Today’s current Christian faith has withered down to “give me what I like and want spiritually“, “feed me“, “make me feel better about myself“, “make worship so good that it builds me up and makes me excited”, “make God accept me like I am”, and “do not beg for money, I want to spend my money how I want!” Selfishness and pleasure have become the driving force, the purpose, in most religious peoples lives. The hypocrisy is evident!
Paul warned us of this terrible day long ago.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
There is much evidence that the majority of American Christians live this way. Divorce is just as high in Christian homes as the atheists. Teens are brutal and think violence is funny. Everyone claims they can’t help what they are doing, obviously there is no self-control. Teen rebellion is normal. No one has time because they are so busy getting rich and having fun! The list goes on. This is not the way of life that the Lord Jesus or his first disciples lived.
Instead “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” was Christ’s statement to men. (Matthew 8:20 NKJV). The disciples (Christ followers) followed Him and learned how to work for God.
“Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matthew 4:19 NKJV) And… “So likewise, whoever of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Luke 14:33-34 NKJV)
1/ The Lord Jesus Christ was driven by God’s purposes and called Christians to follow him and do the same things. When asked by people what was the most important thing to do, He replied: “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the first and great commandment.” (Matt 22:36-38 NKJV)
What does this mean in real life?
Loving God is different than loving yourself and pleasure! Worship is for God not you! It is not to make you happy, excited or to have fun for yourself! Worship is to glorify God! To make God happy! To make God exalted in your eyes! To lift Him up to the heights He deserves before your eyes so that you will truly bow before Him, obey Him, serve Him! To make His Word important to follow!
2/ Jesus lived to make God the Father satisfied. He lived to do what God instructed him to do. He worshiped God by laying down his life for the world.
First he served them while he lived. Then he served them by dying for them. This is the second purpose! “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He fed them, healed them, washed their feet, and directed them into active love for God and man. Life is to care for others, not become so busy getting rich and having fun you disobey the directions of God!
“If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Change your schedule! Clear your calendar! Gather for “church” every week! Volunteer to take on responsibility! “Seek first the kingdom of God.” Make your work building up God’s kingdom!
How do we do this?
The next three purposes are spoken to us by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:19,20.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
3/ Go and make disciples!
Increase the population of God’s kingdom by making disciples just like the ones Jesus made. This is not like the majority of the so-called Christians of today. They are full of themselves! Few make any effort to obey the God of heaven. Few try to build God’s kingdom.
In fact, if they happen to go to a church service, even weekly, they think they have obeyed and done God a big favor. It is your obligation to go to weekly worship meetings. It is also your obligation to invite and bring others with you. And… it is YOUR obligation to try with all of your heart, mind, strength, and soul to obey God, OUT OF LOVE FOR HIM!
It is your obligation because “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..” (Ephesians 2:10).
4/ Christ further says that he purposed us to “baptize them (the newcomers).”
If you look in the book of Acts, the history of the first church, you find that baptism is not a religious symbol separated from the everyday new society of Christians. It was a public announcement of leaving the old sinful culture and joining this new family of committed people serving God.
It is not for your personal, religious comfort or enjoyment. It is for a change of direction for life, in the same way a marriage ceremony is a total change in the lives of two individuals into a newly united family following a new path of life together.
5/ Finally, the 5th purpose is a family related responsibility for all Christians to become teachers. “…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you..” That means committing to help others learn what God wants of them. Show them how to follow God’s purposes. Commit yourself to do 100% of what God says to do. Do not retreat or get lazy. Plug yourself in now! Do it for God, not yourself!
Love God with a100% effort, include everything you are and have
Love your neighbors by sharing your life, time and things with them
Like a fisherman try to catch fish, [people] for Jesus and help your church grow
Jesus calls all people to follow Him by joining His relentless pursuit of the world, who will spend eternity in Hell unless they repent of the their sin (criminal activities). He says, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” This means all Christians must act. Change your schedule! Clear your calendar! Gather for “church” every week! Volunteer to take on responsibility! “Seek first the kingdom of God.” Make your work building up God’s kingdom!
How do we do this?
The next steps are spoken to us by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:19,20.
“Go therefore andmake disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The first step is GO and make disciples!
