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II Corinthians 2:5 but if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part:
that I may not overcharge you all. 6
Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted
of many. 7 So that contrariwise
ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest
perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye
would confirm your love toward him. 9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of
you, whether ye be obedient in all things. 10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I
forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it
in the person of Christ; 11 Lest
Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
The best gift to give ourselves is the hardest. What would
you say it is? Verse 7 says “contrariwise ye ought to forgive…” We
need to have a forgiving spirit. This is easier to say than to put into
practice. We may pray for God to help us, but we don’t do forgive because we
don’t let him help us.
This is one of Satan’s most effective tools. He wants us to
keep hard feelings and grudges in our hearts. Verse 11 says to forgive “lest Satan should get an advantage of us.”
What a passage! What we it want so much
from God—forgiveness—but is what we find ourselves unlikely to do for others.
Let’s look at three phases of this.
Forgiving God: do we
have this problem? What! Forgiving God? Have you been miffed at God because
he didn’t give you something you wanted? Do you act like he needs to ask your
forgiveness because he didn’t give it? Is he obligated to please you? Do you
blame God like he made a mistake while at the same time say you love him? Job
40:1-2 says “Moreover the LORD
answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?
he that reproveth God, let him answer it.” God doesn’t need our instruction. We have no business telling God he made a
mistake or getting angry with him. We don’t get everything we want. He is not
obligated to give us all we want. We are selfish. We act like a child who cries
because his parents won’t get something he wants from Walmart. Why doesn’t the
child get it? His parents know it is
best. He doesn’t get everything he wants.
In verse 3 of Job 40 he admits his shamefulness. God is always right.
Forgiving ourselves: do we have this problem? Do you have a
problem with guilt? Prior to salvation,
the Corinthian people were wicked. Paul
reminded them they WERE like that but not now; in one passage he says “of such
you were.” He told them to steer their
conscious to God, not the flesh. The
things which were said and done cannot be taken back, but they can be only a
memory. Let’s not try to bring them up.
Our past sins are no more real than a ghost. We are freed. Let’s keep
the understanding in our hearts that we belong to God, and he has forgiven us. We
can’t let past sins destroy us.
Phase 1 and 2 are taken care of. What about forgiving others? Have you been guilty of it? To be done wronged by others is a mistake and
sin on their part. To harbor resentment and be unforgiving is a mistake and sin
on our part. Is it too tough a stand on this?
Is this too hardnosed? Is it
unrealistic? No. It’s our biggest
problem. We don’t want to think about it. We all just admitted we’ve done it.
When we respond in like manner we have sinned.
Remember the Lord’s Prayer.
What does it say? Look at Matthew 6. Study it for next week. See how we
can be a forgiving person.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 