aBible.com     

Matthew 6:14, 15 - More Thoughts on Forgiveness.

Matthew 6:14, 15 (NLT) If you forgive 
those who sin against you, your heavenly Father 
will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive 
others, your Father will not forgive your sins.  

Sand In The Machinery
   If we are to maintain spiritual 
freshness, we must determine to forgive everyone who 
hurts us and refuse to nurse a grudge. Grudges 
become glooms.  
   A Jew years after World War II, a 
Christian Japanese boy at a public speaking contest 
announced that his subject would be "The Sacredness of 
Work. Some people smiled at his choice, but when 
they heard his story, their smiles turned to 
tears. His parents and home were burned to ashes in 
the atomic bomb explosion at Nagasaki. He was 
the eldest of three surviving children, and 
together they knelt in the ashes of their home and 
prayed to know what to do. One of them said: "I 
know - we can work. So they set to work, 
gathering bits of tin and boards, and soon they had 
built a little hut in which to live. They could 
have nursed their grudge and become gloomy; 
instead they forgave, forgot, and went to work.  
   No one who wants to maintain spiritual 
freshness can afford to nurse a grudge. It will poison 
both spirit and body. As one doctor put it: 
"Grudges put the whole physical and mental system on 
a war basis instead of on a peace basis. 
   Walter Alvarez, who is both a medical 
doctor and counselor, says: "I often tell patients 
they cannot afford to carry grudges or maintain 
hates. Such things can make them ill and tire them 
out. I once saw a man kill himself inch by inch, 
simply by thinking of nothing but hatred for a 
relative who had sued him. Within a year or two he 
was dead. A grudge or a resentment is sand in 
the machinery of living.  
   Oh Father, teach me how to get the 
splinters of resentment out of my soul and also out of 
my body. Help me to decide that it is the oil 
of love, not the sand of resentments, that 
shall go into the machinery of my life day by day. 
Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible with Selwyn 
Hughes devotionals re Matthew 18:32-33] 

Victory Over Unforgiveness
   Immediately after teaching His followers 
to pray, Jesus gave a warning about allowing 
unforgiveness to reside in the heart. He said that those 
who refuse to forgive others won't be forgiven 
by the Father. 
   Do not misunderstand Jesus' meaning here. 
Believers don't lose their salvation when they refuse 
to forgive. Rather, they break fellowship with 
God because their unrepentant attitude gets in 
the way of regular confession and repentance. 
The Lord cannot ignore sin, and His Spirit will 
bring wrong behavior to the believer's attention 
until he or she deals with it. 
   Forgiveness is an act of the will more 
than an act of the heart. Often people don't feel 
like being merciful to someone who has wronged 
them. But a resentful spirit grows into a terrible 
burden. The Lord knows that forgiveness is best, 
even when it is difficult. 
   You won't deal with a sin until you see 
it as God does. So assume full responsibility 
for your unforgiving attitude, and acknowledge 
that it is a violation of His Word. Claim the 
divine mercy He offers, and ask Him to enable you 
to lay aside anger and resentment against the 
other person(s). As part of the decision to move 
forward in grace, make a habit of praying for those 
who hurt you. And if God so leads, seek their 
forgiveness for your wrong attitude. 
A bitter and resentful spirit doesn't fit 
who we are in Christ. Nor is it healthy to carry 
an angry attitude through life. That's why 
Scripture emphasizes the need to forgive. Choose to be 
liberated from your burden - Jesus promised to make us 
free when we release our sins to Him (John 8:36). 
[In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles Stanley at 
www.intouch.org re Daniel 6] 

Three Reasons You Must Learn to Forgive
   Forgiveness isnt easy. It can be one 
of the hardest decisions youll ever make. 
   But youll never have the life God 
wants for you unless you can forgive the people 
who have hurt you. Here are three reasons why 
its essential to forgive others: 
   We forgive because God has forgiven us. 
When you come to Christ, your sins arent just 
forgiven. Theyre wiped out! God has no record of 
your sins anymore. 
   The Bible says, There is now no 
condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. 
For the power of the life-giving Spirit - and 
this power is mine through Christ Jesus - has 
freed me from the vicious circle of sin and 
death (Romans 8:1-2 TLB). 
   Each person faces a vicious circle, where 
you want to change, but you make a mistake and 
feel bad about it. Then you try again, fail, and 
feel bad about it again. Its a cycle that you 
likely wont break until you learn to offer 
forgiveness to people who have hurt you because you have 
been offered forgiveness yourself through 
Christ. 
   We forgive because resentment will make 
us miserable. Holding on to a hurt is like 
drinking poison and hoping it kills the person you 
hate. It always hurts you more than it hurts the 
other person. 
   I know people who continue to be hurt by 
individuals they havent seen in decades. Thats 
just foolish. Those people cant hurt you 
anymore without your permission. 
   You can choose to be happy, or you can 
hang on to hurt. You cant do both. 
   We forgive because well need more 
forgiveness in the future. Youre not done making 
mistakes. Im not either. I plan on making a few 
more mistakes over the rest of my life. And, of 
course, Ill need someone to forgive me when I 
do! 
   Someone once came to 18th-century British 
theologian John Wesley and told him about a person he 
couldnt forgive. Wesley told the man, Then I hope 
you never sin. 
   We cant receive what were unwilling 
to give others. Jesus says it like this: But 
if you do not forgive others their sins, your 
Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 
6:15NIV). 
   Forgiving people who have hurt you 
isnt just the right thing to do. Its the smart 
thing to do. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: 
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

