notsolostsoul Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 38 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 419 Content Per Day: 0.16 Reputation: 204 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/07/2017 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 Forgiveness can be a difficult thing to do, even for a seasoned Christian. To a "Babe" in Christ it may be even more difficult. I have known many who believe they have committed so much that there is no way God would forgive them. I know others whom on their journey feel they can not forgive others because those others have done such wrongs. So since they have these difficulties with forgiveness, they struggle with getting closer to Jesus. Some may see Ephesians 4:31-32 (KJV) 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. As instructions on how to forgive. Yet others may be discouraged by Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV) 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. In thinking that they can not be forgiven, so why bother trying to work on forgiveness. Since Jesus is into saving as many as he can and for his followers to help one another. Are there any more verses to encourage others to continue with Jesus or is there any advice we can give to encourage our fellow man to forgive? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7trumpets Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 94 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 95 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/27/2017 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. There is a condition "if he repents". Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. He should come to and apologize for the wrong he has done. Even if he doesn't repent to you, we can forgive him in our minds/heart. We are not to be like a doormat either for unrepentant people. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sower Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 14 Topic Count: 32 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 5,252 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5,860 Days Won: 1 Joined: 07/09/2009 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 You do not have to "feel" forgiveness. I don't always do. But I do make a mental assent, that I forgive them. I might call it mechanical. Not important to me if I do not feel the compassion most think should be there. But I obey the word. It says to forgive, so I do. It's not a hard verse to understand. I don't chase the offender down to make a verbal confession of forgiveness, as they might not even believe they have done anything to offend. But if they do come to me and ask, the word says to me I should forgive them, so I will. Proverbs 11, vs 12 says He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. This was the second verse of scripture I purposed to memorize after I was saved, and always needing wisdom, I try to follow simple commands. I don't always know what might have caused someone to offend me, as they might be going through some great life turmoil/tragedy unknown to me, and I simply was the one available to lash out on. But if I'm really a "mature" christian, I realize, to abide in Christ, I should not hesitate to forgive, and continue my fellowship with my Lord. (The sin of pride can have a big influence on dealing with forgiveness) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Adams Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 25 Topic Count: 61 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 9,606 Content Per Day: 3.97 Reputation: 7,795 Days Won: 21 Joined: 09/11/2017 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 Satan hates forgiveness. He is way out of his league and wants others to follow him. To just voice forgiveness heaps coals on satan's head. So even if you do not feel forgiveness, and of course satan will remind you, just say the words over (out loud) and over since he can hear that and his legions of demons might then leave you alone for a while. Forgiveness is not necessarily an emotion either. What we 'feel' is often quite misleading. God says forgive. Simple! What we do is what really counts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 2 Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 499 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 277 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/06/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 2 hours ago, notsolostsoul said: Forgiveness can be a difficult thing to do, even for a seasoned Christian. To a "Babe" in Christ it may be even more difficult. I have known many who believe they have committed so much that there is no way God would forgive them. I know others whom on their journey feel they can not forgive others because those others have done such wrongs. So since they have these difficulties with forgiveness, they struggle with getting closer to Jesus. Some may see Ephesians 4:31-32 (KJV) 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. As instructions on how to forgive. Yet others may be discouraged by Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV) 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. In thinking that they can not be forgiven, so why bother trying to work on forgiveness. Since Jesus is into saving as many as he can and for his followers to help one another. Are there any more verses to encourage others to continue with Jesus or is there any advice we can give to encourage our fellow man to forgive? In regards to Matthew 6 I can't help but think about Adam and Eve in the garden after they had sinned. God knew they had sinned yet there He was walking in the garden looking for them to commune with them. It was Adam and Eve that were embarrassed by their sin ( we see the physical example of the spiritual reality in their covering up with leaves) and it was they that separated from God. I'm going to step out on a limb here and ask the question...In regards to vs 15, is it possible that we think and feel that God has not forgiven us because we are feeling the anger and enslavement of unforgiveness towards another. I say this in light of Heb 7:27 He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself. and Heb_9:26 Then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the creation of the world. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once for all to remove sin by his sacrifice. If Christ died once for all men, for all sin how is it then that God would not forgive our trespasses if we don't forgive others? I believe the answer is there, we just have to work it out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplejeff Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Mars Hill Followers: 12 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 7,689 Content Per Day: 2.38 Reputation: 2 Days Won: 20 Joined: 06/30/2015 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 19 minutes ago, Mike 2 said: If Christ died once for all men, for all sin how is it then that God would not forgive our trespasses if we don't forgive others? For Clarity here, do you mean to ask for instance : would God Lie, and would God Go Ahead and Forgive us if we don't forgive others, even though He Says Clearly otherwise ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 2 Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 499 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 277 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/06/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 42 minutes ago, simplejeff said: For Clarity here, do you mean to ask for instance : would God Lie, and would God Go Ahead and Forgive us if we don't forgive others, even though He Says Clearly otherwise ? I would not say that God is lying. What I am doing is posing the question... based on what we read in Hebrews there appears to be a conflict so....are we misunderstanding the verses in Matthew, or Hebrews for that matter? It's got nothing to do with if God is lying but working out together the question posed in the OP. When it comes to the bible sometimes things aren't always as clear as we would like to believe. What are your thoughts on the verses from Hebrews and how they relate to the ones from Matthew? (anyone...not just simplejeff) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sower Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 14 Topic Count: 32 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 5,252 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5,860 Days Won: 1 Joined: 07/09/2009 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 40 minutes ago, simplejeff said: For Clarity here, do you mean to ask for instance : would God Lie, and would God Go Ahead and Forgive us if we don't forgive others, even though He Says Clearly otherwise ? God is light, and in Him is no darkness. We all know God can not/does not speak falsely. I've always wondered about that verse above, as it seemed to contradict other verses, especially as to His death on the cross, where all penalty of sin was paid for. Then this 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I personally do not know the answer to this, but I believe not forgiving someone will cause me to lose fellowship with God, and as He knows my heart, and sees my unforgiveness, I believe the unforgiveness spoken about by God above relates to, He will deal with us on this issue till we obey His command to repent. Hindered prayers etc. My take on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 2 Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 499 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 277 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/06/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 2 minutes ago, Gary Lee said: God is light, and in Him is no darkness. We all know God can not/does not speak falsely. I've always wondered about that verse above, as it seemed to contradict other verses, especially as to His death on the cross, where all penalty of sin was paid for. Then this 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I personally do not know the answer to this, but I believe not forgiving someone will cause me to lose fellowship with God, and as He knows my heart, and sees my unforgiveness, I believe the unforgiveness spoken about by God above relates to, He will deal with us on this issue till we obey His command to repent. Hindered prayers etc. My take on this one. I think you are on to something Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 2 Posted November 30, 2017 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 499 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 277 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/06/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted November 30, 2017 (edited) by the way.....this just came to mind.... I just did a quick bible search on the 2 words "ask forgiveness" Can't seem to find anything in the bible where it says "ask forgiveness" Anyone able to come up with something...ask, seek, pursue I can find lots for offer and for. I believe there is a significant reason for that Edited November 30, 2017 by Mike 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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