FORGIVENESS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TRULY FORGIVE?

I once thought I knew what it meant to forgive, until I was faced with the question; “What does it TRULY mean to forgive?”

In order to find the TRUTH about a matter concerning my faith I go to God, my heavenly Father and ask him to reveal his truth to me from his Holy word, the Bible.

After praying and communing with God for a bit I then sit in silence for a little while to see if I get any particular direction to head toward. Well in this instance there was no definite verse of scripture that came to my mind, so I picked up my concordance and looked up the word “forgive”. And here is what I found.

To begin this study in God's word about “What does it TRULY mean to FORGIVE” I want to share with you some interesting facts that I discovered while studying this subject.

The word “FORGIVE” is found exactly 56 times in the King James version of the Bible.

The word “ FORGIVEN” is found exactly 42 times in the Bible.

The word “FORGIVENESS” is found 7 times in the Bible. And all the other forms of the word forgive, such as FORGIVENESSES, FORGIVETH (which is forgives in today's English), and FORGIVING all total to be found exactly 7 times in the Bible.

Now all the forms of the word forgive added together come to the total of 112 times exactly. And if you haven't notice already, I want you to take note that all these numbers are exactly divisible by the number 7.

Most all of us have heard that the number 7 is God's perfect number, and to those whom have spent a great deal of time searching the word of God for patterns in numbers and their significance have come to say that the number 7 means perfect, and or completeness.

Now if we take the total number of times that all the forms of forgive are found in the Bible, which is 112 and divide it by 7 we get 16 which is the number for LOVE.

So by using numbers and their meanings, we find that forgiveness is PERFECT LOVE. This thing called forgiveness, that we so often take lightly, is the very basis for our faith in God. Let me explain what I mean. If there were no forgiveness, then there would be no salvation. God chooses to FORGIVE us of our sins on the basis that we REPENT and in turn forgive OTHERS of their trespasses against us.

John 3:16, the famous verse that we are all so familiar with, says,

“For God so LOVED the world, (all of mankind) that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVES in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God the Father sent his only begotten Son as an act of his great LOVE for us to show or demonstrate to us his LOVE, for you see, LOVE is more than just a word.

Love is DOING. Love is something that can be SEEN. Most of us think of love as a feeling, which there is no denying that most definitely love can and will produce very good feelings of peace, joy, safety and comfort, but these feelings are only the benefits of love. Much like the feeling of being irritated or upset, bitterness and uneasiness are all the products or feelings of anger and hatred. I will say more on this later.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:16,17 that God is LOVE.

“And we have known and BELIEVED the LOVE that God has to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwells in LOVE dwells in God, and God in him.

Herein is our LOVE made PERFECT, (why?) that we may have BOLDNESS in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in the world.”

Jesus came to show us the LOVE of the Father, God Almighty. And when this LOVE dwells in us we have peace and a good conscience toward God. We have BOLDNESS to be in his presence. We are not ashamed. There is NOW no CONDEMNATION for those of us who are in Christ Jesus who WALK after the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God in OBEDIENCE. We read in 1 John 4:12, which is but a few verses back,

“No man has seen God at any time. IF we LOVE one another, God dwells in us, and his LOVE is PERFECTED in us.”

We PERFECT our love as we become DOERS of the word of God and not hearers ONLY. Sort of like WALK the TALK Christianity. Practice makes perfect, so to speak. The more we work at forgiveness and walking in love the easier it becomes. Now I want you to skip down a few verses and read 1 John 4:20,21 which says,

“If any man say, I LOVE God, and hates his brother, he is a LIAR: for he that loves NOT his brother whom he has seen, how can he LOVE God whom he has not seen? And this COMMANDMENT have we from him (Almighty God, our Father) That he who LOVES God LOVE his brother ALSO.”

Remember the words of Jesus, Whatever you do to the least of these my brethren you do also to me. Do you BELIEVE this? Do you really BELIEVE? What was the very first verse from the Bible that I wrote to you in this study of God's Holy word on “What does it TRULY mean to forgive?” And what does it say? It says,

“...Whosoever BELIEVES in him should NOT perish, BUT have EVERLASTING LIFE.”

Now I want to focus on this particular part of this verse and keep it in the CONTEXT from where it is found and read the next two verses.

John 3:17,18 says,

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that BELIEVES on him is NOT condemned; BUT he that BELIEVES NOT is condemned ALREADY, (why?) because he has NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

So from the context of John 3:16 we see that the OPPOSITE of

“...Whosoever BELIEVES in him should NOT perish, BUT have EVERLASTING LIFE.”

