A 10 Part – Summer Message Series (June 15 – August 24, 2014)
DUMB THINGS THAT SMART CHRISTIANS CHOOSE TO BELIEVE
[A series dedicated to debunking commonly held myths that we think are in the Bible but
really aren't, myths that can & often do have devastating effects on our faith.]
Part 2 – “FORGIVING Means FORGETTING”
Matthew 18:21-22
Forgiveness; just the mere mention of the word elicits a variety of
feelings & reactions in us, some positive, some very much negative.
Wrapped up in this word are feelings of joy & relief, & of anxiety & even
anger. Forgiveness is a word that indeed “moves” us…
Forgiveness isn’t an option; it can’t be stated any clearer than that!
It’s a sacred duty demanded by Jesus by anyone who claims to be His
disciple. In fact in our text today when He was questioned by Peter
about it, His answer was stunning!
Matthew 18:21-22 ‘Then Peter came to Yeshua & asked Him,
“Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me?
Seven times?” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you, not just seven
times, but seventy times seven.”’
Depending on the translation you read it’s either 77 times or 490 times…
but the number isn’t the issue, our forgiveness of others should be
limitless!
Forgiveness is a foundational message of the Christian faith…
being a follower of Jesus…
BECAUSE FORGIVENESS IS LOVE IN ACTION!
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WHAT FORGIVENESS ISN’T
Let’s begin with the obvious, yes this is one of those “captain obvious”
moments – forgiveness is difficult, if it was easy everyone would do it
& we would not need to be having this discussion.
And on top of that, the whole thing is made even more difficult by the
fact that many people, including many people who call themselves
Christian, have never been shown what Biblical forgiveness actually
looks like.
Society & the Church have bought in an endless number of ideas about
what forgiveness is & most of them are just plain silly, but some of them
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are actually downright dangerous, not only to our relationships, but also
to our faith. Here are just a few of these wrong assumptions.
WE ASSUME:
• Forgiveness means… pretending that nothing ever happened.
• Forgiveness means … a never-ending series of second chances.
• Forgiveness means … a fresh start with all consequences & old
baggage removed.
• Forgiveness means … immediate & full restoration of a broken
relationship, with all trust & privileges restored
& finally the one that gets us in the most trouble…
• Forgiveness means… Forgetting – wiping the slate so clean that
the memory of the offence totally disappears!
We reason…God forgives & forgets; therefore we must do the same,
because if we don’t, then God won’t forgive us!
After all, doesn’t Matthew 6:15 tell us, “But if you refuse to forgive
others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
The problem with this statement is that it IS NOT how Biblical
forgiveness works!!!!
So where do we get this crazy idea that
forgiving means forgetting?
Let’s look at a several verses:
1. - Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west— that is how
far He has removed our rebellious acts from Himself.”
2. - Micah 7:19 – “Once again You will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under Your feet & throw them into the
depths of the sea!”
3. - Hebrews 8:12 – “And I will forgive their wickedness,
& I will never again remember their sins.”
Well…when we read verses like that, it somewhat appears that scripture
indeed teaches that forgiveness means forgetting.
WHAT FORGIVENESS IS
When the Bible speaks of “God forgiving our sins”, & “remembering
them no more” it means that God no longer responds to us in light
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of our sins, He no longer holds them against us, & they no longer
derail our relationship with Him.
Hebrews 9:22–“As Moses’ teachings tell us, blood was used to cleanse
almost everything, because if no blood is shed, no sins can be
forgiven.”
God being an omniscient (all-knowing) God doesn’t forget anything!
In fact the sins of others were recorded in scripture for our benefit.
(i.e. Moses, David, Peter, etc.).
One of most compelling stories of forgiveness is David, & his notorious
affair with Bathsheba, with the resulting murder of her husband, Uriah,
in the cover-up. Here we have an adulterer, a liar, a murderer & yet
David is still referred to, in scripture, as “A Man after God’s own Heart!”
