Forgive to be forgiven
My beloved and dear brothers in Christ Jesus the Lord of Peace!
Forgiveness is an act of basic Christian faith, then, is our entry into the life that Jesus Christ gave us, was only possible because we have received forgiveness from God our Father and He forgave us through the work of his Son on the cross made in our behalf. Love and forgiveness always go together.
"God is love," is the most beautiful setting that the Bible presents.And the greatest proof of his love for us is to forgive all our sins.Because he loves us he forgave us. Forgiveness is an attribute of God.
Forgiveness is a commandment of God's Word. There is a feeling, nor dependent on our will or emotion.
The Word says: "be towards one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32), "forbearing one another, forgiving one another, home someone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord forgave us, so also do ye "(Col. 3:13).
When God forgives us, put an end to the disastrous situation in which we met because we were condemned to death as a consequence of our sin of disobedience.
He called us to a new life, where love and forgiveness always has its maximum expression. Forgiven our offense, the loving relationship that unites us to the Eternal Father was restored.Against this act of mercy and undeserved love we must, likewise, extend forgiveness to all who offend us.
God's forgiveness must generate in our hearts the desire to forgive unconditionally, as he did with us.
Forgiveness means fail to consider the other with contempt or resentment. You have compassion, leaving aside the whole idea of revenge on what was done or we suffer the consequences.
The basis on which to exercise forgivenessForgiveness is a fact that there is no discussion about it, because it is based on love and is supported by charity, without insulting the law of justice.
Unfortunately, our concept of forgiveness may limit or hinder our ability to forgive. They say that forgiveness is something in weak, fearful, stupid. We have negative beliefs that forgiveness is passively accepting everything we did.
We think that to forgive is to accept aggression, disrespect for our rights. Many say: "I do not take shit from home !..." We are some of these?
Does the person who forgives shows weakness of character?We are not sure. Incidentally, this is certainly not ours, but the Christ who lived and recommended unconditional forgiveness.
And not in the Master in His life has shown weakness of character. Some even thought he was pretty weak, since when chased and beaten, did not outline any sign of reaction and at the height of his martyrdom was still able to ask the Father to forgive their offenders.
Until today no one remembers those who crucified him, but the name of "weak thought" the great peacemaker, crossed the seas, won the timeline, becoming known around the world, to the point of dividing the history of humanity before and after him.
There is good reason not to forgive, but there are many reasons to exercise forgiveness. Let's see some of them?
The first reason to forgive is the fact that all we are still imperfect.There is no one at the current stage of planet Earth, who has attained perfection, so the error is part of our lives.
The vision of eternity, the spiritual doctrine shows us, opens our horizons, because they have already covered many incarnations, we have learned much, but we have to learn hundreds of lessons.
And as the Creator is in constant process of creation, each of us began his career at a different time evolution of the rest. So each of us is evolving in a certain range, with some learning already made and many others to be performed.
So if someone offends us, this is no malice, but out of ignorance.Ignorance means that ignoring our debtors, not yet learned the lesson of respect. Only those with the vision of immortality of the spirit can understand the trajectory that we all realize, step by step, step by step.
A simple example: if we gave to a student in the First Degree an algebraic equation to solve it, could hardly, nor their teachers would be so disappointed with it. Just understand that he was not able to solve the problem. He was still ignorant of algebra. Future will no longer be.
Therefore, we will accept people as they are, full of virtues and defects. There's perfection, we are still imperfect. Let's get out of the illusion that others should be perfect, especially when they act with us.
Many say, "Oh, I became disillusioned with that person." Of course! Do you know why? Why were attracted to her, thinking this would be perfect all the time.
Probably noticed many virtues and then began to imagine that this person was a "fallen angel from heaven," but when it showed its flaws, came the disillusionment, deception, disappointment.Then, many say they can not forgive because they are very hurt.
But the problem is not in the other, it was expected that more special for this person to be, one day would act differently than we expected. The error is in us, we do not accept people as they are.
Are we accepting people as they are? Are we expecting too much of others? Are we expecting to deal with angelic beings on a planet of evidence and atonement?
We can say: Without acceptance, there is no forgiveness!
Accepting ourselves and our brothers as they are our relationships will be better. Do you know why? Because there will be no charge so much, so much expectation.
And when they or we err, and eventually harm us, we will remember the Master Jesus, who forgave all, just because he has accepted every one of us just the way we are.
Another reason to forget the offense is the finding that forgiveness brings a great relief to the forgiver. Not always for those who are forgiven.
Because many times who is forgiven can not get rid of your consciousness, but it also needs to learn to forgive and start again.
The self-forgiveness is also important. For recognizing our mistakes we find strength to reshape our attitudes and start a new life.
Considering the very weak, the individual should be given the opportunity to redress the wrongs committed, rehabilitating himself to himself and to those they harmed there.
Repentance, pure and simple, if not accompanied by the remedial action, is so innocuous and detrimental as the lack of it.
The self-forgiveness helps the mature moral responsibility because it provides clear vision, leading the individual to careful reflection before taking aggressive actions or negligent, rash or contradictory in the future.
When one forgives, he also learns to apologize, offering the same opportunity to his neighbor.
Should we forgive or not forgive someone, carry the feelings of hurt and resentment and this toxic waste in our body produce diseases difficult to treat.
Why? Because they feed ideas of hate and revenge entered on the same wavelength of aggression and crowd our energy centers, disrupting our body, triggering a world of trouble, causing our spirit to suffer the consequences of what caused it.
That's why forgiveness.Many may be wondering how we can learn to forgive.One of the basic tools to reach the royal pardon, is to get us to maintain certain "psychic distance" of the person, or discussions of the problem.
What would this psychic distance? It can analyze the problem as if it was not us. Because this distance will not exaggerate the problem in the interpretation, falling unbalanced impulses causing an overload in our mental energy.
The mind with this imbalance makes it difficult to forgive. So off we aggression or disrespect, our thinking will tune in more clarity and sharpness as well, by changing the "mental atmosphere".