Yes, this means increase the population of God’s kingdom by making disciples just like the ones Jesus made. This is not like the majority of the so-called Christians of today. They are full of themselves! Few make any effort to obey the God of heaven. Few try to build God’s kingdom.
In fact, if they happen to go to a church service, even weekly, they think they have obeyed and done God a big favor. It is your obligation as a follower of Jesus to go to weekly worship gatherings. It is also your obligation to invite and bring others with you. And… it is YOUR obligation to try with all of your heart, mind, strength, and soul to obey God, OUT OF LOVE FOR HIM!
It is your obligation because “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..” (Ephesians 2:10).
But, only God can supernaturally transform a sinner into a saint. So what is our part?
First, Jesus preached the gospel.
Matthew 4:23 (AMP) “And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news (Gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every weakness and infirmity among the people.”
Jesus relentless pursued all people everywhere.
Matthew 9:35 (AMP) “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and every weakness and infirmity.”
Jesus prophesied that the real Christians would continue preaching the gospel thousands of years latter.
Matthew 24:14 (AMP) “And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.”
The apostle Paul explains that if we do not tell them, without the gospel, all people will NOT repent and will be cast into the eternal prison called hell.
Romans 10:13-17 (NLT2) 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” 16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “LORD, who has believed our message?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
And even though the Lord Jesus warns us most people will refuse to repent, He calls us to share the gospel so everyone will have a chase to receive God’s free gift of forgiveness and eternal life.
Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT)
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.
14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
STEP #1 Learn the 3 Circles Method of Sharing The Gospel
The three circles is a simple way to help people visualize the gospel message. With just a pencil and a napkin you can share the gospel with someone at lunch, sitting at a sporting event, or riding in the back seat of a car or bus. Watch Lesson 1, it is 12 minutes long…
STEP #2 Learn to Use The Law To Help Them See Their Need To Repent
When you get to the section 1. Turn and 2. Believe, you must be careful. Watch the videos below and see how to help people see they need the gospel by using the Law of God. This is how Peter and Paul shared the gospel in the Book of Acts.
I’ve noticed a real error of many Christians, a habit of when they come to a portion of scripture they do not like, they decide they can ignore and trivialize that teaching of God by saying it is not literal, not for today or simply proclaim in their self-expertise that it is an allegory.
This, of course, gives them complete freedom from obeying it and they can create a new meaning that fits their fancy. No one does this with the newspaper, but they probably should, since many are being proved to lie and spew out political and social propaganda.
But God’s Word is the historic revelation from the all-knowing God, and He demands that you accept it as literal fact. Paul warns Christians to take the Bible seriously. “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved [tested by trial], a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing—rightly handling and skillfully teaching—the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible
The Bible is God’s Word. Not an interpretation of what some zealous men think God says, but His very Words! The Bible is not a religious piece of literature, but a direct revelation from the mouth of the Living God. It is a supernatural book!
The Scripture itself claims this in 2 Tim. 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”
The only God is all-powerful and able to communicate with man. He not only is able, He has through His written Word, the Holy Bible. To understand the Bible is to understand what God wants a man to know at this time. To understand the Bible is to comprehend God’s will and direction for the purpose of becoming a faithful friend and child of God.
Therefore, it is imperative that we read the Bible the same way we read a newspaper, history book or a math book. This is the only valid way to understand God and His Word. We must study it at face value, literally accepting all the natural and normal sense of the text.
Obviously, we must analyze it to discover what it’s expressions and terms meant to the original audience. For example, in Matthew 6:12 Jesus says “forgive us our debts” which today we would think means “Forget about our financial debts.” But He means sin.
Discover the Authors Intended Meaning
“The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.” [2 Peter 1:20-21 (MSG)]
This must be clear, the Bible has only one meaning, but many applications. The meaning is not up to our interpretations, of what we each think it means to us. The author, God, had a specific meaning the moment He inspired human authors to pen the words and our duty is to discover that interpretation. Never substitute what you think it should say!
Instead, investigate the context of every scripture and make sure you do not masquerade your pet theology as truth or develop your spiritual whims by replacing the obvious literal meaning with supposed deeper hidden meaning, as all cults and false teachers do by using their books to explain away what God says.