Is EQUALLY as true.

Therefore it all come down to whether or not we BELIEVE. So what does it mean to BELIEVE?

Now I know;

We all SAY we BELIEVE, but do we TRULY believe the way that the word of God teaches?

We all SAY we LOVE, but do we TRULY love in the way that the Bible says we are to LOVE?

We all SAY we FORGIVE, but do we TRULY forgive the way the Holy word of the Most High God teaches us?

The word of God says in 1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abides FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, these three, but the greatest of these is CHARITY.”

The word “charity” here means LOVE. The HOPE that we have as Christians is the looking forward to our new life with God, that is to say, ETERNAL LIFE, and all its' benefits. And our FAITH is the means by which we obtain this eternal life in God, the Father and his Son Jesus.

So I have listed up above three things as well which we SAY, but do we TRULY mean what we SAY. In other words, does the fruit we bear, demonstrate or reveal the character of;

BELIEVING, that is our FAITH

LOVING, that is CHARITY or LOVE

FORGIVING, that is HOPE in obtaining ETERNAL LIFE.

Let me and try and explain what I mean. If I were to say to you that IF you do NOT FORGIVE your fellow man, then you will NOT be forgiven and THEREFORE you will NOT receive ETERNAL LIFE, but rather that you are CONDEMNED ALREADY, because you do not truly BELIEVE my words and do as I COMMAND you to do and FORGIVE others, would this change the way you looked at the TRUE meaning of FORGIVING?

So what does the Bible, the Holy word of the living and only true wise God, have to say on this subject of what does it TRULY mean to forgive.

Turn to Matthew 6:14,15 and read straight from the word of God for yourself.

“For IF you FORGIVE men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you: BUT if you forgive NOT men their trespasses, NEITHER will your heavenly Father FORGIVE your trespasses.”

And since we all know that the word of God teaches that NO sin will enter into the city of God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God, then we all need FORGIVENESS from God. For without which NO man will see God and obtain eternal life. So you see, your very soul is at stake here, IF you harbor bitterness and do NOT forgive others.

Now I ask you. Is it really that big of a deal what your brother, or your sister, or your mother, or your father, or your son, or your daughter, or your friend, or your enemy, or whoever may have WRONGED you to hold on to those feelings of hurt to the point that they cause you NOT to obtain eternal life in the end?

I mean, really, what could they have done to you for you to be willing to give up eternal life so that you can have the satisfaction of saying, “But you do not understand what they did to me, or what they said about me.” This is the way the world thinks, but we are no longer of the world, so be not conformed to this worlds way of thinking any longer. Get into the word of God and see what God has to say. Your very salvation depends upon it.

Now I know these are HARD words to receive, but this is what the word of God teaches. We are COMMANDED to LOVE one another. We can SAY what ever we want, but if we do not bear the right kind of fruit, then we will not inherit eternal life at the end of our journey, or WAY. The word of God tells us that we shall know the tree by the fruit that it bears.

Jesus said,

“I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE: NO man comes unto the Father but by me.”

Jesus went on to say in this same context in the gospel of John chapter 14 and verse 20 which says,

“IF you LOVE me, KEEP my COMMANDMENTS.”

So what did Jesus mean when he said, “I am the WAY”? For an in depth study on this question please read “I AM THE WAY: WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN?” But just briefly Jesus came to show us the Father, his WAY, so to speak, the true nature and character of God, which is LOVE and MERCY. Now these are not all of God's characteristics, but the ones I am focusing on in this study.

Jesus said in the next chapter of John, chapter 15 and verse 10 through verse 14, still speaking on the same subject,

“IF you KEEP my COMMANDMENTS, you shall abide in my LOVE, even as I have kept the Father's commandment, and abide in his LOVE,

These things I have spoken unto you that my JOY might REMAIN in you, and that your joy may be FULL.

This is my COMMANDMENT, that you LOVE one another, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends IF you do whatsoever I COMMAND you.”

So our salvation is DEPENDENT upon us walking in LOVE and FORGIVENESS and keeping ourselves in the WAY that Jesus showed to us.

