Forgiven to Forgive

Introduction

Good morning. If you will, open in your New Testament with me to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. This morning I’d like to study God’s word and consider something that is very simple but not easy. Something that’s very simple but not easy. As you turn to Colossians chapter 3, consider the idea in basketball of a free throw. And if any town, any city, any basketball franchise location understands just how difficult a free throw is, it is the town of Orlando, the Orlando Magic, where we had this star named Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard, neither of whom got the free concept of the free throw. You see, the idea of a free throw is really simple. You stand up, X amount of feet, it always stays the same.

The basket’s always the same height, no one’s even allowed to jump at you. Players try to do silly things like tie their shoes and do kind of weird things to make people miss the free throw. But by and large, it’s just you, it’s just the basket, and we need you to put the ball in the basket. And if you’re an Orlando fan, you’re part of the team in a sense that pays this man and in terms of Shaq and Dwight Howard many millions of dollars, and really they average making about one, a little over one and a half out of every two or three shots. And you think, how can we continue to be so bad at a free throw? You are a professional. You should know you should do better than that.

Of course, then you consider that the best of the best, even making free throws, make it about 90% of the time. And even then, something that is so simple is only made nine out of ten times. And we say, well, if I’m shooting at 50% with my Shaquille O’Neal and somebody on another team shooting 90%, I’ll take the ninety percent. But the fact is it is a free throw. We should be good at it. It’s simple. But it’s not always as easy as it seems. By the way, if you challenge that, go out. I’d love to have a free throw contest to let someone beat me and see how bad I also am at free throws. But consider this morning, I want to talk about forgiveness.

And not just forgiveness from God, which certainly will underlie our study, but the fact that we have been forgiven. And so we have been forgiven in a sense to forgive others. In Colossians chapter 3, consider the gut check in verse 12. Put on, then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has to complain against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and that the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. And you consider verse 13 and 14. You see that we are to be bearing with one another.

1. The Clear Importance of Forgiving Others

And you see in verse 13, if anyone has a complaint against another, what are we to do? Forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven you. And just in case that wasn’t clear enough, the last part of verse 13, so you must also forgive. This is obviously not optional. This is obviously important. And as we consider, first of all, why is this so important? And we’ll set the stage for enemies of forgiveness and conclude with how we can be more forgiving. First of all, we should underlie the clear importance of forgiving others. First of all, we recognize it is critical. It is important because, as verse 13 says, it is not only a direct command, it is not only a simple concept that we are to forgive others who are seeking forgiveness, but we need to remember first, as verse 13 says, we need to forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.

Turn your old testaments with me to Micah chapter 7. In Micah chapter 7, consider verse 8 and 9 with me, and then verses 18 and 19. Consider what we’ve done in verse 8 and 9 and what the Lord has done for us in verse 18 and 19. And Micah chapter 7, I’ll give you a minute just to get over there. In Micah chapter 7, as we turn over to verse 8, rejoice not over me, O my enemy. When I fall, I shall rise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him. Until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light, I shall look upon his vindication.

And in verse 18 and 19, consider the forgiveness that the Lord does offer. Verse 18, who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance. He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in his steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. That is a powerful, mighty, forgiving God that we serve. As we remember what God has done for us, it is critical to realize our God in verse 18 pardons our iniquity. He will have a passing over of our transgression. God completely forgives. How much so in verse 19? He will tread our iniquities underfoot. He will cast all of our sins into the depth of the sea.

Now, when you consider forgiveness that God offers for a moment, I want to stop and think just for a moment. Let’s be honest. In a room like this on a Sunday morning, we’re pretty good people by and large. We do good things. Hopefully, we’re all following the rules. Romans 13 is very clear about that. I’m not going to ask you for a show of hands of who is a perfect Christian, because if you raise your hand, you’re lying. We’re in church. That’s not good. And if you don’t, it’s kind of embarrassing. Right, so we know where that goes. But as you consider forgiveness, you consider your worst moments in life. Consider for just a minute the painful memories of words you’ve said that you so desperately wish you could have back.

Actions you’ve taken that were wrong, that were in violation of God’s will because you gave in to a moment’s urge, the fleshly longings, because you did something you know God says not to do, but you wanted it, so you violated God’s will anyway. It’s easy to think of ourselves as the heroes in most circumstances, the heroes who bring the good news of salvation to the world, that we are going to be evangelists because others are lost and they need salvation. But we need to remember first in evangelism and in particular in forgiveness, that we need the Lord first. Before I go telling other one, everyone how great Jesus is, I first have to commit my life to the Lord. Because Jesus is my Savior. He is the Savior of anyone who will seek Him.