When desprendermo us mentally, we constructively to use the powers of our thinking, avoiding the "should have spoken or acted," eliminating our imagination the events that happened to us unhappy.
It is an essential factor, the "separate us" emotionally of unfortunate events, the PRAYER THERAPY as a way to harmonize ourselves as prayer redo the feelings of peace and serenity, facilitating the matching interior.
Disconnecting is not a process of becoming callous and cold, in behaving as the offenses and inaccessible creatures criticism.Shut up, that is to stop feeding the destructive relationships, severance of relations is mentally sick or can not solve problems at the moment.
When these fluids soltarmo us that bind us to these crises, we have a chance to see new ways to solve problems and develop the noble task of understanding and understanding others.
When he took this "distancing" more easily? When we do believe that every human being is capable of solving their problems, and is responsible for all his deeds in life, allowing them to be, and behave as they please, giving to us the same freedom.
Living in imposing certain "psychological distance" to people or things problematic, loved ones are difficult or complicated fellow, does not mean that we cease to care about them or love them or forgive them, but to live without going mad with the lust all understand, and accept support.
Understanding, that by promoting this psychic distance, will have more ability and willingness to realize the process that lies behind the aggressive behavior, allowing us not to react the same way we did but look "as is, as is being done" our way we relate to others, this leads us to begin to understand the dynamics of forgiveness.
One of the most efficient techniques to forgive is to resume vital contact with ourselves, allowing ourselves to be victims of forces beyond our control to make us into creatures that create their own reality of life, because as I said our dear Divaldo Pereira Franco:
The basis for the act of forgiveness is full and free forgiveness we receive from the Father As he forgave us, we forgive. As children of God to express forgiveness should be analogous to your pardon - "forgiving one another as God also in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32), teaches the Apostle. It is inconceivable to live under God's forgiveness without forgiving others.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he placed an order to the Father: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
It is this spirit of forgiveness that must remain in us. If the Father, in advance, forgave us, when we were not worthy, in gratitude to his forgiving love, we must also forgive those who trespass against us.
Forgiveness is a feature of our Christian living. If the forgiving love of Christ was sacrificial - he gave himself for us - in the same way our love should express itself by giving us, in love, for those who hurt us.
When we forgiveThere are two moments in particular that forgiveness must be expressed:
1) - By the time we were hit - insulted, mistreated, abused, persecuted.Stephen's example shows that he forgave the very moment of aggression received (Acts 7.60)
"Then, kneeling, cried aloud: Lord will not hold this sin against them."
Stoned to death, he thought of himself, he thought the situation of the attackers before God - he forgave them and prayed for them.
Here, then manifest the highest and beautiful Christian spirit of forgiveness. The first martyr of the Christian faith imitated the Lord Jesus, who prayed on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
2) - When the one who offended apologizes -Joseph was only seventeen when his brethren, coolly, sold him into slavery. Separated from his family and his country, he reached the position of supervisor of the house of Potiphar, his Egyptian master.
But disaster struck again. He refused the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife and she falsely accused him of harassing her.
He was put in prison, where, once again, the Lord was with him and became the supervisor of the other prisoners. Joseph remained in that prison for at least two years (Gen. 37, 39).
Pharaoh king of Egypt had a dream and wanted their interpretation. Joseph was able, by God's power to interpret Pharaoh's dream and was exalted to a position of power next to the Pharaoh himself.
This made him responsible for the storage and distribution of cereals across the land of Egypt.
It was after this that Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain.
Was within the power of Joseph to take revenge against those who had sinned against him so many years ago.
However, the Bible tells us that Joseph and his brothers experienced, having seen their repentance, received them with tears and affection (Gen. 45.1-15). He was forgiven for his sin.
Many people do not forgive like Joseph did. It is not easy, often forgive, and the greater the intimacy we have with those who sin against us, the harder it is to forgive.
The Scriptures teach us, however, that the unwillingness to forgive others take away that divine forgiveness. Jesus taught: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, though, do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).
Since all individuals responsible before God in need of forgiveness, it is therefore essential that we understand, and practice forgiveness.
What is Forgiveness?The Greek word translated "forgive" means literally cancel or redeem.
Means the release or cancellation of a bond and was sometimes used in the sense of forgiving a financial debt.
To understand the meaning of this word in the biblical concept of forgiveness, we must understand that the sinner is a spiritual debtor.
Even Jesus used this figurative language when he taught the disciples how to pray: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
A person becomes liable when they transgress the law of God (1 John 3:4). Each person who sins must bear the guilt of his iniquity (Ezekiel 18.4,20) and just punishment resulting from sin (Romans 6:23).
He holds the position of a sinner in the eyes of God and lost his fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2, 1 Jn 1:5-7).
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus paid the price for our sins with His death on the cross.
When we accept the invitation to salvation through our obedience to God, he accepts Jesus' death as payment for our sins and frees us from the guilt of our transgressions.
Do not we get in the position of lawbreakers or debtors before God. We are forgiven!
Forgiveness, then, is an act in which the victim the offender free of sin, frees from the guilt of sin.
This is the sense in which God "forgets" when you forgive (Heb. 8.12). Not that God's memory is weak.
For example, God remembered the sin of David about Bathsheba and Uriah long after David had been forgiven (2 Samuel 12:13, 1 Kings 15:5).
He frees the person forgiven the debt of his sin, that is, cease to impute the guilt of the person forgiven sin (Rom. 4:7-8).
Forgiveness is conditionalIt is important to understand that God's forgiveness is conditional.
God forgives freely in the sense that it does not require the death of the sinner who responds to his invitation to salvation, allowing the death of Jesus pay the penalty for their sins.
However, God requires faith, repentance, confession of faith and baptism as a condition for the forgiveness of the sinner stranger (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:37-38, 8:35-38, Romans 10:9-10).Forgiveness is also conditional to the Christian who sins.
Repentance, the shift in thinking, needs to occur before that divine forgiveness is extended (Acts 8:22).