Jesus brought to us the word of TRUTH. What Jesus spoke to us is the TRUTH. The life that Jesus lived was the TRUTH. He is our faithful witness. He is our testimony. He is our example to follow. All through the word of God we see phrases like, "EVEN as I have KEPT the commandments of the Father, EVEN as I have OVERCOME, purify yourself EVEN as he, speaking of Jesus, EVEN as he is pure, and so forth and so on, TEACHING us the Jesus is our EXAMPLE to follow. Jesus is a living and true RECORD showing us that he, being the Son of MAN, or be a HUMAN BEING HIMSELF, fufilled the law, keeping the commandments of his God and Father. THEREFORE so ought we to walk EVEN as he walked WITHOUT SIN.

Jesus say in Matthew 24:13,

“But he that ENDURES unto the END, the SAME shall be saved.”

So ONLY he or she that endures unto the end of their life and is found to be faithful in what God has COMMANDED us to do will be the ONLY ones who will inherit eternal life. Therefore it is VITAL that we OBEY God's word and walk in LOVE and FORGIVENESS. Faith without works is dead. For a deeper understanding on we are saved by FAITH and NOT of WORKS please read the studies entiled "WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF GRACE?" , "WE ARE NOT SAVED BY OUR OWN WORKS" and "WORKS OF THE LAW VERSUS GOOD WORKS"

“Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not, love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seek not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;

Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails:”

Walking in LOVE and FORGIVENESS may seem hard and even impossible at times, but it is because we are trying to do it in our OWN strength. I will explain this in more detail a little later in this study.

For now turn to 1 John 5:1-4 and read,

“Whosoever BELIEVES that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that LOVES him that is begotten (Jesus) LOVES him ALSO that is begotten of him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and KEEP his commandments.

For this is the LOVE of God, that we KEEP his commandments: and his commandments are NOT GRIEVOUS.”

We may make them to be hard and grievous, but they are NOT if we BELIEVE. The just shall live by FAITH. Please refer to the study on "BIBLE MEANING OF FAITH"

Now turn back one page to 1 John 3:14-16 and hear what the word of God is saying to you.

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, (how do we know?) because we LOVE the brethren. He that LOVES NOT his brother abides in DEATH.

Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Hereby we PERCEIVE we the LOVE of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Now it is easy to love a brother or sister when things are going well and there is no friction between each other.

And it is relatively easy to love someone when we ourselves did something wrong and we know that we did wrong and openly took the blame, even if they do not accept our apology. 

But when we are in the right and we are wrongly accused it then becomes more difficult to suffer that wrong and just let it go as if it means nothing, like nothing ever happen.

Take a look at 1 Peter 2:17-23 which says,

“Honor all men, LOVE the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not ONLY to the GOOD and GENTLE, but also to the froward.

For this is thank worthy, if a man for conscience toward God ENDURE GRIEF, suffering WRONGFULLY.

For what glory is it, when you are buffeted for your FAULTS, you shall take it patiently? But if, when you do WELL, and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For EVEN here unto you were called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving for us an EXAMPLE; that we should FOLLOW his STEPS:

Who did NO SIN, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; BUT he COMMITTED himself to him that judges righteously.”

One of Jesus' disciple came to him one day and asked how many times we are to forgive a brother that trespasses against us. Let's go ahead and turn to Matthew 18:21,22 which says,

“Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?

Jesus says unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: BUT until seventy time seven.”

So Jesus tells us that if a brother or sister sins against us that we are to forgive them 490 times. Now for me personally I cannot think of anyone that has has wronged me anywhere near 490 times, but even if they did I do not think Jesus meant for us to keep track of how many times we forgive someone. And here is why I come to this conclusion.

Take a look at Luke 17:4,

“And if he trespass against you seven times in a DAY, and seven times in a DAY turn again to you, saying, I repent: you shall FORGIVE him.”

Now putting the two verses together we find that Jesus was basically saying it doesn't matter how many times your brother or sister offends or trespasses against you in a day, whether seven times or seventy times seven times in a DAY you shall forgive them. That is 490 times in a single day, each and every day of your life. In other words, we are never to have our FORGIVENESS mode turned off. We must aways be or possess the attitude of forgiveness. This is one of the characteristics of LOVE, and if we LOVE the brethren we will FORGIVE each other and move on.

So I think I have made it clear from the word of God that without FORGIVENESS we shall NOT inherit eternal life, but what does it mean to TRULY forgive someone. You may be thinking. What does it feel like. How can we know that we have truly forgiven someone? This is what I want to know! Yes, I know I am supposed to walk in forgiveness, but HOW to I do it?