God will forgive those who confess their sins, 1 John 1 in verse 9. That’s a powerful blessing. But I need to remember that not only have I sinned against God, my sin would take me to hell, if not for God. If not for the sacrifice of Christ, my sins, however great, however small I think they may be, my sins, Isaiah 59, verse 1 and 2 say, causes a separation between me and my God. And without Jesus being the mediator of a new covenant, through which we can have our sins forgiven, our iniquities remembered no more. I have no hope. And I will be destined to be away from my God forever. I need to remember first and foremost that if I’m going to be a Christian, if I’m going to be thankful to God, certainly if I’m going to be forgiving, I need to remember that without God, I am a mess.

I am beyond a mess. I am eternally damned to hell. As we think about that language, we need to realize that this is strong. This is powerful. What God has done for us is amazing and great. And we need to remember the joys of being forgiven and when God forgave me. In Romans chapter 5, turn with me there. Consider where you were, where I was when Jesus did what he did. No, we were not living at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. But in Romans chapter 5, consider when Jesus came to die. In verse 6, while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. In verse 8, but God chose his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In verse 10, for if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Jesus died for us when we were weak and ungodly, when we were sinners and when we were enemies of God. That’s not the right place that we often like to give forgiveness. That’s not the right place that we like to think about how God deals with us. If I’m honest, I like to think that my sin’s not as bad as other people, and that while my sin is bad, and yes, sin is wrong and sin separates us from God, my God is great, my God is loving, I’ll be forgiven, and that’s because I’m kind of mostly doing the good thing.

But boy, if I talk about somebody else and their sin, that’s a whole different story. But that’s not true. What the Old Testament, what the New Testament teaches us is that when we sin, we have violated God’s will, and we can only be reconciled to Him by forgiveness. And we need to remember what God has done for us. Secondly, we need to realize that our eternal life actually does literally hang in the balance of how we forgive others. Consider in Matthew chapter 6, consider the model prayer. In Matthew chapter 6, as you consider the model prayer of the Lord, in Matthew chapter 6, beginning in verse 9, you see, he says, Pray then like this, 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 also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses. That’s pretty clear, but in chapter 18, again, we see this concept made even more clear. In chapter 18 of Matthew, we know the story of the unforgiving servant. You have the kingdom and the king who had a servant who owed him a repayable debt. And he was unforgiving to the servant who owed a actual unpayable debt. As you think about the king, you have a king who is owed an unpayable debt, and he forgives his first servant.

But that first servant, who, even though he was forgiven something he could never pay back, he goes to his next servant who had a payable debt and would not forgive him. Instead was choking him, saying, Pay what you owe. We recognize him as the villain of the story. We recognize him as violating God’s will. And in verse 35, Jesus concludes, So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. Jesus commands true forgiveness. Our eternal life, our forgiveness, hinges upon how we forgive others. And remember, how did God forgive us? Completely. Our sins will be remembered no more. We need to remember when did God forgive us? When we were weak and ungodly. When we were sinners, when we were enemies of the cross of Christ.

When were we forgiven by God? How are we forgiven by God? At our worst, we were forgiven, and completely were we forgiven by our great and merciful God. And that’s how we must forgive. I have to recognize the importance of forgiving others means not only will my life be better in the meantime, as we’re about to see three different words, three ideas, three characteristics that separate us that are enemies of forgiveness, they ruin our lives if we choose not to forgive. But most importantly, remember these two facts all the way through this morning. Our God has done great things for us in allowing us, the most dirty, rotten of sinners, to be forgiven, to be children of his, to no longer be sinners, but to be kingdom heirs.

2. Bitterness and Resentment

And that secondly, our eternal life, our becoming heirs of what God is offering is dependent upon my forgiveness from the heart. Consider with me three enemies of forgiveness this morning, because forgiveness is simple, as we said from the onset, but to be honest, forgiveness is very difficult. It is not easy. Why is it so hard? Why is it so difficult? First of all, we often give in to bitterness and resentment. Consider Ephesians chapter 4. Consider Ephesians chapter 4. And as you see the way that we are to walk as children of God, as Paul is exhorting the Ephesians as God has inspired the word for us. In Ephesians chapter 4, note verse 31, Paul says in Ephesians 4 and verse 31, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Here it is again, as God in Christ forgave you. That point will not leave the scriptures because if it’s not me, it is the inspired word of God that continually hinges our forgiveness, pointing back to what? God first forgiving us. That is a critical point. But as we see in verse 31, we need to let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be gone from us. Rather, verse 32, we are to pick up the kindness, tenderhearted, loving, forgiving nature that Jesus has, that Jesus has always had, and that God has continually shown to his children. As we think about bitterness, though, if we think about resentment, the truth is we don’t forgive because we don’t want to.

