each day, let’s try and be more deliberate and generous in giving compliments and forgiveness. We can give these any and everywhere, and both are free! However, forgiving may not be our natural response because… So, Lord, increase our faith!
We Need Forgiveness
By Elder Priscilla Martinez
Forgiveness starts with Jesus Christ dying on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and this includes the sin which we were born with for our salvation to spend eternity in heaven with Him and our Father, God.
We need forgiveness to live spiritually balanced, hopeful lives. Unforgiveness may affect our health, build up guilt, shame, and regret that may negatively impact one’s physical and mental health. The need for forgiveness is because of original sin of Adam and Eve. Also, there is power to forgiveness, both as it applies to our lives and in its consequences in our relationships with others.
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:45
Why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves and others who have hurt us and hold onto old pain from our past finding it so hard to let go? Why do we punish ourselves over and over and those we love for the hurts we’ve endured? Why can’t we let go of the hurt others have inflected on us?
“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.” Colossians 3:13
Why can’t we truly forgive and let go without picking it up again? God has forgiven by His son dying on the cross for OUR SINS.
Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 18: 21-22 that we are to forgive up to seventy times seven. The bible never talks about “forgiving yourself.” We are told to forgive others when they hurt us and forgive them. Jesus already paid for all our sins and we are all forgiven. It is as simple as that. However, even though we are released from bondage we still choose to wallow in it and act as though we are not freed from it. We let the enemy hold the guilt card over our head and find it hard to forgive ourselves and can’t move beyond our past. It’s time to let go and let God move you beyond your past to your future.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
It is important to note that forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a choice. It’s choosing not to let thoughts of hatred rule in your heart. An important area in forgiveness is humbling oneself and that is not always easy but necessary when granting or receiving forgiveness. It’s choosing to go to God to find help and comfort instead of dwelling on the past, even when our feelings would rather do anything but. Forgiveness is a key part of maintaining intimacy with God and others. It is not saying that what someone did or said is ok. Three important areas of forgiveness are granting, receiving, seeking forgiveness will help us look at freedom and intimacy are possible in your life.
03
May '16
Hope
03
May '16
Jesus in the Hope that changes our worthless into priceless, our guilty to forgiven, our hungry into satisfied, and our empty into full. His presence is inescapable. Many dismiss him, but the Bible assures us that we can’t get away from Him. David said in Psalm 139:8-10: “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in the hell, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utter most parts of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, Your right hand will hold me.”
The Bible also tells us in the New Testament that Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, and that He “holds us.” Think about that thought. The Hope that holds us is Jesus Christ.
You and I are held by Hope!
In the Old Testament, God told Joshua that He would “never leave or forsake” him. Joshua 1:5 God says the same to us. He will never leave us or forsake us; no matter the circumstances, no matter the diagnoses, no matter the financial struggle. Our faithful Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8. We can breathe deep knowing that in everything we are held by Hope. If our future is not secured and satisfied by God, then we are going to be excessively anxious. This results either in paralyzing fear or in self-managed, greedy control. We end up thinking about ourselves, our future, our problems, and our potential, and that keeps us from loving. When God satisfies us so deeply that we’re free to love other people then he becomes more manifest. And that’s what we want above all. So the essence of what we look to in the Bible to build our hope is, “what has Christ done for me in my sinful condition that enables me to know that I will not come in to judgement and condemnation and that all things are working together for my good?” And the answer is: “Christ died for me, rose again for me, and therefore all the promises of God are yes in Him.”
So let’s take our focus off our circumstances and focus on Christ, look to the promises and hold fast to them. Hope comes from the promises of God rooted in the work of Jesus Christ.
Hope
Numbers 23:19The Bible often speaks about hope. Our Christian definition of hope is different than the world’s idea of hope, it’s far superior. To have a biblical hope is to have a “sure anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” The world’s hope is wishing for the best, waiting to see what happens. “I sure hope I never have to go through what they went through.” “I reallly hope I win the lottery one of these days.” “I hope my team wins the Super Bowl.” That kind of hope is nothing more than wishful thinking, a gamble, an unfounded desire that has no power to bring anything to pass, because it is not founded on Jesus Christ. Instead of wishing or hoping for something to happen, a believer knows that their hope is solid, because it is grounded in the Word of God and we know that “it is impossible for God to lie.” Hebrews 6:18 & Numbers 23:19. Our hope is like faith… a faith that cannot be moved by circumstances or what the eyes see because an unseen God is seen simply by our faith in Him and His faithfulness toward us.