Let's begin by first changing your attitude, that is of course if it needs changing. Do you believe the word when it says, so unto others as you would have them do unto you? Anyway let's look at the way God FORGIVES us. How do we RECEIVE forgiveness from God? Take a look at 1 John 1:9,

“If we CONFESS our sins, he is FAITHFUL and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and CLEANSE us from ALL unrighteousness.”

We see here that IF we confess our sins then God will forgive us of our sins, but HOW do we know for SURE that we are FORGIVEN? That's right, we have to BELIEVE that our sins are forgiven, BEFORE we get that peace in our hearts that is FREE from any CONDEMNATION.

Now we know that God does not remember our sins when we ask for forgiveness, (WHY?) because his word says so, and not just because it says so, but because we BELIEVE it to be the TRUTH. Read the following verse from the word of God;

Hebrews 10:17 says,

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember NO more.”

Psalm 103:12 says,

“As FAR as the east is from the west, so FAR has he removed our transgression from us.”

Isaiah 43:25 reads,

“I even I am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and  will NOT REMEMBER your sins.”

There are many more such verses, but I think I have made my point. When God FORGIVES us he no longer REMEMBERS our transgressions, our sins, our wrong doings, our faults or our shortcomings. They are COMPLETELY forgotten, never to be brought up again.

Unless of course we OURSELVES bring them back up through UNBELIEF. Let me share a little bit what I mean by this.

God says when I FORGIVE you, then I remove your sins from my memory are as FAR from me as the east is from the west. Think about this for a moment just how far that really is? It is INFINITY, the distance cannot be measured, because the east is moving away from the west just as the west is moving away from the east and they will NEVER meet.

BUT if YOU TURN AROUND from going west you will IMMEDIATELY be going east. Are you following what I am saying? Your sins are headed in one direction getting farther and farther away each passing moment, but the moment YOU yourself bring them back to remembrance by UNBELIEF, fearing that God has not truly forgiven you of your sins, then God also remembers them, because you WAVERED in your FAITH. You have to cast your cares, worries and fears upon the Lord and LEAVE them there. If you bring your faults back up then this means you TRULY do not BELIEVE that God has FORGIVEN you.

Now this does not mean that you cannot start over and ask forgiveness again, or better yet, just RESIST the LIES of the enemy, when he tries to get you to think that God has not really forgiven you and say, NO devil, I asked forgiveness of that sin and God's word says that he is FAITHFUL and just to forgive me if I ask him, so therefore I am FORGIVEN, case closed. You have to BELIEVE. For without FAITH it is impossible to please God.

Likewise, in much the SAME way, when we FORGIVE others the devil will bring those FEELINGS we had when this other person transgressed against us. Now our job is to RESIST the devil and the word of God assures us the devil will flee from us. So RESIST these feelings of resentment, uneasiness, irritation, bitterness, or whatever they may be, depending upon the offense.You can be hurt a lot or you can be hurt only slightly, and your feelings will vary on the degree of your hurt. But no matter what the wrong you have experienced the feelings of this wrong will diminish and completely leave you if you RESIST them in the name of Jesus.

You may be saying to yourself, I have tried to do this, but it is too hard. Think about what you are saying. Hard is a relative term. Let me explain what I mean. When a young child is learning to do math and the child comes to you and says to you, it is too hard, you then in turn teach your child HOW to overcome this particular problem. Then after the child LEARNS to do the math problem, he or she no longer finds it to be HARD. In fact they seem more surprised at how EASY the problem really was to solve.

So in much the same way, once you COME to the understanding of how EASY it is to FORGIVE, then you will be amazed of how simple it was all along and wonder why you never saw the answer before.

Now as simple as the answer is there will be some who just will not accept it, but seeing that we have no alternative than to do our HOMEWORK just as the little child does theirs if they want to pass the test, then you had better take heed to what the word of God has to say. You can refuse to do your homework and continue to struggle through life, or you can APPLY yourself to learning the word of God and move onto that higher level of math, so to speak, that ABUNDANT life that Jesus tells us about in

John 10:10 which says,

“The thief comes not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more ABUNDANTLY.”

This verse is a whole study in and of itself and perhaps one day I will write down what the Lord has shown me through this verse, but for now I just want you to see that it is for YOUR good that you are to FORGIVE others when they wrong you.

Remember the verse I shared earlier in this study.

John 15:14 which says,

“THESE THINGS have I spoken unto you (why?) that my JOY might REMAIN in you, and that your JOY may be FULL.”

