WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOT

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOT

TEXT: Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

.......continue from yesterday
6. FORGIVENESS IS NOT CEASING TO FEEL THE PAIN.
Just because it hurts doesn’t mean you’ve failed to forgive. It still hurts. Some of you have had horrible things done to you. Horrible things done to you. With all sincerity, I’m sorry. And it would be so cruel to say, "Well, if you’ve forgiven them, it shouldn’t hurt anymore." Well, sure it does. See, we don’t hear in the Bible that all the tears are wiped from our eyes until the resurrection of the dead in the final unveiling of the kingdom. It means people are crying all the way to Jesus. It still hurts. It’s okay for it to bother you.

7. FORGIVENESS IS NOT A ONETIME EVENT.
It’s not like you forgive someone and it’s over. Sometimes, they keep sinning, so you need to keep forgiving. Or sometimes you forgive them, but there are emotional moments where it feels fresh. There’s one woman that I know, her husband committed adultery on her. And he earnestly repented and she honestly forgave him and they have sought biblical counseling and they have worked it out. But she confesses there are times, sometimes even at church, where her husband is doing nothing wrong, and it’s been some years, that she’ll just see him talking to another woman, maybe even a mutual friend, and just the sight of him with another woman causes her to feel all of that betrayal again and it rises up in her soul. And she needs to forgive him again for what he did in the past. Sometimes forgiveness is something that is regularly required.

8. FORGIVENESS IS NOT NEGLECTING JUSTICE.
You can forgive someone and call the police and have them arrested. You can forgive someone and testify against them in court. Romans 13 says to obey the government. They’d say, "I thought you forgave me." "I do. I forgive you. But you’ve committed a crime. You’ve broken the law. And so these are the consequences." If you’ve stolen, you need to pay it. back. If you’ve lied, you need to go tell the truth. It’s not a neglecting of justice. You can forgive and pursue justice.

.....continue tomorrow
LET US PRAY
FATHER IN JESUS NAME, HELP US TO ALWAYS DO RIGHT IN JESUS NAME

share this meal
Good morning brethren