God calls us to forgive as he forgives. When someone sins against me, he becomes a transgressor of the law of Christ.
I consider him a sinner. If he repents and asks to be forgiven, I have to forgive him, that is, to free him from his guilt as a transgressor.
When I forgive, do not consider it more a sinner.
I may not literally be able to forget the sin he committed more than God literally "forgets" our sins, but must leave to assign him the blame for his sin.
Thus, I delivered his "debt"
And if the sinner does not repent? I have to forgive those who sin against me, but does not repent?
Perhaps this question is best answered by the words of Jesus: "Beware. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him if he repents, forgive him. If, for seven times a day, and sin against thee seven times, to thee, saying, I repent, forgive him "(Luke 17.3-4).
Jesus indicated that forgiveness should be extended when a sinner repents and confesses his sin. We must also remember that God always requires repentance as a condition of divine forgiveness. God requires of us that he is not willing to do.
We must be prepared to forgive, as soon as we asked for forgiveness. It should be an immediate action and without keeping any resentment.
This is easier to express as we mature in our spiritual life.
Forgiveness must be a disciplined act of our will. He is not a feeling, nor is optional. It stems from our desire to place under the will of God.
How many times should we forgive?That was the question that Peter asked Jesus. The answer of the Lord has brought something new, showing that we are no longer under the law, we are on God's grace.
"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, I forgive him?Seven times? Jesus answered him: I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven "(Mt 18.21,22).
If the Act provides a number of times to forgive, the Gospel of Christ does not determine numbers, determines the application of love in infinite degree.
Conditions to receive forgiveness
Forgive to be forgiven is the teaching of Jesus:- "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses [their sins], neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6:15).
- "So also my heavenly Father will do in the hearts forgive not every one his brother" (Matt. 18:35).
- "And when ye stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses" (Mark 11:25) ..
"If, therefore, to bring thy gift to the altar, there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave before the altar and offer your gift, it will first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and do thy gift. " (Matthew 5:23-24).
Reconciliation is not something to be practiced only between us and God, but also to our brothers. We recognize that, like the cross, we also have two lines of the flow of reconciliation: the vertical (man to God) and horizontal (among men).
The same forgiveness we receive from God must be done to our fellow men.
WHO DOES NOT FORGIVE IS NOT FORGIVENForgiveness (or lack thereof) makes a big difference in someone's life.
The horizontal reconciliation determines whether the vertical God-given will remain in our lifetime or not. The word of God is clear on the fact that it does not forgive those who trespass against us, then God will not forgive us.
It was Jesus Christ who said that the teaching of our Lord's Prayer:"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, though, do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6.14,15).
God has given us his forgiveness freely, without any merit on our part, and expects us to use the same spirit merciful to those who offend us.
If the flow with the same heavenly Father forgiving spirit, we remain in the reconciliation achieved by the Lord Jesus.
However, if we refuse to forgive, we interrupt the flow of God's grace in our lives, and our vertical reconciliation is undermined by the absence of horizontal.
Christ also warned us clearly about this in one of his parables (spoken in a context involving forgiveness):"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven is like a king, who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
And going to do it, who brought you owed ten thousand talents.Not having it, however, to pay, his lord commanded that he be sold, women, children and all his possessions, and that the debt was paid.
So the servant fell down reverently, asked: Be patient with me and I will pay thee.
And the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, sent him away, and forgave him the debt.
Leaving, however, that servant found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.His fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him: Be patient with me and I will pay you.
However, he did not want, before they went, threw him in prison until they pay off the debt.
Seeing their comrades what had happened, much grieved, and were told their master everything that had happened. Then his lord called him, told him, You wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because you begged me, you should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, as I had pity on thee?
And indignant, his lord delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all the debt.
"So also my heavenly Father will do, if the hearts forgive not every one his brother." (Mt 18:23-35).
The significance of this illustration given by Jesus Christ is very strong. We have a king and two types of borrowers.
If the parable illustrates the kingdom of God, then God himself king figure. The first debtor had an unpayable debt, while the second was at hand.
There is no way to compare the debt each. Ten thousand talents first servant's debt was equivalent to about 200,000 days of work, while the other one hundred denarii was servant owed the equivalent of only one hundred days of work.
This difference reveals the size of the debt that each one of us had to God, and that, to be priceless, were destined to eternal imprisonment and slavery.
However, we did not earned it, God in his goodness forgave us.Therefore, He expects us to do the same.
The Christian who has been forgiven of their sins and refuses to forgive a brother - your fellow servant in the gospel - forgiveness will be deleted.
This is very serious. Offenses against the people we are nothing close to our Heavenly Father offense failed to take into account.
And the Biblical premise is that if we can be forgiven by Him, then we must also forgive anyone who hurts.
Unforgiveness is a prisonWho does not forgive, is arrested.
We read in Matthew 18:34: "And, indignant, his lord delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all the debt."
The hangman word means "torturer". In addition to prison, the man would be tortured as punishment.
The practice of ministry reveals that Jesus spoke this parable figure is a spiritual reality in the lives of those who do not forgive.The demons tie the lives of those who withholds forgiveness.
Their tortures applied are diverse: anxiety and depression, illness, physical weakness.
Many people have suffered from a lack of forgiveness. The other day I heard someone say that resentment is the same as you take a little poison every day, hoping that those who hurt you will die.
Unforgiveness causes damage greater in those who are injured than those who hurt. So I always say to those who need to forgive: - "No longer just the first suffering, why add another larger (Sorrow)"?
Some think that forgiveness is a benefit to the offender.
But I say that the greatest benefit is not what was given to the offender, but what makes the victim's forgiveness, in what is wounded.
Without forgiveness there is no cure. The disease only becomes complicated inside, and spiritual health, emotional and physical resentful person is seriously affected.
In another portion of Scripture (where the context of the previous verses is absolution), we see Jesus warning us of the same danger:"Enter into agreement quickly with your accuser while you are with him the way, that the adversary deliver thee to the judge, the bailiff, and thou be cast into prison.
