God, thank You for forgiving me so completely and without hesitation. Help me remember how much grace I’ve received so I can extend that same grace to others. Even when it’s hard, teach me to choose forgiveness over resentment. I trust You to handle justice while I live in the freedom of letting go.
Hi everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here with another episode of what Only God can do on the weekday podcast. And today I'm in episode 15 of a 25 part series. And this week we've been talking about being completely forgiven. Only God can forgive completely. On today's episode, we want to talk about going from forgiven to forgiving. Now this is a, this is a big jump for most of us. But when you think about it, the, the way human forgiveness and God's forgiveness differs is that human forgiveness has this, this concept that it can bring some freedom, but with God, it brings freedom with zero condemnation. It transforms us into forgiving people. There's a big difference. Human forgiveness can give us a sense of gratification and even a sense of peace, but it's limited. God's forgiveness literally transforms us into being forgiven people. We can forgive others. So There were these two brothers back in the day. For 20 years, they hadn't spoken to each other over a business deal that had gone bad. The older brother felt cheated. The younger brother felt falsely accused. Their unforgiveness had created a canyon between them that seemed impossible to cross. And after months of counseling, the older brother had a radical breakthrough. He just realized something.
He said, I've been asking God to forgive my sins daily for 40 years, but I've been holding my brother's one mistake against him for 20. What kind of math is that? I mean, that is a great breakthrough.
With his counselor, he came to this mathematical understanding that there's the paradox that many of us live in. We want complete forgiveness from God, but offer incomplete forgiveness to other people. Well, In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus makes a startling statement. He says, if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Now, this doesn't mean we earn God's forgiveness by forgiving others. Instead, it reveals a profound spiritual principle. Those who have truly experienced God's forgiveness will naturally extend forgiveness to others. Can you see that difference? It's a radical difference. It's profound that those who have truly experienced God's forgiveness will naturally extend forgiveness to other people. It's like the flow of a river. If water is coming in, water goes out. If forgiveness is coming in, forgiveness goes out. In Matthew 18, Peter comes to Jesus and he asked, Lord, how often Should I forgive someone who sins against me seven times? Peter thought he was being super generous because in Jewish tradition, forgiving someone three times was considered sufficient. But Jesus replied, no, not seven times, but 70 times seven. Jesus wasn't giving a mathematical formula of 490 times y'all. He was saying, forgiveness should be limitless. You, just as God's forgiveness to us is limitless. I mean, he's not saying, okay, here's the number. He's saying, there is no number. It keeps coming. You see, Jesus then told the parable of an unforgiving servant who was forgiven a debt of millions of dollars, but refused to forgive a fellow servant a debt of a few bucks. The King's response was pretty severe. He said, shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you? A research study from the Mayo Clinic found that people who forgive experience.
Listen to this. People who forgive experience less anxiety, less stress, and less hostility. They experience lower blood pressure, fewer symptoms of depression, and stronger immune systems. We seem to spend a fortune on supplements when we're missing the key supplement, which is forgiveness. God's command to forgive isn't just a spiritual principle. It's for our well being. Colossians 3 puts it this way. Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
This is crystal clear. It's not an option. It's a natural outflow of what we've received.
So how do we move from being forgiven to being forgiving? Well, maybe the first thing we ought to do is regularly remind ourselves of how much we've been forgiven. Luke 7 says, I tell you her sins, and they are many, have been forgiven. So she has shown me much love. Wait a minute. But a person, it goes on and says, who is forgiven little shows only little love. When we minimize our own need for forgiveness, we become less forgiving toward others. See how that works? Take time today to reflect on the magnitude of what God has forgiven in your life. Not to wallow in your guilt, but to cultivate gratitude that produces grace toward other people. You know what else? We can also learn to understand that forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. You may not feel like forgiving, but you can choose to forgive. Feelings often follow decisions. But when you decide to forgive, your emotions will eventually keep up with your will. To be clear, forgiveness doesn't mean the offense wasn't real or that it wasn't serious. It doesn't mean that you have to immediately trust the person again or that there are no consequences for the action. Forgiveness means you're releasing the right to punish them and trusting God for the justice for those dealing with deep wounds, abuse, betrayal, abandonment, Forgiveness can be a process. It can be a season rather than a one time event, and most often is that's okay. God understands your pain and he'll walk with you through each step of forgiveness. So as we close this segment talking about forgiveness this week, remember this God's complete forgiveness isn't just a gift to receive, it's a model to follow. Ephesians 5 puts it this way. Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His Dear children, Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. My friends, thanks so much for joining us on the Weekday podcast and go enjoy living in the freedom and the joy of forgiveness. God bless you. Bye now.