You see, your joy is NOT full when you are at odds with your brother, or your sister or your mother or your father, or your son or your daughter or a friend or a coworker or anyone for that matter. When there is an issue of NOT FORGIVING someone in your life, then there is an absence of the PEACE of God, which is there for the sole reason of reconciling the problem. God places that uneasiness in you to move you to reconcile the matter.

So if your joy is NOT full and there is an absence of God's PEACE, then one place that I would check is see if there is someone in your life that you have NOT FORGIVEN.

Now if something is continually being brought to your remembrance, then it may be that God is dealing with you to get this issue resolved. Or it may be the enemy trying to get you into UNBELIEF. This is something you are going to have to work out with God, because I do not know what is in your heart.

The bottom line is if you know in your heart that you have TRULY forgiven this person and these feelings keep coming up before you, then you need to RESIST these feelings, which are nothing but the lies from the enemy, and move on by putting this offense out of your memory. Refuse to dwell on it any longer.

Paul says in Philippians 3:13,14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this ONE THING I DO, FORGETTING those things which are BEHIND, and reaching forth unto the things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Now if you KNOW without a DOUBT that you have TRULY forgiven this person that has offended you or transgressed against you, then you need to move on to FORGETTING this incident and let it go. It is BEHIND you, It is in the PAST. Get over it and move on.

Is it really worth harboring these feelings, which are nothing but the lies of the enemy,to just have the satisfaction of saying you were wronged by this person to gain the sympathy of another. Think about this for a moment before you go off and sulk. Is it an even trade, that is to say, is it worth giving up your JOY for a little sympathy from someone who will forget about your plight the moment you leave their presence?

No, I tell you a thousand times NO. It is Far, far better to TRULY FORGIVE and FOREVER FORGET the hurt so that your JOY may be FULL.

We are COMMANDED to walk in LOVE, and if there are UNRESOLVED feelings of contention and friction between others, then we need to take them to the Lord and LEAVE them there.

Now sometimes there will be issues that will have to be addressed face to face with the ones who have wronged us, because they are an ongoing transgression. What I mean by this is that it seems that no matter how hard you try to get along, so to speak that they do or say something that ignites these bad feelings in you. Now they may or may not be pushing your buttons, so to speak, intentionally or unintentionally. If you are confident that they are causing strife intentionally, then the word of God gives us these instructions to reconcile the matter.

Read Matthew 5:23 first, which tells us what to do when WE, as in you or I, are the one who transgress against another, rather than someone else transgressing against US, as in you or me.

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there REMEMBER that your brother has aught against YOU;

LEAVE there your gift before the altar, and go your way; FIRST to be RECONCILED to your brother, and THEN come and offer your gift.”

Now in today's terminology we would say something like, therefore when you bring your praise and thanksgiving to God and the Holy Spirit brings to your remembrance an unresolved issue that a brother or sister or anyone has against you, whether you realized it before or not, but now you know, because you have an uneasiness in your spirit or heart, then leave off praying or giving of thanks and go to this person face to face and open up to them with sincerity and get this issue resolved, then come and give thanks to God with FULLNESS of JOY in your heart.

Again I want you to notice that the above verse applies to the situation whereby YOU have wronged another and THEY have an issue with YOU. So it does not do any good just to say forgive me Lord for the wrong that I did to my brother, IF the Holy Spirit is PROMPTING you by bringing to your REMEMBRANCE this issue and speaking to your heart this uneasiness that something is not right. This is called CONDEMNATION, and this uneasiness will not go away, until you resolve the issue face to face with the person that has aught against YOU for the wrong that YOU did unto THEM. So OBEY the Holy Spirit and go to this person and reconcile the matter. Then go to God with thanksgiving in your heart bringing praise to him.

Now if you have aught against another, because of what THEY have done or said a wrong unto YOU, then the Bible says that we are to go to this person and again open up and sincerely explain the issue to them. Please read the following passage of scripture.

Matthew 18:11-17

"For the Son of man is come to save that which is LOST.

How think you? If a man has a hundred sheep, and ONE of them GOES ASTRAY, does he not leave the ninety nine, and go into the mountains, and SEEK that which is GONE ASTRAY?

And IF SO BE that he FINDS it, verily I say unto you, he REJOICES MORE of that sheep, than of the ninety nine which went not astray.

Even so it is NOT the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should PERISH.

MOREOVER if your brother shall trespass against YOU, go and tell him HIS fault between you and him ALONE: IF he shall hear you, you have GAINED your brother.

But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word be established.

And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican.”