"Verily I say unto thee shalt not go away, until you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5.25,26).
I do not know exactly how it is prison, but I know that Christ was not kidding when he told her.
Unforgiveness holds me and can hold someone else's life.
This is a proven fact. I have seen people who have been trapped for so many years, and was immediately free to decide to forgive.This can happen to you, simply decide to forgive.
Following the example DIVINE
How should it be forgiveness?One has to ask for forgiveness or deserve it in order to be forgiven? No. We must forgive as God forgave us:
"Before, home to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ also forgave you." (Eph 4:32).
The biblical text says that our forgiveness and reconciliation horizontal should follow the example of God in Jesus did for us.
So, just ask: - "We have earned God's forgiveness? No. So our offender also do not have to deserve. "
Forgiveness is an act of mercy, compassion.
It has nothing to do with merit. The apostle Paul told the Ephesians that forgiveness is the result of a compassionate heart and kind.
Forgiveness flows of the goodness of our hearts, not by whether there is mercy in the offender.
Jesus said that if I know someone has something against me, I look for him to attempt reconciliation.
Even if that person did not seek or even want to talk to me, I have to take the initiative, I have to try.
God gave free pardon to all, regardless of any behavior, and He is our example!
THERE IS NO LIMIT OF TIMES TO FORGIVEOn one occasion, Peter wanted to know the limit of times that exists to forgive someone.
And was surprised by the answer that Christ gave him: "Then Peter came up and asked him: Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus answered him: I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. "Mt 18:21-22).
The Lord declared that even if someone repeat his offense against me for four hundred and ninety times, must still be forgiven.
In fact, biblical commentators generally understand that Jesus was not holding the numbers, but trying to remove the limit imposed on the minds of the disciples to forgive.
I wonder what would we do without God's mercy. How many times God has forgiven us? How many more will He forgive us? If we are to forgive as God in Christ also has forgiven us, then clearly there is no limit of times to forgive!
The devil IS WHO TAKES ADVANTAGEDid we mention there is a spirit prison caused by withholding forgiveness. And demons take advantage of this situation.
Now we want to examine another passage that shows us clearly that the lack of forgiveness gives advantage to the devil:
"To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for indeed I have forgiven, if I have forgiven any thing, because of you did in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should get an advantage of us because not ignorant of purposes ". (Co 2:10-11).
The apostle Paul reveals that if we fail to forgive, who will take advantage of the situation is Satan, the adversary of our souls.He said that not ignorant of the machinations of the wicked.
In other words, he was saying that just by knowing how the devil works in unforgiveness, you could not fail to forgive.
We need to understand that God is not magnified in unforgiveness. What the victim does not profit anything by not forgiving.
That even the offender may be imprisoned spiritually. The only one who profits from it is the devil, it is replaced by the authority in the lives of those who decide to feed the wound of resentment.
The Bible teaches us that we must not give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).
As he walks into our surroundings like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Pe5.8), and that we must resist him (James 4:7).
But when we refuse to forgive, we are deliberately breaking all the commandments.
PRACTICAL ADVICEFor those who recognize that there is no choice but to forgive, but on the other hand, is not so easy to do, I offer some practical advice that will be of great value.
First, forgiveness is not a feeling, is a decision and also an attitude of faith.
We have said that forgiveness is not based on merit, so I do not have any motivation to forgive in my emotions.
Not that I am pleased to have been injured, but released when they defrauded me by a rational decision.
Therefore, forgiveness does not flow spontaneously, should be generated by the heart to consider what God has done for me and to forgive your order.
The consequences of unforgiveness should also be considered to give more ammunition to reason than emotion.
It takes faith to forgive.
On one occasion when Jesus taught his disciples to forgive, was interrupted by a peculiar request:
"Beware. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him if he repents, forgive him.
If seven times on the day he trespass against thee, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent, forgive him.
So the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. " (Luke 17.3-5).
At that moment the disciples recognized that to practice this level of forgiveness would need more faith.
And Jesus seems to have agreed, as in the following verses taught them that faith is like a seed, the more you exercise the more it grows.
You must believe that God is righteous and that He wants nothing more than what we give.
If God has asked us forgiven him, he will assist in dispensing his grace when we have an attitude of forgiveness.
Often forgiveness must be renewed.
After declaring forgiven someone, the devil, who does not want to lose your domain, it will attempt to renew the wound.
In Proverbs 17:9 the Holy Scriptures tell us about covering up the issue or renew it. You must take a decision to forget what happened, only forgiveness and renew.
Each time you try to back pain, again declare his forgiveness.Pray bless the offender. Fight the hurt!
It is important to see the offenders as victims. This is something special that I see in Jesus on the cross:
"But Jesus said: Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34).
Instead of looking for them as punishment and who deserves punishment, Jesus sees that they too were victims.
Those men were in spiritual blindness and ignorance, under evil influence, without any discrimination of whom were actually killed.
They were all victims of a system that away from God and the revelation of Scripture.
And in recognizing that it is they were victims, instead of feeding sorry for himself (as we would), Jesus had compassion on them.
I believe this is a principle for the forgiveness flow freely. Just as Jesus did, leaving example, Stephen the first martyr of Christianity, also did:
"Then, kneeling, cried aloud: Lord will not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7.60)
Forgiveness "to" ourselvesOften, before we can forgive others, we must forgive ourselves.Are usually harder with us than with others. We must remember that Christ has forgiven us.
Matthew 22:39 tells us: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
We need to feel that he loves us and has forgiven us. For this to occur, we must remember the position in which God has placed us, "made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).
We must see ourselves as we are in the eyes of God and not according to our bad feelings. In Christ is our victory.
Value of ForgivenessForgiveness is essential to our well being internal and external to the testimony of the Church.
Without this practice weed herbal bitterness, hatred and resentment that prevent represent to the world, in full, the character of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen
Author: Janie Santos de OliveiraVia: www.estudosgospel.com.br
My beloved and dear brothers in Christ Jesus the Lord of Peace!
