Bible Study: Forgiveness (02/03/2022)

Luke 23:34

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are

doing.”

I believe that the Lord is speaking about Forgiving. So many

times, we come into a new year, and as hard as we try, we carry

stuff from last year. One of the things that force us to carry things

over, is us willing to forgive.

My wife was saying the other day after preaching, about how

many times are we are supposed to forgive, 70 times 7?

Matthew 18:21,22

21 Then came Peter to Him, and said, “Lord, how oft shall my brother

sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” 22 Jesus saith unto

him, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times

seven.”

Forgiveness is for you. When you don’t forgive others, they have

power over you and you don’t even realize it.

Forgiveness also allows those who have wronged you to repent

for what they did to you. To get themselves right with God.

Psalm 32:2—5

2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them

and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all

day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was

sapped as in the heat of summer. b

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave

the guilt of my sin.

What is the difference between forgiveness and repentance?

Do they have anything in common?

Proverbs 28:13

13 “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who

confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

This verse from Proverbs can be applied to our relationships with

others as well as to our living God. We are promised mercy if we

confess our sins. A Christian who receives a confession of

wrongdoing from another Christian is acting in love and offering

mercy. As per Micah 6:8, Christians are called “to act justly, and to

love mercy and to walk humbly” with God.

Repentance is the act of admitting wrong-doing and saying sorry.

It involves someone understanding how their actions have caused

pain and suffering to another person. Forgiveness is the act of

pardoning an offender.

Luke 6:27-31

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others, as you would have them do to you.”

The Lord calls us to pray for those who mistreat us and bless

those who curse us. We do not hold grudges even in the face of

unrepentance over sinful actions, although, we do reach out to

the person with a call to repentance by all necessary means. We

do not retaliate against them with destructive actions but seek to

rebuke or correct based on speaking the truth in love