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Our hope is grounded in our acceptance of God’s Word that Jesus is God’s Son sent into the world to save us from our sins. Our hope is based on the promise that all who believe on Him will be saved through Him. “For God so loved the word that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 “…if you confess whith your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9
Our hope is based upon the truth of what Scripture says about Christ’s great suffering, His humiliating death and His resurrection on the third day in our place. Our hope is based on the promise that all who believe in Him will one day be raised form the dead. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, whover hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from dealth to life” John 5:24. Our hope is based upon the promise that one day He is going to come again and we will enjoy heaven with him and a glory such as “no eye has seen and no ear heard and no mind has conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” The bible says: “Our hope is an anchor for our soul, firm and secure, and enters the Presence behind the veil,” Hebrews 6:16. Our anchor reaches not to the bottom of the sea (like a boat’s anchor) but behind the veil. That’s the veil which God tore in two when Christ cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” Our anchor is secured in Jesus Christ. He is there as the one who has gone on ahead of us. He is our forerunner. And our anchor is attached to Him. Because He has gone before assures us that we will follow. He is the anchor of our soul. Our hope is anchored, hooked into the One who has gone ahead and prepared a place for us. We can be rest assured that as believers, we have stability here and now and eternity guaranteed in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is no hope in mankind, circumstances, or in any other thing in the universe but “we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:10 because “Jesus Christ is our hope.” 1 Timothy 1:1
14
Feb '16
He Is Love
14
Feb '16
God shows His love for us by redestining us for adoption into His family. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace. (Ephesians 1:5-6) God loved us in eternity before we were created, and He planned to make us His children by adoption. And the aim of this love was “the praise of the glory of His grace.” He loved us this way that we might praise His grace.
God shows His loec for us by creating us
“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my bname, whom I created for my glory.” (Isaiah 43:6-7) If God did not create you, He could not love you. So creation is part of God’s lvoing you. He brought you into being that you might enjoy forever all the good He plans for you. And He did it, he says, for His glory.
There are peopel who love and respce you; but if they knew certain things about you, they would change their minds about you. God knows everything there is to know about you, yet God loves you anyway. This is the true basis for self-esteem. God loves you. Martin Luther said it well; “God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us.”
Why does God, who loves us so much?
The answer is this; Love us this way is the greatest love. The reason this is such a great love is that self, no matter how glorified by God (Romans 8:30), will never satisfry a heart that is made for God. God lvoes you infitely. He sent His son to die that He might have you, and that you might have Him (1 Peter 3:18). He will not let you settle for wonderful and happy thoughts of self or others. Not even a saved, glorified self. He will not let your glory, which He himself creates and delights in, replace His glory as your ultimate treasure. God’s attitude toward us is love. The Word declares God loves us. First John 4:8 says, “God is love.” God personifies love.
03
Jan '16
True Worship
03
Jan '16
True Worship, is defined by the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. True worship is a matter of the heart expressed through a lifestyle of holiness.. So, if your lifestyle does not express the beauty of holiness through an extravagant or exagerrated love for God, and you do not live in extreme or excessive submission of God, then I invite you to make worship a non-negotiable priority in your life.
07
Jun '15
Faithfulness
07
Jun '15
Faithfulness is steadfastness, dependability, or allegiance; it is carefulness in keeping what we are entrusted with; it is the conviction that the Scriptures accurately reflect reality. Biblical faithfulness requires belief in what the Bible says about God—His existence, His works, and His character.
Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit; it is the result of the Spirit working in us. But the Spirit is also our seal of faithfulness. He is our witness to God’s promise that if we accept the truth about God, He will save us.
The Old Testament saints also had faith in the invisible work of God (Hebrews 11:3). Abraham never saw his descendants become “as numerous as the stars in the sky.” Moses never entered the Promised Land. And none of the Old Testament saints lived to see the Messiah. But they were faithful. They believed God would do as He promised. They lived by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
In that list in Hebrews 11 is the example of Enoch, who “obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (vs. 5b-6). Faith, or a faithful commitment to who God says He is, is basic to walking with God. As Jesus traveled, He responded to people’s faith and shortened His involvement where there was no faith (Mark 6:1-6).
Enoch understood that God rewards those who seek Him and trust Him with all their hearts. We trust what God does because we trust Him, not the other way around. In other words, we trust God even when He is silent and we see no miracles. That is part of faithfulness. We know God is reliable, steadfast, and true.
Faithfulness is believing that God is who He says He is and continuing in that belief despite the quirks and impulses of life. Functionally, that means we trust what God says in the Bible, and not necessarily what the world or our own eyes tell us. We trust He will work out everything for our good. We trust He will work His will in us. And we trust that our situation on earth is nothing compared to our future reward in heaven. The only way we can have such faith is by the Holy Spirit’s influence. He testifies to the truth and compels us to seek God. The Spirit makes us faithful.