Forgiveness is an act of basic Christian faith, then, is our entry into the life that Jesus Christ gave us, was only possible because we have received forgiveness from God our Father and He forgave us through the work of his Son on the cross made in our behalf. Love and forgiveness always go together.
"God is love," is the most beautiful setting that the Bible presents.And the greatest proof of his love for us is to forgive all our sins.Because he loves us he forgave us. Forgiveness is an attribute of God.
Forgiveness is a commandment of God's Word. There is a feeling, nor dependent on our will or emotion.
The Word says: "be towards one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32), "forbearing one another, forgiving one another, home someone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord forgave us, so also do ye "(Col. 3:13).
When God forgives us, put an end to the disastrous situation in which we met because we were condemned to death as a consequence of our sin of disobedience.
He called us to a new life, where love and forgiveness always has its maximum expression. Forgiven our offense, the loving relationship that unites us to the Eternal Father was restored.Against this act of mercy and undeserved love we must, likewise, extend forgiveness to all who offend us.
God's forgiveness must generate in our hearts the desire to forgive unconditionally, as he did with us.
Forgiveness means fail to consider the other with contempt or resentment. You have compassion, leaving aside the whole idea of revenge on what was done or we suffer the consequences.
The basis on which to exercise forgivenessForgiveness is a fact that there is no discussion about it, because it is based on love and is supported by charity, without insulting the law of justice.
Unfortunately, our concept of forgiveness may limit or hinder our ability to forgive. They say that forgiveness is something in weak, fearful, stupid. We have negative beliefs that forgiveness is passively accepting everything we did.
We think that to forgive is to accept aggression, disrespect for our rights. Many say: "I do not take shit from home !..." We are some of these?
Does the person who forgives shows weakness of character?We are not sure. Incidentally, this is certainly not ours, but the Christ who lived and recommended unconditional forgiveness.
And not in the Master in His life has shown weakness of character. Some even thought he was pretty weak, since when chased and beaten, did not outline any sign of reaction and at the height of his martyrdom was still able to ask the Father to forgive their offenders.
Until today no one remembers those who crucified him, but the name of "weak thought" the great peacemaker, crossed the seas, won the timeline, becoming known around the world, to the point of dividing the history of humanity before and after him.
There is good reason not to forgive, but there are many reasons to exercise forgiveness. Let's see some of them?
The first reason to forgive is the fact that all we are still imperfect.There is no one at the current stage of planet Earth, who has attained perfection, so the error is part of our lives.
The vision of eternity, the spiritual doctrine shows us, opens our horizons, because they have already covered many incarnations, we have learned much, but we have to learn hundreds of lessons.
And as the Creator is in constant process of creation, each of us began his career at a different time evolution of the rest. So each of us is evolving in a certain range, with some learning already made and many others to be performed.
So if someone offends us, this is no malice, but out of ignorance.Ignorance means that ignoring our debtors, not yet learned the lesson of respect. Only those with the vision of immortality of the spirit can understand the trajectory that we all realize, step by step, step by step.
A simple example: if we gave to a student in the First Degree an algebraic equation to solve it, could hardly, nor their teachers would be so disappointed with it. Just understand that he was not able to solve the problem. He was still ignorant of algebra. Future will no longer be.
Therefore, we will accept people as they are, full of virtues and defects. There's perfection, we are still imperfect. Let's get out of the illusion that others should be perfect, especially when they act with us.
Many say, "Oh, I became disillusioned with that person." Of course! Do you know why? Why were attracted to her, thinking this would be perfect all the time.
Probably noticed many virtues and then began to imagine that this person was a "fallen angel from heaven," but when it showed its flaws, came the disillusionment, deception, disappointment.Then, many say they can not forgive because they are very hurt.
But the problem is not in the other, it was expected that more special for this person to be, one day would act differently than we expected. The error is in us, we do not accept people as they are.
Are we accepting people as they are? Are we expecting too much of others? Are we expecting to deal with angelic beings on a planet of evidence and atonement?
We can say: Without acceptance, there is no forgiveness!
Accepting ourselves and our brothers as they are our relationships will be better. Do you know why? Because there will be no charge so much, so much expectation.
And when they or we err, and eventually harm us, we will remember the Master Jesus, who forgave all, just because he has accepted every one of us just the way we are.
Another reason to forget the offense is the finding that forgiveness brings a great relief to the forgiver. Not always for those who are forgiven.
Because many times who is forgiven can not get rid of your consciousness, but it also needs to learn to forgive and start again.
The self-forgiveness is also important. For recognizing our mistakes we find strength to reshape our attitudes and start a new life.
Considering the very weak, the individual should be given the opportunity to redress the wrongs committed, rehabilitating himself to himself and to those they harmed there.
Repentance, pure and simple, if not accompanied by the remedial action, is so innocuous and detrimental as the lack of it.
The self-forgiveness helps the mature moral responsibility because it provides clear vision, leading the individual to careful reflection before taking aggressive actions or negligent, rash or contradictory in the future.
When one forgives, he also learns to apologize, offering the same opportunity to his neighbor.
Should we forgive or not forgive someone, carry the feelings of hurt and resentment and this toxic waste in our body produce diseases difficult to treat.
Why? Because they feed ideas of hate and revenge entered on the same wavelength of aggression and crowd our energy centers, disrupting our body, triggering a world of trouble, causing our spirit to suffer the consequences of what caused it.
That's why forgiveness.Many may be wondering how we can learn to forgive.One of the basic tools to reach the royal pardon, is to get us to maintain certain "psychic distance" of the person, or discussions of the problem.
What would this psychic distance? It can analyze the problem as if it was not us. Because this distance will not exaggerate the problem in the interpretation, falling unbalanced impulses causing an overload in our mental energy.
The mind with this imbalance makes it difficult to forgive. So off we aggression or disrespect, our thinking will tune in more clarity and sharpness as well, by changing the "mental atmosphere".