And you cannot turn the Bible into an allegory and therefore release yourself from the literal commands and statements of the Bible to make the Word say anything you want. You must understand the ancient cultural context in many cases to understand what is written. But, you cannot bind it to the culture of those ancient days it was written and therefore free yourself to disobey its “archaic moral values or commands.” God is timeless.
Be clear on one more thing, the Bible does not have contradictions. If a contradiction appears to you, continue to analyze all possibilities using other portions of scripture to help you understand God’s Word.
Remember the Bible is written in Hebrew and Greek, not English or any other modern language. There are not direct equivalent words for every ancient Greek or Hebrew text. Bias and choices are made by the Bible translators and to find the answers you will need a good concordance.
You will find supposed contradictions melt away with a deeper search to understand the Word. Psalm 119:160 warns, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Find the sum of all the passages that deal with an issue before you claim to understand what God is saying.
Always Allow Scripture to Interpret Itself
In our day, we have found that media can manipulate anyone’s words with small sound bites. Just a few words out of its context can make an enemy sound like a real idiot. But, when a further inspection is done to really find out what the person said in the full speech or written article a whole new light of meaning emerges. It is the same with scripture.
Always allow God to define what he means, the Bible is a great dictionary of itself. You must find the meaning of words and ideas inside it. Always compare the portion you are trying to understand with other passages of similar content or themes.
“A text without a context is no more than a pretext” is a famous axiom. This demands that we find the point and direction of the entire book of the Bible being studied. Then, focusing on the context of the specific portion being examined with knowing who is being spoken to, the historical backdrop, and the immediate circumstances will help you see the true meaning of what God is teaching.
Proof-texting builds an interpretation on the superficial reading of the passage and then taken out of context to an absurd conclusion never intended by God.
Define Figures of Speech
According to the book, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, a figure of speech is “any deviation either in thought or expression, from the ordinary and simple method of speaking…” and it is a “form of speech artfully varied from common usage.” [Instit. Orat. IX, I. 11, cited by Edward P. J. Corbett, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (New York: Oxford Press, 1971), page 640] Such an expression whether it is a simile, metaphor or an idiom is always used to artfully visualize a thought or idea.
A simile is easy to recognize and very useful. Rev. 1:14 is a simple example: “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;…” The comparison of simile helps John describe what he really saw, “white like wool, as white as snow” but His hair was not really wool; “His eyes like…fire” but not really a flame but very bright and glowing which helps all his readers understand the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus.
The metaphor also compares, but with an implication, not using connecting words [like, as]. A good example is Rev. 12:4 “His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” A physical dragon did not stand before Mary when she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.
The context must be used to find the figure of speech’s meaning. Or a comparison of other scriptures. We find the definition given in verse 9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Satan tried to devour the child, through Herod who sent soldiers to kill every baby in town, the literal fact behind this metaphor.
Idioms are used even today as expressions of comparison but distorting the literal words to intensify the point. When Jesus confronted Paul for the first time, found in Acts 26:14, Paul describes the incident like this, “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “ Notice the words Christ used were not literal, but an expression of Paul’s resistance to God’s will, like an ox kicking against the prodding of a farmer when using the beast to plow a field.
Another type of Biblical figure of speech is a substitution, where a writer replaces the normal word for a meaningful substitute to increase the impact of the statement. The Jews thought God so sacred to mistakenly even speak His name was sinful. Therefore, they would substitute the word heaven for God. They meant God but said heaven.
The Bible also uses a form of parallelism to amplify and clarify its message. This is common in poetic forms such as Psalms and Proverbs. Psalm 2:4 states:
“He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.”
As you think about it, both lines say the same thought, and both amplify and expand that idea for greater impact. Like a poem, the Hebrew lines tend to have a flow not translatable into foreign languages.
God Wrote The Bible For Everyone to Understand
2 Cor. 1:13 “For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end …”
God wrote the Bible for everyone to understand, not just scholars and preachers. This is why face value, basic reading is the only way an average Christian would understand God’s will.
For example, Biblical leaders and authors never gave any reason to think a secret, hidden meaning exists that only the Watchtower Society, or The Mormon Movement, or The Roman Catholic Institution would have the real answers exclusive to their secret knowledge.
