E3 Forgiving
F1 Definition
G1 Definition: Definition: Forgiveness is the transferring of revenge to God who judges and sentences justly. The pain of experiencing the offense is still there. There is no such thing as forgive and forget. Regret from the offender is not enough; there must be remorse. Consider a quote from Dr. George Simon
… regret is always about what someone’s decisions might have cost them personally. Remorse is something quite different. It’s about feeling bad for hurting someone else. A person can regret something they’ve done (especially if they’ve had to pay a hefty price for it) but still have no remorse. (See also: Shame, Guilt, Regret, Remorse, and Contrition.)
G3 The problem is a standard—God’s standard as seen in the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20).
G4 Any person can obey God’s law or disobey God’s law.
G5 Those who disobey will be judged and sentenced.
G6 Somebody must be punished.
G7 Sin is a debt that must be paid, but no one can pay it:
H1 Peter’s question and the Lord Jesus’s answer and illustration of sin and forgiveness as debt is written in Matthew 18:21-35.
H2 Matthew 6:12 NIV And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
G8 Sin is spoken of as something earned in Romans 6:23 NLT For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
G9 Jesus died in our place. He is the perfect sacrifice. He is sinless and stepped in voluntarily to be the Savior, our Messiah. Hebrews 9:22, 27-28 NLT In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. … And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
G10 Forgiveness is granted because God paid the debt. The Lord Jesus got the death penalty, suffered for our sins, paid the debt, and rose victoriously proving His innocence and completed ministry. It is not earned:
H1 Romans 4:3-5 NLT For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.
H2 Colossians 2:13-14 NLT You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
H3 Romans 1:3-4 NRSV the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
G11 We died to sin with Christ: Colossians 2:20 NLT You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as…
G12 God’s forgiveness is for all who confess they are sinners, believe, trust, and ask God for forgiveness, which God will give. Romans 10:9-11 NLT If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.
G13 An example of calling and trusting in God. Luke 18:13 NLT But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.
F2 Bible verse
G1 Belief is necessary. God wants to forgive, if we are willing: Acts 10:43 PickNT To Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins.
G2 Through Jesus’s shed blood as the perfect sacrifice: Ephesians 1:7 PickNT in whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
G3 We must agree with God and confess our sins: 1 John 1:9 PickNT If we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us those sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
F3 Example:
G1 God forgives on certain conditions. We must admit the truth that we have sinned by breaking God’s rules. 1 John 1:9 CSB If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
G2 Sometimes God never forgives: Mark 3:28-29 WEL Truly I say to you, ‘All sins can be forgiven the sons of men and blasphemies as many as they will blaspheme. 29 “But the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is in danger of eternal damnation.” (Pickering remarks: Perhaps 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, read ‘sin’ instead of ‘condemnation’, to be followed by NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).
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