| Teacher: Rusty Kennedy Series: Forgiveness |
Rusty's Notes
Forgiveness is a word that has many definitions (ideas) attached to it.
We have been solely talking about forgiveness from a Biblical perspective and specifically concerning the relationship between God and man.
Forgiveness –
Forgiveness is a promise![1]
- When our God forgives us, He promises that He will not remember our sins against us anymore.[2]
- God can’t forget (like you and I can).
- God can choose not to remember.
- To “not remember” is simply a graphic way of saying, “I will not bring up these matters to you or others in the future. I will bury them and not exhume the bones to beat you over the head with them. I will never use these sins against you.”
All–sufficient. The work that Jesus did was definitive. The sacrifice of Jesus was the only one necessary. The phrase that is used is a powerful one: “once for all” (Heb. 10:10).
References of Forgiving others in the Gospels
Matthew 6:14-15 - 14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.
- Sermon on the Mount – purest form of the Law
Matthew 18:21 - 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
- Jesus tells story of the slave whose debt was paid:
Matthew 18:22-35 - 22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. 23 For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. 25 Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.
26 “At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27 Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. rHe grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’
29 “At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.” [3]
Mark 11:25-26 - 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing. [26 But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your wrongdoing.]”
- With his disciples as he was passing the fig tree that was “withered from the roots up”.
Luke 6:37 - 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- right before a parable. Audience being Pharisees.
Luke 11:4 – 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us.
- Teaching his disciples to pray.
We have been solely talking about forgiveness from a Biblical perspective and specifically concerning the relationship between God and man.
Forgiveness –
Forgiveness is a promise![1]
- When our God forgives us, He promises that He will not remember our sins against us anymore.[2]
- God can’t forget (like you and I can).
- God can choose not to remember.
- To “not remember” is simply a graphic way of saying, “I will not bring up these matters to you or others in the future. I will bury them and not exhume the bones to beat you over the head with them. I will never use these sins against you.”
All–sufficient. The work that Jesus did was definitive. The sacrifice of Jesus was the only one necessary. The phrase that is used is a powerful one: “once for all” (Heb. 10:10).
References of Forgiving others in the Gospels
Matthew 6:14-15 - 14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.
- Sermon on the Mount – purest form of the Law
Matthew 18:21 - 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
- Jesus tells story of the slave whose debt was paid:
Matthew 18:22-35 - 22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. 23 For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. 25 Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.
26 “At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27 Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. rHe grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’
29 “At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.” [3]
Mark 11:25-26 - 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing. [26 But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your wrongdoing.]”
- With his disciples as he was passing the fig tree that was “withered from the roots up”.
Luke 6:37 - 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- right before a parable. Audience being Pharisees.
Luke 11:4 – 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us.
- Teaching his disciples to pray.
Luke 17:3-4 - 3 Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
- Audience was mix of disciples and Pharisees.
References of Forgiving others after the cross
2 Corinthians 2:5-11 - If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate —to all of you. 6 The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7 As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 I wrote for this purpose: to test your character to see if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ. 11 I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 12:11-13 - 11 I have become a fool; you forced it on me. I should have been endorsed by you, since I am not in any way inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders and miracles. 13 So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
Ephesians 4:32 - 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Colossians 3:12-13 - 12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.
* Hebrews 9:22 - 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Gospel references – question one’s salvation.
- Post-cross references – do not question one’s salvation.
What are the elements of forgiveness of others?
- How have we taken such a simple “milk” element of our faith and made it so complex?
- Are we the one who made it complex?
- Offender
- Offended
- Non-Believer
- Believer
- Nature of the non-believer
- Nature of the believer
- Repentant
- Non-repentant
Difference between sin (God) & offending (people).
- Matthew 18:21 – 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”[4]
- 1 Corinthians 8:12 - 12 Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.[5]
Being able to forget:
Trauma events are hard to forget – Today is 20 year anniversary of Oklahoma Bombings.
- How many of you can still remember where you were when it occurred?
Trauma can lead to hate if your spiritual maturity is shallow.
- What is trauma to one person may not be trauma to others.
2 Corinthians 5:16 – 16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way.[6]
- You have to deal with forgiveness based upon
- Maturity Levels:
- Expectations – Compliance laws/rules
- Maturity levels range from “High Expectations” to “Not focused on behavior” (OK w/ gooberishness)
- Spiritual maturity – realizing that forgiveness comes from God.
- God is the one who gives us the ability to forgive.
- We are incapable of forgiving without the Spirit living inside of us.
Ephesians 6:12 – 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.[7]
[1] Adams, J. E. (1989). From forgiven to forgiving (p. 12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Adams, J. E. (1989). From forgiven to forgiving (p. 12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 18:22–35). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 18:21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (1 Co 8:11–12). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (2 Co 5:16). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Eph 6:12). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
- Audience was mix of disciples and Pharisees.
References of Forgiving others after the cross
2 Corinthians 2:5-11 - If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate —to all of you. 6 The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7 As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 I wrote for this purpose: to test your character to see if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ. 11 I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 12:11-13 - 11 I have become a fool; you forced it on me. I should have been endorsed by you, since I am not in any way inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders and miracles. 13 So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
Ephesians 4:32 - 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Colossians 3:12-13 - 12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.
* Hebrews 9:22 - 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Gospel references – question one’s salvation.
- Post-cross references – do not question one’s salvation.
What are the elements of forgiveness of others?
- How have we taken such a simple “milk” element of our faith and made it so complex?
- Are we the one who made it complex?
- Offender
- Offended
- Non-Believer
- Believer
- Nature of the non-believer
- Nature of the believer
- Repentant
- Non-repentant
Difference between sin (God) & offending (people).
- Matthew 18:21 – 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”[4]
- 1 Corinthians 8:12 - 12 Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.[5]
Being able to forget:
Trauma events are hard to forget – Today is 20 year anniversary of Oklahoma Bombings.
- How many of you can still remember where you were when it occurred?
Trauma can lead to hate if your spiritual maturity is shallow.
- What is trauma to one person may not be trauma to others.
2 Corinthians 5:16 – 16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way.[6]
- You have to deal with forgiveness based upon
- Maturity Levels:
- Expectations – Compliance laws/rules
- Maturity levels range from “High Expectations” to “Not focused on behavior” (OK w/ gooberishness)
- Spiritual maturity – realizing that forgiveness comes from God.
- God is the one who gives us the ability to forgive.
- We are incapable of forgiving without the Spirit living inside of us.
Ephesians 6:12 – 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.[7]
[1] Adams, J. E. (1989). From forgiven to forgiving (p. 12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Adams, J. E. (1989). From forgiven to forgiving (p. 12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 18:22–35). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 18:21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (1 Co 8:11–12). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (2 Co 5:16). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Eph 6:12). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
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