30May12 – Thoughts during Bible Study…maybe a blog post to come later as well…
Bible Study on Forgiveness:
Luke 17:3-4
Sin is the breaking of a relationship, whether between God and man, or man and man.
Forgiveness is the restoration of that relationship.
Old Thought:
“When I have forgiven someone, I no longer hold anger towards the person who I have
forgiven” – Charlie
When a brother…
-someone of the same father
Forgiveness holds many pscychological snares for the man who does not forgive.
The ultimate act of forgiveness was Christ’s death on the cross, yet
“While we were sinners, Christ still died for us.”
-Forgiveness can come before repentence
Why do we forgive?
Cause we have to!!!
God called us to forgive. What more reason do we need?
Again, it comes back to the idea of “radical” vs. faithful.
We don’t need to live extreme, we need to actually live what we say we believe.
Forgiveness is also an amazing opportunity to show Christ to the world.
The world is not bound to forgive. Forgiveness sets us apart from the world
2 Corinthians 5:17
Forgiveness is not a choice to those that are faithful.
To be a follower of Christ, forgiveness is a command.
Christ set the tone.
He forgave Peter for denying Him…
He forgave Thomas for doubting Him…
He forgave the Pharisees and Soldiers for Crucifying Him, while He was yet on the cross…
and He forgave all the world, despite the fact that our sinfulness led to his death.
(and I would dare say He also forgave Judas, if Judas sought forgiveness. He at least
showed some repentance in returning the silver…it’s an interesting thought…)
Also spent time discussing:
“Can we forgive without repentance?”
“Does God forgive without repentance?”
“What does that look like for me?”
“How do I rebuke sin, while forgiving?”
“How do I forgive when I was the one that was wronged, despite a lack of repentance?”
Wish List:
-Eno Hammock from in my room in the basement
-Burners from electric stoves, probably up to 12 (to build a load bank for 110VAC loads)
