![]() ![]() God is not asking you to open yourself up to abuse. ![]() We ask for forgiveness as we forgive others because we remember what our sin cost God. It’s much harder to adhere to this message of forgiveness when we spend a lot of time remembering the offense, which is why forgiving others is part of the Lord’s prayer. But we do have to, in some way, let it go. Forgiveness is not moral blindness and blinkered trust. We promise not to “bring it up to others in an attempt to justify ourselves or to undermine their reputation bring it up to ourselves as grounds for self-pity or to justify our resentment of the person who hurt us.”įorgiveness is a commitment we might have to resolve to forgive someone over and over. We choose not to “throw the sin back into the face of the one who committed it hold it over their head, using it to manipulate and shame them.” His death demonstrates the agony of forgiveness. This is not to say that forgiveness is easy. We committed the sins that caused Jesus to give up his life we, his friends whom he loves and who allegedly love him, although we sin daily. Then he explains what it looks like for us to forgive: the best example of forgiveness is the cross itself. Sam Storms talks about what forgiveness is not (forgetting how we were hurt, letting someone hurt us again, pretending you don’t feel the pain of being wronged, etc.). Drawing up boundaries is loving towards others and good protection for ourselves. We can’t force people to listen, and we can protect ourselves from hatred, but that doesn’t mean we are permitted to hold onto anger. We will encounter resistance, even “ kakos,” in response to our message because not everyone wants friendship with us or with the Lord. Yes, Jesus counseled his disciples that “if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” ( Matthew 10:14). That included someone like Paul, a persecutor of Christians. He confidently confronted lies while still making way for anyone to come to him if they believed the truth and turned to him. When Jesus told his disciples that he was going to suffer, Peter rebuked him, but Jesus rebuked Peter: “get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me” ( Matthew 16:23). He was generous, selfless, gentle, and patient, joyfully shared the truth about himself, and confronted lies. ![]() Jesus perfectly encapsulated the meaning of love. Some translations say, “Does not keep a record of wrongs.” Bible Study Tools gives this definition for logizomai: “reckon, count, charge with reason, decide, conclude think, suppose.” Kakos, the Greek for “wrongs,” means “bad, evil.” Love does not keep a record of evil: love forgives. The ESV translation of 1 Corinthians 13:5 uses the word “resentful” as in “love is not resentful,” which in the Greek is Logizomai. ![]()
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