Lesson Six • Forgiveness
Devotion 1: Walking Through Forgiveness
Pastor John Carter
This week, we are going to look into Scripture regarding the aspect of forgiveness. We have been walking through Jesus’ teachings on many different things that need to be applied to our life. We see forgiveness as a very important part of our Christian walk. Jesus has been teaching us how we are to practice our righteousness. It is a practice that is much different than most religious practices (Matthew 6:1). In contrast to being noticed by men, Jesus teaches that we need to realize and focus on the fact that God the Father sees us and knows what we are doing. Jesus has taught us how we are to practice giving to the needy and poor and in what manner we are to do this. Jesus has talked through the amazing privilege and power of prayer and how to practice it in the every day. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus continues to teach us some very real and practical things we are to practice in our walk and obedience to Him regarding forgiveness, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
I think it is important to refresh our memory on the previous verse to give us a bit of context. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus laid down a foundation for this very subject of forgiveness. Matthew 6:12-13 says, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
We see Jesus connecting in verse 12 the aspect of forgiveness being linked to this application of debt. While we have expounded on these verses in the previous week, it is important to understand the context we are now walking through. The link between debt and trespasses as it correlates to forgiveness, is a teaching that has existed in Scripture from the beginning. Sin is often closely linked to the very practical understanding of debt. As we mature in this world, eventually you may have to take on debt, whether it is to purchase a car or buy a home. Debt, unfortunately, becomes something we tend to just live with and have as part of our everyday life. We adjust our finances and we make plans financially based a lot of times on how much debt we carry. Many of you may feel like you have your financial debt under control. We use keywords in our society like “managing debt” and “debt consolidation” to help us position ourselves where we want to be financially. Now imagine if we had absolutely no debt. That would mean no mortgage, no car payment, no credit card bills, no medical bills, and no other financial obligations. It was all eliminated and we were free from the financial burden that comes with having debt. What would you do? Would you run to the bank and take on more debt? I would certainly hope not. Would you be excited that the pressures from having loans had been released, or forgiven? Would you find yourself not doing a certain job because you do not have to pay the bills (loans)? Would you choose to spend more time with your spouse, or with your kids? Maybe you would plan some kind of vacation that you always wanted but never had the time or money because of the amount of debt you carried.
I love how God gives us things to relate to in this life that help us understand heavenly things. This aspect of debt and trespasses is a direct, relatable correlation to sin and iniquity towards God Himself. I find this link between debt and trespasses to be a very profound connection because it helps us understand God’s behavior. God so desperately wants us to understand and know how it feels to be His children. He also wants us to understand how we are to emulate His behavior. He gives us these real and practical object lessons so we can better understand His heart of love, His motive, and ultimately His amazing instructions for our life.
So today, take time to take account (just like in the financial sense) of your debts. This may be thinking through something you have done against someone else; that is to say, debts you owe to other people. It may be that you have a record of someone wronging you; that is to say, you know of other people that owe you. Maybe you have held onto this debt for a long time, maybe months, years, or even decades. No one ever wants to admit the fact that they are holding a grudge, but sometimes it is easier to hold a grudge than to actually walk through forgiveness. Is that you?
We know God desires authenticity. We have studied this in the past weeks. Do you have hurt and pain that you have held onto from your mom and dad? What about your siblings? Do you have pain and hurt that has been rooted in you since you were a little child? Maybe you have been hurt by a spouse, an “ex” that totally broke your trust. Have your kids hurt you? Maybe your kids keep taking advantage of you over and over again. As we start to examine all the ways in which we can be hurt or process pain, unfortunately, we soon find out there are many ways that we can be hurt. There are many people that can easily harm us or hurt us. This harm or hurt is rooted in the fact that there is also deep love. It is a love that was maybe betrayed. I know this hurt and pain very well in my own life. There have been seriously damaging pain and hurt that I personally have had to walk through. Let me tell you, it is not fun; however, it is completely necessary. You may need to take some time and ask God to help you walk through this pain. I do not think it was an accident that Jesus taught us how to pray before He walked us through how to forgive. Trust me when I say this, He (Jesus) knows your hurt better than anyone! He also knows how to heal your hurt better than anyone else!
After evaluating your records of debt that may be owed to you because of wrongs (trespasses) that have been committed against you, now do this. Take account of your trespasses (sins) against God. Do you know what they are? Do you even consider them to be debts against God? Maybe you have sins that have never been dealt with; in other words, they are long overdue. They may be sins that you have walked in for months, years, or maybe even decades.
If you are anything like me, when I compare the two lists, the debts against me compared to the debts I have against God, it is dramatically different. They honestly do not even compare. The debts that I have accumulated against God grossly outweigh any debt that I could collect against someone else.
As we conclude, maybe today you can spend some time walking through this very aspect of forgiveness in your own life. Have you received the forgiveness of God? Make sure this is something you have received! If you have questions or would like to know more about how to receive this forgiveness, text “riverconnect” to 97000 and we will be sure to reach out to you. If you have received the forgiveness of God in your life, how have you found this forgiveness applied to others?