When desprendermo us mentally, we constructively to use the powers of our thinking, avoiding the "should have spoken or acted," eliminating our imagination the events that happened to us unhappy.
It is an essential factor, the "separate us" emotionally of unfortunate events, the PRAYER THERAPY as a way to harmonize ourselves as prayer redo the feelings of peace and serenity, facilitating the matching interior.
Disconnecting is not a process of becoming callous and cold, in behaving as the offenses and inaccessible creatures criticism.Shut up, that is to stop feeding the destructive relationships, severance of relations is mentally sick or can not solve problems at the moment.
When these fluids soltarmo us that bind us to these crises, we have a chance to see new ways to solve problems and develop the noble task of understanding and understanding others.
When he took this "distancing" more easily? When we do believe that every human being is capable of solving their problems, and is responsible for all his deeds in life, allowing them to be, and behave as they please, giving to us the same freedom.
Living in imposing certain "psychological distance" to people or things problematic, loved ones are difficult or complicated fellow, does not mean that we cease to care about them or love them or forgive them, but to live without going mad with the lust all understand, and accept support.
Understanding, that by promoting this psychic distance, will have more ability and willingness to realize the process that lies behind the aggressive behavior, allowing us not to react the same way we did but look "as is, as is being done" our way we relate to others, this leads us to begin to understand the dynamics of forgiveness.
One of the most efficient techniques to forgive is to resume vital contact with ourselves, allowing ourselves to be victims of forces beyond our control to make us into creatures that create their own reality of life, because as I said our dear Divaldo Pereira Franco:
The basis for the act of forgiveness is full and free forgiveness we receive from the Father As he forgave us, we forgive. As children of God to express forgiveness should be analogous to your pardon - "forgiving one another as God also in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32), teaches the Apostle. It is inconceivable to live under God's forgiveness without forgiving others.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he placed an order to the Father: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
It is this spirit of forgiveness that must remain in us. If the Father, in advance, forgave us, when we were not worthy, in gratitude to his forgiving love, we must also forgive those who trespass against us.
Forgiveness is a feature of our Christian living. If the forgiving love of Christ was sacrificial - he gave himself for us - in the same way our love should express itself by giving us, in love, for those who hurt us.
When we forgiveThere are two moments in particular that forgiveness must be expressed:
1) - By the time we were hit - insulted, mistreated, abused, persecuted.Stephen's example shows that he forgave the very moment of aggression received (Acts 7.60)
"Then, kneeling, cried aloud: Lord will not hold this sin against them."
Stoned to death, he thought of himself, he thought the situation of the attackers before God - he forgave them and prayed for them.
Here, then manifest the highest and beautiful Christian spirit of forgiveness. The first martyr of the Christian faith imitated the Lord Jesus, who prayed on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
2) - When the one who offended apologizes -Joseph was only seventeen when his brethren, coolly, sold him into slavery. Separated from his family and his country, he reached the position of supervisor of the house of Potiphar, his Egyptian master.
But disaster struck again. He refused the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife and she falsely accused him of harassing her.
He was put in prison, where, once again, the Lord was with him and became the supervisor of the other prisoners. Joseph remained in that prison for at least two years (Gen. 37, 39).
Pharaoh king of Egypt had a dream and wanted their interpretation. Joseph was able, by God's power to interpret Pharaoh's dream and was exalted to a position of power next to the Pharaoh himself.
This made him responsible for the storage and distribution of cereals across the land of Egypt.
It was after this that Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain.
Was within the power of Joseph to take revenge against those who had sinned against him so many years ago.
However, the Bible tells us that Joseph and his brothers experienced, having seen their repentance, received them with tears and affection (Gen. 45.1-15). He was forgiven for his sin.
Many people do not forgive like Joseph did. It is not easy, often forgive, and the greater the intimacy we have with those who sin against us, the harder it is to forgive.
The Scriptures teach us, however, that the unwillingness to forgive others take away that divine forgiveness. Jesus taught: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, though, do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).
Since all individuals responsible before God in need of forgiveness, it is therefore essential that we understand, and practice forgiveness.
What is Forgiveness?The Greek word translated "forgive" means literally cancel or redeem.
Means the release or cancellation of a bond and was sometimes used in the sense of forgiving a financial debt.
To understand the meaning of this word in the biblical concept of forgiveness, we must understand that the sinner is a spiritual debtor.
Even Jesus used this figurative language when he taught the disciples how to pray: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
A person becomes liable when they transgress the law of God (1 John 3:4). Each person who sins must bear the guilt of his iniquity (Ezekiel 18.4,20) and just punishment resulting from sin (Romans 6:23).
He holds the position of a sinner in the eyes of God and lost his fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2, 1 Jn 1:5-7).
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus paid the price for our sins with His death on the cross.
When we accept the invitation to salvation through our obedience to God, he accepts Jesus' death as payment for our sins and frees us from the guilt of our transgressions.
Do not we get in the position of lawbreakers or debtors before God. We are forgiven!
Forgiveness, then, is an act in which the victim the offender free of sin, frees from the guilt of sin.
This is the sense in which God "forgets" when you forgive (Heb. 8.12). Not that God's memory is weak.
For example, God remembered the sin of David about Bathsheba and Uriah long after David had been forgiven (2 Samuel 12:13, 1 Kings 15:5).
He frees the person forgiven the debt of his sin, that is, cease to impute the guilt of the person forgiven sin (Rom. 4:7-8).
Forgiveness is conditionalIt is important to understand that God's forgiveness is conditional.
God forgives freely in the sense that it does not require the death of the sinner who responds to his invitation to salvation, allowing the death of Jesus pay the penalty for their sins.
However, God requires faith, repentance, confession of faith and baptism as a condition for the forgiveness of the sinner stranger (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:37-38, 8:35-38, Romans 10:9-10).Forgiveness is also conditional to the Christian who sins.
Repentance, the shift in thinking, needs to occur before that divine forgiveness is extended (Acts 8:22).