How to Forgive
   If difficulties concerning basic trust on 
a natural level can hinder our ability to 
trust at a spiritual level, how do we as 
Christians overcome this? The first thing we must do is 
demonstrate a willingness to forgive those who hurt us. 
"That's hard," you might say. My reply is: "Yes, in 
the case of those who have been badly let down, 
it is hard"but not impossible."  
   Here's how you do it. Focus first on how 
much you have been forgiven. The key to forgiving 
others is to enter into a realized awareness of how 
much God has forgiven you. When people say to me 
during a counseling session, "My problem is that I 
can't forgive," I usually respond by saying, "No, 
that's not your problem. Your problem is that you 
don't know how much you have been forgiven." It 
may be difficult for some to see this, 
especially those who have gone through deep hurt, but 
nothing others have done to you is as awful as what 
you have done to God.  
   If you have difficulty with the last 
statement, it is because you do not understand the 
nature of sin. Sin is taking the Creator of the 
universe and relegating Him to irrelevance; it is 
saying to the One who made us""I can run my life 
on my own terms." Sin is insanity"and you and 
I have been guilty of that. Yet in Christ God 
has forgiven us, pardoned us, and bestowed upon 
us His royal favor. Having been given such 
forgiveness, can we, dare we, withhold it from anyone who 
has betrayed our trust, no matter how horrifying 
that hurt has been?  
   Father, Your Word is frank and 
open"help me to respond to it in the same way. Take 
from me every biting hesitancy, every fear and 
apprehension, every refusal to accept responsibility. In 
Jesus' name I pray. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus 
Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional re Proverbs 
30:33] 

Choose to Forgive
   Jesus gives us stern and uncompromising 
warnings about forgiveness. But if forgiveness is so 
important and yet so difficult, how do we go about it? 
We must do several things.  
   First, we must not try to minimize or 
dismiss the offense as if it never happened. If it 
hurts, then we must face it and feel it. A common 
misconception that keeps people from forgiving is that 
they think in order to forgive they must come to 
the place where they look upon the things done 
to them as being really not that bad. That is 
excusing, not forgiving. C. S. Lewis says: "Real 
forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin 
that is left over without any excuse after all 
allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its 
horror, dirt, meanness and malice, and nevertheless 
being wholly reconciled to the man who has done 
it. That, and only that, is forgiveness."  
   Second, we must see that forgiveness is 
not an emotional thing (though it can affect the 
emotions), but a matter of the will. It is making the 
decision that the wrong done against you will not 
count or cause a separation. In making that 
decision, remember you have all the resources of God 
available to you. This applies not just to minor 
matters like snubs, but major matters like divorce. 
 
   The task of forgiving must be more than a 
match for the magnitude of the pain involved. A 
choice has to be made. No matter how we are 
wronged, we can choose out of a desire for love to 
forgive.  
   Lord Jesus Christ, You looked into the 
eyes of those who hammered You to a cross and 
cried: "Father, forgive them!" Help me do the same 
when I am confronted with lesser injury or hurt. 
For Your own dear name's sake. Amen. [Every Day 
With Jesus Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional re 
Proverbs 17:9] 

For the Sake of Christ
   We experience divine forgiveness for our 
sins only as we extend forgiveness to those who 
have offended us.  
   This cuts deep. 
   Perhaps you might be saying at this 
moment, "But I can't forgive; I have been hurt too 
deeply." Then, may I say it very tenderly, but very 
solemnly, you can never, never be forgiven. "But if 
you don't forgive people," says Jesus, "your 
Father will not forgive your wrongdoing" (Mt 6:15). 
In refusing to forgive others you break the 
bridge over which you yourself must pass.  
   A man once said to me: "I know I'm a 
Christian, but someone did such an awful thing to me 
that I find I can't forgive him." After spending 
a good deal of time with him, and getting 
nowhere, I said: "If it is really true that you can't 
forgive this person, it suggests that you yourself 
have not been forgiven, and you may be deluding 
yourself that you are a Christian." He looked at me 
aghast and went white in the face. My counseling 
methods are not always as abrupt as that; however, 
this brought him face to face with reality"and 
it worked. He got down on his knees, right 
where he was, and said: "Father, because You have 
forgiven me, I offer Your forgiveness and my 
forgiveness to my brother who has offended me, and I 
absolve him of his offense in Jesus' name." Then 
what happened? Instantly the joy of the Lord 
streamed right into the center of his being, and he 
laughed and laughed, literally, for almost an hour. 
 
   Lord Jesus, You who forgave those who 
spat in Your face and nailed You to a cross, help 
me to open my heart now and forgive all those 
who have hurt me. I do it in Your strength and 
power. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen. [Every Day With 
Jesus Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional re 
Ephesians 4:32] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC

Matthew 6:14, 15 - Forgiveness Is Essential.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210808-1044.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: 
https://stepstopeace.org/ 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]  

Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David 
DeRose, MD, MPH: 
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides: 
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The 
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE 

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible 

Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor: 
https://www.revelationnow.com/ 

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657