Hello my dear friends, cousins, brothers and sisters



Part II - What is forgiveness?





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What is forgiveness?



1. "To erase, to forego what is due"; "to give up resentment"; "to wipe the slate clean, to release from a debt, to cancel punishment"; "to personally accept the price of reconciliation"; "to give up all claims on one who has hurt you and let go the emotional consequences of that hurt".



Forgiving is an action verb which doesn't allow us to sit around and wait for the other person to repent. Forgiving means we take the first step in healing a relationship.





2. To forgive also mean, "to give up or give away". If some violates your rights, forgiveness means you give up the right of reaction and the rights to get even, no matter how much you may feel revenge are justified. To forgive means to give mercy.



The world tells us hate and God says to love. The world says we must take revenge, but God says to forgive. Why? Because the basis of our forgiveness is what Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and me.



"By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stand daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sin for all times, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD" he offered one sacrifice for all times to forgive us.



The basis for our forgiveness is described in (1 Peter 1: 18-19) "...knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold...but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ."



God forgiving us is not something we have done, but rather who Jesus Christ is, and what he has done on our behalf on the cross. This then is our model for forgiving others.



Forgiveness also extends to other people. Hal Lindsay, in "The Liberation of Planet Earth" write, "If God has forgiven us all our sins, what should our altitude be about sin in ourselves and others? For me to fail to forgive myself or anyone else who has offended me is to imply that I have a higher standard of forgiveness then God, because whatever it is that has so hurt me that I can forgive it. "God already has." Hebrews 10:14 teaches us, "For by that one offering He mad for ever perfect in the sight of God all those whom He is making holy"



[Individuals who refuse to forgive another person are actually cutting themselves off from God's forgiveness.]



Burn no bridges.



The author would encourage you to engrave this phrase on your mind: [When I refuse to forgive, I am burning a bridge that someday I will need to Passover.]



No matter who you are, more often then you can imagine, you are going to need forgiveness from someone else. You must be asking, "When do I forgive?" Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 4:26: "Do not let the sun go down o your wrath." The Bible doesn't forbid us to be angry, rather it exhorts us to control our anger. If you go to bed "mad" your anger is controlling you. Basically, forgiveness should be given, extended, or received immediately.



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Continue tomorrow Part III -- Resources for Forgiving.