God calls us to forgive as he forgives. When someone sins against me, he becomes a transgressor of the law of Christ.
I consider him a sinner. If he repents and asks to be forgiven, I have to forgive him, that is, to free him from his guilt as a transgressor.
When I forgive, do not consider it more a sinner.
I may not literally be able to forget the sin he committed more than God literally "forgets" our sins, but must leave to assign him the blame for his sin.
Thus, I delivered his "debt"
And if the sinner does not repent? I have to forgive those who sin against me, but does not repent?
Perhaps this question is best answered by the words of Jesus: "Beware. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him if he repents, forgive him. If, for seven times a day, and sin against thee seven times, to thee, saying, I repent, forgive him "(Luke 17.3-4).
Jesus indicated that forgiveness should be extended when a sinner repents and confesses his sin. We must also remember that God always requires repentance as a condition of divine forgiveness. God requires of us that he is not willing to do.
We must be prepared to forgive, as soon as we asked for forgiveness. It should be an immediate action and without keeping any resentment.
This is easier to express as we mature in our spiritual life.
Forgiveness must be a disciplined act of our will. He is not a feeling, nor is optional. It stems from our desire to place under the will of God.
How many times should we forgive?That was the question that Peter asked Jesus. The answer of the Lord has brought something new, showing that we are no longer under the law, we are on God's grace.
"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, I forgive him?Seven times? Jesus answered him: I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven "(Mt 18.21,22).
If the Act provides a number of times to forgive, the Gospel of Christ does not determine numbers, determines the application of love in infinite degree.
Conditions to receive forgiveness
Forgive to be forgiven is the teaching of Jesus:- "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses [their sins], neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6:15).
- "So also my heavenly Father will do in the hearts forgive not every one his brother" (Matt. 18:35).
- "And when ye stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses" (Mark 11:25) ..
"If, therefore, to bring thy gift to the altar, there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave before the altar and offer your gift, it will first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and do thy gift. " (Matthew 5:23-24).
Reconciliation is not something to be practiced only between us and God, but also to our brothers. We recognize that, like the cross, we also have two lines of the flow of reconciliation: the vertical (man to God) and horizontal (among men).
The same forgiveness we receive from God must be done to our fellow men.
WHO DOES NOT FORGIVE IS NOT FORGIVENForgiveness (or lack thereof) makes a big difference in someone's life.
The horizontal reconciliation determines whether the vertical God-given will remain in our lifetime or not. The word of God is clear on the fact that it does not forgive those who trespass against us, then God will not forgive us.
It was Jesus Christ who said that the teaching of our Lord's Prayer:"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, though, do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6.14,15).
God has given us his forgiveness freely, without any merit on our part, and expects us to use the same spirit merciful to those who offend us.
If the flow with the same heavenly Father forgiving spirit, we remain in the reconciliation achieved by the Lord Jesus.
However, if we refuse to forgive, we interrupt the flow of God's grace in our lives, and our vertical reconciliation is undermined by the absence of horizontal.
Christ also warned us clearly about this in one of his parables (spoken in a context involving forgiveness):"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven is like a king, who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
And going to do it, who brought you owed ten thousand talents.Not having it, however, to pay, his lord commanded that he be sold, women, children and all his possessions, and that the debt was paid.
So the servant fell down reverently, asked: Be patient with me and I will pay thee.
And the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, sent him away, and forgave him the debt.
Leaving, however, that servant found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.His fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him: Be patient with me and I will pay you.
However, he did not want, before they went, threw him in prison until they pay off the debt.
Seeing their comrades what had happened, much grieved, and were told their master everything that had happened. Then his lord called him, told him, You wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because you begged me, you should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, as I had pity on thee?
And indignant, his lord delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all the debt.
"So also my heavenly Father will do, if the hearts forgive not every one his brother." (Mt 18:23-35).
The significance of this illustration given by Jesus Christ is very strong. We have a king and two types of borrowers.
If the parable illustrates the kingdom of God, then God himself king figure. The first debtor had an unpayable debt, while the second was at hand.
There is no way to compare the debt each. Ten thousand talents first servant's debt was equivalent to about 200,000 days of work, while the other one hundred denarii was servant owed the equivalent of only one hundred days of work.
This difference reveals the size of the debt that each one of us had to God, and that, to be priceless, were destined to eternal imprisonment and slavery.
However, we did not earned it, God in his goodness forgave us.Therefore, He expects us to do the same.
The Christian who has been forgiven of their sins and refuses to forgive a brother - your fellow servant in the gospel - forgiveness will be deleted.
This is very serious. Offenses against the people we are nothing close to our Heavenly Father offense failed to take into account.
And the Biblical premise is that if we can be forgiven by Him, then we must also forgive anyone who hurts.
Unforgiveness is a prisonWho does not forgive, is arrested.
We read in Matthew 18:34: "And, indignant, his lord delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all the debt."
The hangman word means "torturer". In addition to prison, the man would be tortured as punishment.
The practice of ministry reveals that Jesus spoke this parable figure is a spiritual reality in the lives of those who do not forgive.The demons tie the lives of those who withholds forgiveness.
Their tortures applied are diverse: anxiety and depression, illness, physical weakness.
Many people have suffered from a lack of forgiveness. The other day I heard someone say that resentment is the same as you take a little poison every day, hoping that those who hurt you will die.
Unforgiveness causes damage greater in those who are injured than those who hurt. So I always say to those who need to forgive: - "No longer just the first suffering, why add another larger (Sorrow)"?
Some think that forgiveness is a benefit to the offender.
But I say that the greatest benefit is not what was given to the offender, but what makes the victim's forgiveness, in what is wounded.
Without forgiveness there is no cure. The disease only becomes complicated inside, and spiritual health, emotional and physical resentful person is seriously affected.
In another portion of Scripture (where the context of the previous verses is absolution), we see Jesus warning us of the same danger:"Enter into agreement quickly with your accuser while you are with him the way, that the adversary deliver thee to the judge, the bailiff, and thou be cast into prison.
