Forgiveness
The Pain of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is costly to the one granting forgiveness. It was costly to God to forgive his people and it is costly for us to forgive one another. The pain and hurt that is caused by being treated unjustly can only be removed by fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ. So just how do we do that? What does that mean? This sermon explores those important questions.
The Necessity of Forgiveness
Jesus tells us in the strongest of language that Christians must forgive. To withhold forgiveness is to put yourself in danger of eternal condemnation. Since we must forgive, the obvious question becomes, “How do we treat someone who is unrepentant or where reconciliation is impossible?” To answer that question, we look at Romans 12. We commit not to take revenge, we proactively show love, and we leave room for the wrath of God.
Conflict and Forgiveness
It is inevitable, people will sin and you will be affected by it. How then do we deal with conflict? What does confrontation look like? What is the role of the church? This sermon seeks to explain an important passage when looking at conflict and forgiveness.
The Hope of Forgiveness
There is hope in forgiveness. There is joy and satisfaction in being forgiven by God and extending forgiveness to others. But what is forgiveness? How should Christians forgive? We are called to forgive others as God has forgiven us. God forgiveness is (1) gracious, yet costly; (2) conditional; (3) a commitment not to hold sin against us; (4) inseparable from reconciliation; and (5) does not mean that all consequences are removed. From these things we can appreciate more Christian forgiveness.