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Forgiveness
by Micky Galloway
“Forgiveness” is the grand theme of the Bible. That God is willing to forgive our sins should cause all of us to rejoice. The apostle Paul expressed such joy in I Timothy 1:12-16, “I thank him that enabled me, (even) Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to (his) service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.” Forgiveness of sins has been made possible to all. While God is abundantly willing to forgive let us not make the mistake of thinking that forgiveness is a cheap, easy thing. It is ever costly … ever conditional.
Forgiveness is conditional. For God to grant it unconditionally would minimize sin and encourage men to persist in sin. Forgiveness was not unconditional even with God, Himself. To be just in justifying men He had to give His Son as a propitiation of our sins (Romans 3:24-26). Neither is forgiveness unconditional on man’s part. Men must obey the commands of God (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9). Even those for whom Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), had to meet the Father’s conditions of forgiveness. They were told to “Repent and be baptized … for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). God is willing to forgive us, but we must comply with the conditions He has given.
Just as God is willing to forgive us, our Lord taught us to forgive one another. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). Jesus emphatically taught that our forgiveness from the Father is dependant upon our willingness to forgive others. Just as God does not forgive us unconditionally; neither does He demand that we forgive unconditionally those who sin against us. One who sins against his fellow man is to repent, make known his repentance, and seek reconciliation if he is to make it right. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:23-24, “If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Indeed, there will be occasions of offense and stumbling. “It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were well for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.” But what must we do when such occasions of stumbling come? Jesus continued, “Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:1-4). One, however, who is too stubborn to repent of his sins and too proud to acknowledge them is due no forgiveness. God does not forgive such, neither does He demand that we forgive them. To do so would be an injustice to such a person. It would serve to encourage him to persist in his sin.
However, when those who sin against us repent and seek our forgiveness we must forgive them. Our salvation is dependant upon it! When we extend forgiveness, it must be genuinely “from the heart.” Jesus taught about forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35 and concluded, “So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not everyone his brother FROM YOUR HEARTS.” If it is not, it would be the rankest hypocrisy. When God forgives, He no longer holds that sin against us. So, are we to forgive. Paul taught, “and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Let us read again the parable of Jesus in Matthew 18:21-25 and remember that no man will ever need as much forgiveness from us as we need from God!
Let us remember also, that even when we fail to seek His forgiveness, God is willing to forgive. So must we be willing. The Christian is not to have malice in his heart. The wisdom writer said, “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work” (Proverbs 24:29). This would prevent his forgiveness, even if it were sought. This is the opposite of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:12 “All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets.” We must pray for those who seek our harm. Jesus again said, “love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:44-45). We sin in failing to pray for those who have done wrong (I Samuel 12:23). It would be impossible to fail to love one for whom we sincerely pray. It would be impossible to refuse to forgive such a one when he seeks our forgiveness.
“Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).
In Your Anger
by Joe Fitch
“Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26). Anger is not always a sin. God's anger, even his fierce anger was cited often in the Old Testament. Jesus also became angry, “he looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts” (Mark 3:5). Being like Jesus means developing the right kind of anger rather than trying to eliminate anger.
The root of anger must be right. Cain – Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? (Genesis 4:6) The why is really vital. Cain's anger had a bad root – envy. Abel's sacrifice was accepted; his was not. Sound disturbingly familiar? How about this? – he prospered; I did not – or they listen to him; not me – or he was invited; not me – they compliment him; ignore me – my feelings are hurt. Beware Anger with a selfish or mean root always bears bitter fruit. You must correct the why of anger or sin lies at the door (Genesis 4.7). Anger can never be right while the why is wrong.
Be angry does not require anger. There is very little need to encourage anger. Rather, the sentence warns of anger's inherent dangers – in your anger sin not …nor give place to the devil. Yet, some situations actually do expect anger – a righteous anger. Moses came down from Sinai and found Israel embroiled in idolatry and revelry (Exodus 32:1). Should Moses be indifferent? No Burning anger was the proper response to their insult of Jehovah. God did not reprimand Moses. Throwing down the stone tablets was not proper; but his anger was right. In another case, Potiphar came home to his wife crying about an assault on her by Joseph. She displayed evidence to support her allegations (Genesis 39:1). Should Potiphar be angry? – incensed? Of course, he should Her accusation was a lie; her evidence was wrong. However, Potiphar's anger was exactly right. Again, a fellow ridicules and slanders a brother – in Christ. Should you be angry? Yes He is your brother – a son of God. I dare say you are seriously wrong if you are not angry.
The expression of anger must be right. This is an easy place to err. Anger's emotion easily clouds judgment – easily ignores truth – easily steps over the bounds of right. In Cain's anger, he refused to listen – even to God. He murdered his brother; he lied to God afterward. That is anger gone amuck. Don't do that.
Anger must not void self control. In no circumstance can self control be sacrificed. I will not be brought under the power of any (I Corinthians 6:12) – not even anger. You may be justifiably angry; you can not afford to be mad Anger is often right; rage is never right. The danger in anger is so great that we must approach all anger with great caution. We must learn to be slow to anger (James 1:19) – just as God is (Psalms 103:8; 145:8). Thus, we avoid many terrible disasters.
In anger, how do you behave? Do you throw a tantrum? Scream and holler? Stomp and kick? Throw things? Seethe and pout? Anger may occasionally be right, but such unrestrained behavior is never right. It is absolutely wrong – sin.
In anger, what do you say? Do you cuss – burst out in profanity? Do you spew out insulting, hateful, and mean invectives. This is frequently anger's vocabulary. Do you falsely accuse those who anger you? Do you call people contemptuous and ugly names (Matthew 5:22)? Do you spread rumors? – carry gossip? Anger may be right, but all such malicious speech surely is not. It is wrong – sin.
In anger, what do you do? Cain was angry with Abel, and killed him. In your anger, do you also do harm to people? – Do you do hurtful things? Do you stir up strife? (a favorite tactic of anger.) An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression (Proverbs 29:22). Anger is permitted; malicious conduct is not. It is wrong – sin.
In anger, do you accuse God? Anger often criticizes God. Anger blames God even when the incident was not God's doing. Job knew better than that. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22). In anger, we boldly judge whether God did the right thing. Even David was caught in that snare. And David became angry because of the LORD‘s outbreak against Uzzah;… (II Samuel 6:8). Anger may be right, but judging God is surely none of our business . In fact, it is arrogantly wrong – sin.
The duration of anger must be right – do not let the sun go down on your wrath (Ephesians 4:26). Brief is the only safe time frame for anger – even right anger. A long visit with anger will see the acid consume its container. Learn from God who does not retain His anger forever (Micah 7:18). Let it go.