Give the Bible to a person who does not know God, put them on a deserted island, and they will be able to understand God’s plan for mankind, God’s opinion on man’s sinful rebellion, and God’s solution and salvation for mankind. And I guarantee you, he will not believe any of these exclusive, separate religious ideas preached by cults or practices privately kept by some religious denominations.
Instead, the plain and simple reading of the Bible leads to plain and supernatural salvation through the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
Mark 13:22 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
Seek the Lord to turn from your sin, receive forgiveness and follow Jesus. “Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.” 2 Timothy 2:7 (NLT)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8
If I was a multi-millionaire and guaranteed you would be successful in business if you learned my system of doing things at no cost to you, would you take the time and follow my instructions? If I was a health and fitness guru that was 100 years old and looked and acted like a 20 year old, would you follow my free advice to live a long life? People do listen and follow people’s advice for happiness, health, beauty and success all the time. They do not even have to have these credentials to be followed and copied.
It seems to me, that when God gives such an incredible promise such as, meditate on my Law day and night and I will give you success, Christians should be clamoring, and stampeding to God’s Word to get this promised success! I thought everybody wanted a successful life, great marriage, prosperous business, etc.
The eternal, all powerful, all knowing, just, gracious, loving God’s advice has got to be pretty useful. Better than any “double your money back guarantee” I’ve ever heard of. Now obviously the pagans do not believe in God and so His book would have no attraction to them. But, supposedly Christians feel differently than everyone else about God and consider His Word as truth, yes, absolute truth.
What about you? Since God guarantees success, do you want to find out the secret? Meditation is the key, so obviously we must examine this concept in God’s Word.
Meditation does not mean we stare at a candle and blank out our thoughts. Meditation does not mean to read the Bible everyday. Meditation does not mean to memorize the verses of scripture. People can memorize vast amounts of information but not understand it or follow its instruction.
And yet, all those things I just mentioned can be used to help you meditate. If you meditate on God’s Word it means that you so expose yourself to God’s Word, commands, and counsel that you are totally motivated, inundated, and saturated with the wisdom and understanding of God’s ways. You follow and obey God without having to stress out over decisions. You are so possessed by God’s ways that you “automatically” do what God’s Laws tell you to do.
For example, in a basketball team practice the coach has his players condition for individual strength, study plays for team strength, and practice repetitive drills for action and reaction strength. This is done so that the team can enter a real game and successfully defeat their opponent “automatically” executing the plays as a team, running up and down the court without losing their strength and quitting or making mental mistakes, passing and shooting with great control and expertise, and adjusting and adapting to the opponents defense and offense. This automatic execution is not automatic is it?
The long hard preparation given by each member of the team brings success. If one of the players memorized the play book but could not translate that plan into actual play on the court he would destroy the play and cause mistakes and force turnovers and loss. It is not good enough to just memorize the plays, it is necessary to work with the team repeating again and again the action in practice, so that in the real game you do not concentrate on the steps because they are so embedded into you that you execute without a lot of effort.
If this makes sense to you, then let’s go back to God’s Laws. Unless you so work at reading, memorizing, and meditating on God’s Word you will not succeed. So, meditating is the extra effort, similar to drills and constant practice, of digging into understanding the minute (min-OOT) details of God’s Word and commands.
The why, how, and where are important. The definitions of the words become extremely important. Why did God say this? What does that have to do with me? How do I obey that? How do I measure myself to see if I am properly doing God’s will? Concordances, commentaries, and dictionaries become important tools! Do we all have to become eggheads?
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
I guess the answer is yes and no. You do not have to become a teacher or preacher, but you need to be thorough and informed, educated and fully trained and experienced with a lot of practice.
What does this have to do with success? Who does God bless and give His help to, maybe those who He approves? Who gets to play in the basketball game, maybe the ones the coach approves? How does the player get approved?
How does success come to the Christian?
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV)
Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success…
The Lord Jesus calls His narrow road followers to live a life far above what the world thinks is normal. Relationships are important to God and He demands the narrow road follower of Jesus does everything in his power to restore broken relationships. You see this in the Lord’s foundational teaching to his disciples. Read this carefully.
“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.” [Matt 5:23-24 (MSG)]
Notice we cannot say we are okay with God when someone can point their finger at us and say, “This person offended me, they wronged me and never made it right.” Jesus demands his followers take the hard road and go back to that person.
