Now we have seen that it’s grace forgiveness that sets us free, we will look at another aspect of forgiveness, which is:

RESOLVING AN OFFENCE

Let’s unpack 5 steps to resolving an offence.

1) Practice Being A Peacemaker

In life we can be one of 2 things: A peace keeper or a peace maker.

A peace keeper is a person who will do anything to keep the peace, to avoid confrontation, to prevent the boat from being rocked! They will sweep issues under the carpet, make excuses or tell lies.

A peace maker is a person who will do anything to make the peace. They will confront, tell the truth, bring issues out into the open.

God the Father is a peace maker: Col 1:20 God made peace through His Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven. (GNB)

Mankind was at war with God. They had disobeyed God’s command and partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Man’s disobedience broke the relationship they had with God, forcing God to expel them from His presence.

God knew that man was now imprisoned by sin and death and could not help himself, so God took the initiative. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for the sin of the whole world. This great sacrifice removed sin and opened the way for God to forgive man, thus restoring the broken relationship, making peace between God and man.

Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (NIV)

Peace On Earth

Luke 2:13-14  Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”   (NKJV)

Most people reading the above scripture, think that God was proclaiming through the angels some kind of automatic peace towards mankind. That’s because at Christmas we don’t want to upset anyone. We want everything to be jolly, cosy and nice. In other words, we want to ‘keep the peace.’

Yes, God is here proclaiming peace towards mankind. But it’s not automatic. It’s something that has to be received, and we receive this peace by thanking God that He has forgiven our sin and by inviting Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and lives and live His life through us.

It could be you are reading this article and are suddenly aware that you need to invite Jesus to come and live in your life. You want to know peace with God, you want the salvation He is offering to you, you want the assurance of eternal life.

The scripture below instructs us how to do this. Read it through very slowly. Spend time thinking about what it says.

Rom 10:9 for if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.  (TLB)

Now you’ve invited Jesus to come and live in your heart, you need to tell someone what you have done. This telling confirms the work of salvation in your heart.

Meditation Point: Thank you Jesus that you died for me so I could receive forgiveness of sin from God and experience His peace. Give me the strength and help I need to tell someone that you now live in my heart.

 

No tags

We saw in Pt 1 that we are now under New Covenant (NC) grace forgiveness, which is:

Forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:32.  AMP)

Let’s now look at how to apply that forgiveness. Forgiveness has 2 parts to it:

1) Forgiveness is a decision – YES/NO.

God created mankind as free will beings. The will is where we make our choices, decisions and form our attitudes. Because we have free will, it follows on that we have to take personal responsibility for the choices we make.

2) Forgiveness is a process – TIME.

There are things that happen to us we can forgive straight away. But there are bigger things where the offense and hurt are too much for us to handle. Therefore we struggle to forgive. It’s at this point that many Christians sink under a cloud of guilt and condemnation. They think God will judge them, reject them or is angry with them.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Such people are living under the Old Covenant model of law forgiveness that says God will punish them for their failures, sins and mistakes.

As D.L. Moody would say, “NO – a thousand times NO”.

We are now living under the New Covenant model of grace forgiveness.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (NKJV)

The word, ‘cleanses’ in the above verse is in the present continuous tense. This means whenever we sin, immediately the blood of Christ cleanses that sin away. See yourself stood beneath a fountain of blood flowing down upon you, washing you from all sin.

God always looks upon us through the blood of His son, therefore, He always sees us as righteous in His sight.

Let’s apply this truth to a forgiveness situation:

Your husband is badly beaten by a gang of youths. He is hospitalized and cannot work for a year. A tsunami wave of anger, hatred and bitterness sweeps over you. But as a Christian God has called you to forgive. How can I do this. It seems impossible.

The key is in understanding that although I am consumed by anger and bitterness, Christ’s blood continues to cleanse that sin away so that we are always forgiven, accepted and unconditionally loved by God, freeing us from any guilt, condemnation or rejection. This takes the pressure off and gives us time to work our forgiveness through.

We may have to forgive that gang of youths 100 or 200 times, but however many times it takes, God gives us the time to work it through until the day comes when that wound is healed.

Praise the name of Jesus who’s blood continuously cleanses us from all sin!

Meditation Point: Thank you Lord that I no longer have to allow any fear, guilt or condemnation to remain in my life. Jesus cleansed and continues to cleanse all my sin away.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)

No tags