The Forgiven Forgive -- Q & A
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This Lent we are again visiting the 7 Sayings of Christ from the Cross. And as we begin, we are floored by Christ and His love in forgiving His executioners. We will visit the depth and breadth of Christ’s forgiveness a little later on as these amazing words unfold. But for now let’s “park” a little longer on the issue of forgiveness from our perspective.
How hard it is for us to forgive, isn’t it? In our last post, we discussed some points that truly make sense in the entire process of forgiving others. But let’s backtrack a bit more and look at this as a Biblical Q & A session.
The following are notes from a talk I gave to a small group of young married women (I was the “older woman teaching the younger” Titus 2). So why not use this as your own personal Bible study and see what the Holy Spirit reveals to your heart and mind for your particular situation.
… forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you
Ephesians 4:32b ESV
1. WHO are the forgiven?
Have you received the radical reconciliation/forgiveness through our Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you walk in it, live in the totality of the forgiveness in Christ?*
LOOK at these Scriptures:
Colossians 1:13-14
Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:11-18
Until you rest in the finality of the cross, you will never experience the reality of the resurrection, which is Christ living in and through you. Unless you rest in the fact that Jesus did it all, you’ll be busy trying to pay off your debt – atone for your sins [get God to love you more or use you more or whatever] – that you’ll never grow and enjoy the personal relationship that Christ has provided for you.
(Bob George, Growing in Grace)
2. HOW do the forgiven forgive?
Simply stated:
By allowing the indwelling, forgiving Christ to forgive in and through you.
But there may be a process to go through. (See the previous post — Dr. Lewis Smedes on Forgiving)
3. WHOM do the forgiven forgive?
“one another” –- Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
“anyone” –- Mark 11:25
Husbands & Wives! —1Corinthians 13:5 NLT
Pete Briscoe (Telling the Truth), Marriage series: “How to Heal Your Hurts”
In this series on Marriage, Pete refers to how spouses stuff their offenses and let them build up till ready to explode as “Gunny-sacking.” He says that instead of letting them pile up:
1. Empty the sack in a healthy way, and then . . .
2. Don’t fill it up
#1 Healthy way to empty the sack:
a. Alone, ask the Lord to show you what’s in your sack
b. Take inventory
c. Take your list to Jesus – Rev 3:20; 1Peter 5:7
d. Chose to not hold it against your spouse/forgive!
e. Get together with spouse and read lists to each other, assuring of forgiveness already.
f. Burn or shred the lists in each other’s presence.
g. Make a decision to refuse to store your hurts in the future.
#2 How not to fill it up again:
Rule: When I’m hurt, I will say it, so I won’t store it, so we can get past it.
4. WHAT IF the offense/hurt assaults the mind and heart again?
a. Throw into Jesus’ “sack.”
b. Say to your soul,
“Wait a minute, I died to that and now I live by the Resurrected, Forgiving Christ!”
Dear friends, may the Forgiving Christ so fill our vision and our lives that He lives His forgiving life through us...one "scene" at a time.
*For More:
on the totality of forgiveness at the Cross, living from the resurrected life of Christ, identification with Christ {“I died to that…”}, visit my blog www.abranchinthevine.com and/or see chapters 2, 3, and 4 of The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension.