When confronted with the prophet Nathan’s immortal words in
2 Samuel 12:7… “You are the man!” …David ‘fessed up’!
Then everything was perfect & they all lived happily ever after right?
 …Wrong!!
 Though God didn’t hold those sins against David, there were still
consequences, some hefty ones!
 David was informed that the “sword” would never leave his house,
that he would always be at war or in some form of armed conflict.
 That his son would dishonor him in public, just like he dishonored
Uriah in private.
 The temple that he dreamed of building for God, would be built by
another.
 And the most devastating of all is that his son would die.
2 Samuel 12:13-14 - Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned
against Yahweh.” Nathan replied, “Yahweh has taken away your sin;
you will not die. But since you have shown total contempt for Yahweh
by this affair, the son that is born to you must die.”
God didn’t doom David to a life of hopeless regret, but rather
gave him the opportunity to be something better. Something other than
an adulterous, lying, murderer…He gave him the chance to be “A Man
after God’s own Heart!” WOW…Talk about second chances! Some of
David’s most beloved writings, which are found in the Psalms, come after
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this event, recorded for us by God Himself, & even quoted by Jesus!
Now…how’s that for restoration? (See David’s Prayer of Repentance in Psalm 51)
WHY IT MATTERS
If we try to handle our forgiveness by simply forgetting, we will
ultimately fail! There’s no other outcome when we follow that course,
because like God, we don’t forget either!
Trying to forget the wrongs done to us is like spray painting a rusty old
piece of metal, it may look good at first, but the rust will break through,
& the problem becomes even worse than before which makes us angry,
at others, & at God because it doesn’t fix the real issue – so we give up!
Remember when it comes to us forgiving one another it’s a process,
sometimes a daily process – & for our “microwave, we want it yesterday”
society, that’s a hard one!
WHAT IT MEANS FOR US
**[PREACH]**
1. Forgiveness means releasing my right to retaliate – That’s why it’s
difficult. Human nature is stimulus/response, cause & effect. I do unto
you because you did unto me.
We must view others as God views them, & then respond to them as He
did to us!
“Refusing to forgive is like drinking poison
& waiting for the other person to die!”
2. Forgiveness means taking action toward restoration – I’m sure this
isn’t exciting news, either—not when we first hear it. We could at least
get a little bittersweet satisfaction out of saying,
“Yeah, I forgive you. Now get out of my life.”
Restoration isn’t always possible – life on this side of eternity
sometimes stinks in spite of our best efforts however…
Yet, the deepest & most satisfying relationships in life come when God
has put something back together that seemed completely broken.
3. Forgiveness means letting God be God – As followers of Christ,
we show the way, & fight anger with love:
“let God exact justice when & where needed,
& bring healing when possible”.
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No, it’s not easy to live by grace, but it’s liberating, & once you
experience it, you’ll never want, again, to be ruled by un-forgiveness
Forgiveness doesn’t come easily; it can be the hardest work of all.
It requires the right mindset, the right humility, & the most powerful of
wills. Above all, we can’t forgive without the power of God working
within each of us. As we come to the close of our service listen to
Colossians 3:13 “Put up with each other, & forgive each other if
anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you!”
Now ask yourself these 2 questions:
1. Is there anyone I need to OFFER FORGIVENESS TO?
2. Is there anyone I need to ASK FORGIVENESS OF?
And remember this could be someone you know or even Christ Himself!
It is never too late… Don’t Forget that!
The
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invitation is always about freedom…
freedom from sin,
freedom from guilt &
freedom from regret…
Are you free today?...You can Be!
Let’s Pray….
NEXT WEEK: Part 3 –
“A Godly Home Guarantees Well-Behaved Godly Kids” – Proverbs 22:6
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NOTE: The idea for this series, & some content was gleaned from the excellent book
"10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe" by Larry Osborn (2009), Doubleday Pub.
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