1/ So before you ask someone to forgive you for wronging them, examine yourself. Even get help from a friend and pinpoint what you did that was wrong. Then and only then ask these important questions and carefully answer them:
Is there a change I need to make in my behavior? If this is a recurring attitude or bad habit, I need to address it.
Should I make restitution for what I did? If my action cost them something or damaged something, I need to replace or pay them compensation.
Have I thought through my action now and relived my offense through their feelings and viewpoint?
Can I say I have fully forgiven them for any wrong they did to me? Even if you feel they have been the chief problem it does not matter, you can and must answer to God for your actions.
2/ Then while preparing yourself to make things right… Choose your wording and make sure it does not imply blame to them or others? No excuses. Ask yourself, “Am I trying to justify my offenses in any way?” Remember:
Go over your wording carefully and make sure it does not imply blame to them or others?
Make no excuses for your words or deeds. Ask yourself, “Am I trying to justify my offenses in any way?”
Write out your words and make sure they are very specific.
Frame your words carefully showing genuine sincerity and humility. For example your beginning is important, “I have acted foolishly and damaged the trust of our relationship. God has convicted me that my outburst of anger towards you this morning…”
Next clearly say “…I was wrong…”
Then make sure you finish with the question, “Could you please forgive me?” Then in humility wait for their answer.3/ These are important questions to ask yourself after requesting forgiveness…
3/ These are important questions to ask yourself after requesting forgiveness…
Am I prepared to continue to respond correctly even if they will not forgive?
How can I sincerely thank them if they do forgive me?
Could I dare ask them to help me and reveal further “blind spots” I have that damage them and others?
Suggested Prayer to Develop a Spirit of Forgiveness
Lord Jesus, I ________________ [your name], do purpose in my heart, by Your grace, to believe that everything that happens to me You allow for a specific purpose—for my good. I know You promise me that all things, no matter how bad they seem, will work out for my good by your loving hand [Romans 8:28]. So by faith I will seek You for thatpurpose. I will not allow others to take [steal] my joy, by bitterness, but to forgive them as You have forgiven me.
Let these Bible verses give you support and faith in God. Memorize them and allow them to strengthen you in your days of trouble.
“…Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” Daniel 1:8
Beware “…lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” Hebrews 12:15
And remember, in this context, bitterness is simply the result of not seeing suffering from God’s perspective. Use the hurts of your past to remember what it cost the Lord to forgive you.
Let’s read Matthew 18:21-35 (NKJV): 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
No matter how hard it seems to forgive and ask for forgiveness, God demands the follower of Jesus to forgive others every wrong no matter how big it seems or how deep the hurt because every sin we have committed was an offense against our holy God. He offers forgiveness by the sacrifice of the death of Jesus.
Use the hurts of your past to know how others feel when you offend and sin against them, and let that drive you to sorrow, repentance, and restitution. Make things right so that no one can point their finger at you and say you sinned against them and never tried to make it right.
Double check and make sure the following qualities (Gal. 5:22-23) are in yourself as you determine to forgive and love those who even made themselves your enemies:
LOVE [God’s way is giving to others without expecting anything in return]
JOY [God’s way is reproducing Christ’s character]
PEACE [God’s way is a conscience clear of all offense to God and man]
PATIENCE [God’s way is responding to irritations with enduring love]
GENTLENESS [God’s way is the spirit of understanding]
GOODNESS [God’s way is Christ-like actions and responses no matter what]
FAITH [God’s way is fulfilling God’s purposes without knowing the future results]
MEEKNESS [God’s way is yielding all my rights to God]
SELF-CONTROL [God’s way is developing moral freedom in every circumstance]
Please, please, please remember the importance of rebuilding your relationships! Jesus tells the narrow road follower of Jesus, “go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.” [Matt 5:23-24 (MSG)] If you want a relationship with God it means you fix your relationships with others.
But if they will not forgive you, after a biblical attempt was made, then he commands, “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Matthew 5:44-46 (NKJV)
As you see Jesus never said any of this would be easy, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT! We are “sons of the Father” of Heaven and we always do MORE than the people around us. This is why we are on the narrow road that few find or follow.
2 Corinthians 2:9-11 (NKJV) 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
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