"Verily I say unto thee shalt not go away, until you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5.25,26).
I do not know exactly how it is prison, but I know that Christ was not kidding when he told her.
Unforgiveness holds me and can hold someone else's life.
This is a proven fact. I have seen people who have been trapped for so many years, and was immediately free to decide to forgive.This can happen to you, simply decide to forgive.
Following the example DIVINE
How should it be forgiveness?One has to ask for forgiveness or deserve it in order to be forgiven? No. We must forgive as God forgave us:
"Before, home to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ also forgave you." (Eph 4:32).
The biblical text says that our forgiveness and reconciliation horizontal should follow the example of God in Jesus did for us.
So, just ask: - "We have earned God's forgiveness? No. So our offender also do not have to deserve. "
Forgiveness is an act of mercy, compassion.
It has nothing to do with merit. The apostle Paul told the Ephesians that forgiveness is the result of a compassionate heart and kind.
Forgiveness flows of the goodness of our hearts, not by whether there is mercy in the offender.
Jesus said that if I know someone has something against me, I look for him to attempt reconciliation.
Even if that person did not seek or even want to talk to me, I have to take the initiative, I have to try.
God gave free pardon to all, regardless of any behavior, and He is our example!
THERE IS NO LIMIT OF TIMES TO FORGIVEOn one occasion, Peter wanted to know the limit of times that exists to forgive someone.
And was surprised by the answer that Christ gave him: "Then Peter came up and asked him: Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus answered him: I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. "Mt 18:21-22).
The Lord declared that even if someone repeat his offense against me for four hundred and ninety times, must still be forgiven.
In fact, biblical commentators generally understand that Jesus was not holding the numbers, but trying to remove the limit imposed on the minds of the disciples to forgive.
I wonder what would we do without God's mercy. How many times God has forgiven us? How many more will He forgive us? If we are to forgive as God in Christ also has forgiven us, then clearly there is no limit of times to forgive!
The devil IS WHO TAKES ADVANTAGEDid we mention there is a spirit prison caused by withholding forgiveness. And demons take advantage of this situation.
Now we want to examine another passage that shows us clearly that the lack of forgiveness gives advantage to the devil:
"To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for indeed I have forgiven, if I have forgiven any thing, because of you did in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should get an advantage of us because not ignorant of purposes ". (Co 2:10-11).
The apostle Paul reveals that if we fail to forgive, who will take advantage of the situation is Satan, the adversary of our souls.He said that not ignorant of the machinations of the wicked.
In other words, he was saying that just by knowing how the devil works in unforgiveness, you could not fail to forgive.
We need to understand that God is not magnified in unforgiveness. What the victim does not profit anything by not forgiving.
That even the offender may be imprisoned spiritually. The only one who profits from it is the devil, it is replaced by the authority in the lives of those who decide to feed the wound of resentment.
The Bible teaches us that we must not give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).
As he walks into our surroundings like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Pe5.8), and that we must resist him (James 4:7).
But when we refuse to forgive, we are deliberately breaking all the commandments.
PRACTICAL ADVICEFor those who recognize that there is no choice but to forgive, but on the other hand, is not so easy to do, I offer some practical advice that will be of great value.
First, forgiveness is not a feeling, is a decision and also an attitude of faith.
We have said that forgiveness is not based on merit, so I do not have any motivation to forgive in my emotions.
Not that I am pleased to have been injured, but released when they defrauded me by a rational decision.
Therefore, forgiveness does not flow spontaneously, should be generated by the heart to consider what God has done for me and to forgive your order.
The consequences of unforgiveness should also be considered to give more ammunition to reason than emotion.
It takes faith to forgive.
On one occasion when Jesus taught his disciples to forgive, was interrupted by a peculiar request:
"Beware. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him if he repents, forgive him.
If seven times on the day he trespass against thee, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent, forgive him.
So the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. " (Luke 17.3-5).
At that moment the disciples recognized that to practice this level of forgiveness would need more faith.
And Jesus seems to have agreed, as in the following verses taught them that faith is like a seed, the more you exercise the more it grows.
You must believe that God is righteous and that He wants nothing more than what we give.
If God has asked us forgiven him, he will assist in dispensing his grace when we have an attitude of forgiveness.
Often forgiveness must be renewed.
After declaring forgiven someone, the devil, who does not want to lose your domain, it will attempt to renew the wound.
In Proverbs 17:9 the Holy Scriptures tell us about covering up the issue or renew it. You must take a decision to forget what happened, only forgiveness and renew.
Each time you try to back pain, again declare his forgiveness.Pray bless the offender. Fight the hurt!
It is important to see the offenders as victims. This is something special that I see in Jesus on the cross:
"But Jesus said: Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34).
Instead of looking for them as punishment and who deserves punishment, Jesus sees that they too were victims.
Those men were in spiritual blindness and ignorance, under evil influence, without any discrimination of whom were actually killed.
They were all victims of a system that away from God and the revelation of Scripture.
And in recognizing that it is they were victims, instead of feeding sorry for himself (as we would), Jesus had compassion on them.
I believe this is a principle for the forgiveness flow freely. Just as Jesus did, leaving example, Stephen the first martyr of Christianity, also did:
"Then, kneeling, cried aloud: Lord will not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7.60)
Forgiveness "to" ourselvesOften, before we can forgive others, we must forgive ourselves.Are usually harder with us than with others. We must remember that Christ has forgiven us.
Matthew 22:39 tells us: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
We need to feel that he loves us and has forgiven us. For this to occur, we must remember the position in which God has placed us, "made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).
We must see ourselves as we are in the eyes of God and not according to our bad feelings. In Christ is our victory.
Value of ForgivenessForgiveness is essential to our well being internal and external to the testimony of the Church.
Without this practice weed herbal bitterness, hatred and resentment that prevent represent to the world, in full, the character of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen
Author: Janie Santos de OliveiraVia: www.estudosgospel.com.br
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