First of all I want to restate and emphasize once again how VITALLY important it is to WALK in OBEDIENCE to the Holy Spirit, to walk in LOVE and to walk in FORGIVENESS for BOTH you and the ones we effect in our lives. For our very salvation is DEPENDENT upon these things and we may also be the cause of another person to GO ASTRAY and be LOST.

Jesus opens this teaching with a parable of one hundred sheep telling us that one of the flock has gone ASTRAY and is LOST and will remain LOST, UNTIL he is found and RESTORED to the fold.

Then Jesus likens the LOST sheep to one who has wrong YOU, saying that they are LOST, because they have unresolved sin in their life, namely the transgression that they transgressed against you. And they will remain LOST UNTIL this issue of sin in their life is RESOLVED, either by you FORGIVE them or they asking forgiveness of the Lord themselves.

This is why I believe FORGIVENESS is so VITALLY important. First of all we have the power and authority to HOLD this sin against them, but this is NOT God's will for us, and consequently will steal OUR JOY and peace that we have, because we know in our hearts that it is wrong.

Second we have the power to FORGIVE them of their sin against us WITHOUT having to go face to face with them.

However, in some instances, and you will know when this is the case, you will have to go face to face and confront them of this issue ALONE.

Then. if the issue is not resolved, in that they do not acknowledge or see that they in fact did wrong to you and refuse to be reconciled, you are to take one or two more people of wisdom with you to make sure all the facts are made clear and that both of you are understanding the core of the problem. Once all the facts are established, then this person is given another opportunity to make amends.

But if this person is still not seeing that importance of how they hurt you and have cut themselves off not only from you, but from God as well, then you may present your case before the whole church.

And if they still do not come around and repent, then you are to treat them as one who has not come to know the Lord, one who is LOST. Jesus says to treat them as a heathen. So how do we treat a heathen? We share the word of God with them, we pray for them, we ask God to send other laborers into their life, and we BELIEVE that God will give the INCREASE. They will continue to be LOST sinner, unless they repent and are FOUND to be in Christ Jesus before they die. Otherwise they will PERISH. How much do you TRULY LOVE them?

This is God's word, not mine, I am just a messenger bringing to you the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. It is up to you to do what ever you choose to do with what you hear or read from me or anyone else. If you look around you will find hundreds who will SYMPATHIZE with you, but there are only a FEW that LOVE you enough to tell you the TRUTH.

Hebrews 12:14,15 says,

“Follow PEACE with ALL men, and holiness, WITHOUT which NO man shall see the Lord.

Looking DILIGENTLY lest (or for FEAR that) any man FAIL of the grace of God; lest (again for FEAR that) any root of BITTERNESS springing up trouble you, and THEREBY MANY be defiled;”

Harboring bitterness in your heart and pretending it does not matter will defile not only you, but may cause many to be defiled. The word “defile” here means to pollute, to stain, to defile or to corrupt.

If you have the HOPE of inheriting eternal life in you, then you will OBEY God's word and walk in FORGIVENESS and LOVE, BELIEVING that God will stengthen you and give you boldness to speak forth his word in LOVE making PEACE with all men. Remember Jesus says you are my friends IF you do all I COMMAND you to do. Our salvation is CONDITIONAL in that we must OBEY the Spirit of God and KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of God. And if we do NOT endure unto the end of our life and are NOT found to be faithful, then we will NOT enter into the JOY of the Lord, but rather cast into outer darkness.

1 John 3:3 says,

“And every man that has this HOPE  (The HOPE of seeing the Lord) PURIFIES himself EVEN as he (Jesus Christ our Lord) is pure.”

2 Peter 3:14 says,

“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be DILIGENT that you may be FOUND of him in PEACE, WITHOUT SPOT, and BLAMELESS.”

If it takes SUFFERING a WRONG done to you when you did not deserve it to keep PEACE in your life and your heart PURE before God, then suffer the wrong and FORGET about it and move on. This is what it means to TRULY forgive. God does not REMEMBER or bring back the sins for which we have asked FORGIVENESS, so neither should you bring back up those memories of where you have forgiven others. Let it go, it is in the past. RESIST those feelings of bitterness from the enemy and WALK in FORGIVENESS and LOVE.

You can do this IF you BELIEVE.

May the grace of God be with you and continue to grow in his grace and strength as you read and study his word. Be strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. With man it is impossible, BUT with God ALL things are possible. You can not walk in LOVE and FORGIVENESS in your OWN strength, BUT by FAITH you can do all that God COMMANDS you to do. To truly forgive is to FORGET.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Now and Forever,

Mark.

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