"Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." (Colossians 3:13 NLT)
This verse is talking to believers who have been forgiven. God forgives you, so you must forgive others. When people receive divine forgiveness of their sins, God enables them to be able to forgive others when they do wrong against them. God wants us to be merciful toward others and He helps us to do so.
One way of doing this is to "remember" what God has done for us, the things He has forgiven, specifically and generally.
Forgiveness of others is not something which comes naturally to us, it is really only possible by divine intervention, a supernatural working in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
In our fallen nature we have a sense that we must seek revenge, and we find it difficult to let go of this desire for revenge and for punishment to be dealt out to those who hurt us. But God tells us, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Then Jesus says: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we were honest, we would have to admit our failure in this area, and we should be very worried about not receiving the full benefits of divine forgiveness because of our failure to forgive others.
Now, in talking about forgiving each other I am not talking about overlooking or being soft on sin or crime. I am talking here more about personal wrongs committed nearly every day in human relationships, some more serious than others, but all requiring us to forgive, to stop holding grudges and stop wanting to get even.
The Lord's Prayer is a daily prayer, relating to daily needs, like food. God includes forgiveness as being a daily activity. So, it has to become a daily habit. God’s way is for us to just forgive each other, to leave revenge and punishment to Him. So, in many ways God makes it easy for us, but we need to consciously acknowledge this, and daily exercise this privilege, handing the situation over to Him.
In Ephesians 4:30-32 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
We learn from this passage that our bitterness, built up from us refusing to forgive each other grieves the Holy Spirit. This is not something that we should want to happen, especially if we can consciously try to avoid it.
God has given us these incredible things called memories! We remember hurts committed against us and those we commit against others, and they can stay with us for a long time. We often don’t forget them easily. They can accumulate, causing such a build-up of bitterness. The only way out for us is to forgive, others and ourselves too.
This verse is talking to believers who have been forgiven. God forgives you, so you must forgive others. When people receive divine forgiveness of their sins, God enables them to be able to forgive others when they do wrong against them. God wants us to be merciful toward others and He helps us to do so.
One way of doing this is to "remember" what God has done for us, the things He has forgiven, specifically and generally.
Forgiveness of others is not something which comes naturally to us, it is really only possible by divine intervention, a supernatural working in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
In our fallen nature we have a sense that we must seek revenge, and we find it difficult to let go of this desire for revenge and for punishment to be dealt out to those who hurt us. But God tells us, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Then Jesus says: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If we were honest, we would have to admit our failure in this area, and we should be very worried about not receiving the full benefits of divine forgiveness because of our failure to forgive others.
Now, in talking about forgiving each other I am not talking about overlooking or being soft on sin or crime. I am talking here more about personal wrongs committed nearly every day in human relationships, some more serious than others, but all requiring us to forgive, to stop holding grudges and stop wanting to get even.
The Lord's Prayer is a daily prayer, relating to daily needs, like food. God includes forgiveness as being a daily activity. So, it has to become a daily habit. God’s way is for us to just forgive each other, to leave revenge and punishment to Him. So, in many ways God makes it easy for us, but we need to consciously acknowledge this, and daily exercise this privilege, handing the situation over to Him.
In Ephesians 4:30-32 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
We learn from this passage that our bitterness, built up from us refusing to forgive each other grieves the Holy Spirit. This is not something that we should want to happen, especially if we can consciously try to avoid it.
God has given us these incredible things called memories! We remember hurts committed against us and those we commit against others, and they can stay with us for a long time. We often don’t forget them easily. They can accumulate, causing such a build-up of bitterness. The only way out for us is to forgive, others and ourselves too.
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