March 2, 2024 – Are You Holding on to Unforgiveness?
Matthew 18:21-22
Sermon: 5731 How to Heal Broken Relationships, Part 2
Pray Over This
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”
Matthew 18:21-22
Ponder This
Scripture says we should forgive not seven times but seventy times seven. That’s a very interesting thing because the truth of the matter is, if you truly forgive another person one time, then that sin is gone—it is dissolved, obliterated. You forgive him or her the next time, and that sin is gone, forgiven, obliterated, buried in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. If that is true, you’re not keeping a record, so every time you forgive that person, it’s really the first time; it’s not the seventh time or the eighth time because the other times don’t count. You’re not keeping score, because love does not keep a record: you forgive freely.
You also forgive fully. If you go to a person and ask for forgiveness, make sure it’s forgiveness that you get because a proud person will say, “That didn’t matter. Forget it.” Say, “No, I want you to forgive me.” Don’t just take a shrug and someone saying it doesn’t matter. It does matter for your sake and for the other’s sake that there be some closure. Forgetting comes because of forgiveness and there can be no forgetting until the slate is clean. You can’t be sloppy when it comes to getting forgiveness.
Forgive freely, forgive fully, and forgive finally. Bury the offense in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. We are to forgive one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us.
- When have you struggled to forgive someone else?
- What are some things you need to let go of and forget?
Practice This
Take a step toward forgiving someone who has wronged you.
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