Set a Prisoner Free
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. - (Romans 12:17)
We have all been hurt at one time or another in our lives. Someone may have wronged us, mistreated us, or slandered us. We didn’t deserve it; we were innocent. So we think, I will never forgive them.
We need to forgive them. Even if we don’t want to, we need to. Why? Because Bible commands us to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” And Colossians 3:13 tells us, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
In what we call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:9–12).
And think about this for a moment: we need to forgive for our own sake. Why? Because it tears us up inside. It also turns us into mean, bitter people who are no fun to hang around. All we want to do is talk about what happened to us and how these people hurt us. It is changes us for the worse. We need to forgive.
When you forgive someone, you set a prisoner free: yourself. Forgiven people need to be forgiving people. And if you are not willing to forgive someone else, then I have to wonder whether you understand what God has done for you.
We don’t deserve forgiveness. Yet God, in His mercy, forgave all our sins. And there is no greater example of forgiveness than Christ himself hanging on the cross.
Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
Yesterday’s Prophecies
Are Today’s Headlines
The Bible tells us that certain things will take place in the last days, and we are seeing some of them happen before our very eyes. The headlines are filled with signs of the times. How are we to respond to these things, and how should we live in light of Bible prophecy?
Find out in Israel, Iran, ISIS in Bible Prophecy, Pastor Greg’s newest booklet, written to give you a biblical perspective on world events. Included is his sermon by the same title on DVD.
Israel, Iran, ISIS in Bible Prophecy will be sent to you in thanks for your gift to Harvest Ministries this month.