Now you say, now hold on, that’s not true. I don’t forgive because you don’t know what they did. I don’t forgive because they don’t come and make it right. But I encourage you to look in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15. Look at Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15. If we’re talking about sin, something that is the only thing which should separate the righteous from the unrighteous, because God has deemed it so. In Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15, how do those verses begin? This great section on how to deal with sin in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15. If you have two in sin, and we say, you know what, I can’t forgive because they haven’t come and asked. And Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15, note the first several words of this verse.

If your brother sins against you, here’s that situation. Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. How does bitterness seep in? Bitterness and resentment seeps in when we allow ourselves to not only have an ungodly attitude, an attitude that’s constituted of pride, jealousy, envy, and all kinds of ungodly characteristics. It takes place when we don’t treat the symptom, when we don’t treat the true problem, which is more sin. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus cuts this off from the forefront. Yes, in Matthew chapter 5, we understand that if we are at worship and our brother has something against us, we should go to them. Yes, if you have wronged your brother, you should go and repent. Ask for his forgiveness. But what does Jesus say if your brother has sinned against you?

In verse 15, go and tell him his fault. There is no room for bitterness because if we’re doing what Jesus says, there is no time for bitterness and resentment to step in. The only way I can be feeling bitter, which is a sin, is if I have not gone and told my brother his fault, which is violating Jesus’ command. We consider the road of forgiveness meets in the middle. Because if someone needs if you have wronged your brother, you should go to them. Jesus says, if your brother has wronged you, you should go to them. We should meet in the middle. It doesn’t matter if someone hasn’t met in the middle, though. Jesus doesn’t say, go and stop in the middle of the road. You’ve done your part, you’ve gone halfway.

Jesus says, if your brother sinned against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. Why? In verse 15, if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. This is the whole purpose of what Jesus is saying. It’s not about making it right, it’s about being righteous. It’s not about making somebody feel good. It’s about being loving and committed to God. In verse 16, if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.

Jesus’ interest is not in simple forgiveness. His interest is in our souls. When we consider Matthew 18, verse 15, though, I have to stop for a minute and think a couple thoughts that keep me from that. One of the first ones that leads to bitterness is I say, they’re not going to change anyway. It’s not going to get any better. Can we make two points on that? First of all, if it’s not a matter of sin, then we should have no bitterness about it. And we shouldn’t expect forgiveness. If you say, well, it’s not a sin, then let it go. Right? As the frozen song sings, let it go. As you consider, though, uh, with matters that are truly sin, what is step two in verse 16?

3. Taking Personal Vengeance

Take two or three with you. If that doesn’t work, if someone is not going to change because you talk to them, or because you take two or three witnesses with them, what do you do next? In verse 17, take it to the church. Why? Because Jesus is concerned with his souls of his followers. He is concerned with his sacrifice, truly allowing for forgiveness of sins, which is not possible and will not happen if we do not forgive others, if we do not seek the forgiveness that we need from our transgressions and our sin. Consider when it comes to bitterness and resentment, we must let go and let God. Consider with me, secondly. Enemies of forgiving others includes taking personal vengeance. In Romans chapter 12, turn with me there.

In Romans chapter 12, perhaps the biggest problem with granting forgiveness, with having a forgiving spirit is we realize that somebody did something to me, and you have no idea. I have no idea what you went through, you have no idea what I went through. This was the worst. This was the most ultimate of betrayals. I cannot look at it any other way. And Romans chapter 12, though, note in verse 17, because it’s so hard and because they hurt me so severely in verse 17, I set aside this wisdom of God. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sign of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for his written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Someone said, and I think this has actually been recorded conversation before in verse 18. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. People say, you know what? It’s just not possible. You don’t know my family, you don’t know my friends. That’s not what Paul’s saying. Paul says in verse 17 very clearly, repay no one evil for evil. Very clearly in verse 19, never avenge yourself. Can the inspired word be more clear there? Never avenge yourself. Why? Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says Greg.

Vengeance is mine, I will repay because you hurt me really bad. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Vengeance is the Lord. The problem with forgiving others is I want to make it right because I want my pound of flesh back. You hurt me, I’m gonna hurt you. I might even hurt you worse. Or maybe I’ll hurt you a little less worse and tell myself I’m okay because what you did was way worse than what I did. What does God say? God says, No, never avenge yourselves. We like to think that we win in that circumstance, but consider in a win-loss scenario, who wins when we take personal vengeance? Does our enemy? Absolutely not, because our vengeance is striving to hurt them. They don’t win.

Does God win? No. When two people have now turned their backs on him and rejected the sacrifice of Christ, God does not win in that scenario. And most importantly, when I take personal vengeance, when somebody wrongs me and I take it out on them, I lose. Because I have separated myself from God. I lose. I lose my forgiveness. I lose my relationship with others, and I lose my relationship with God. There is no winner in taking personal vengeance in this life. When it comes to obeying Jesus, when it comes to understanding what forgiveness is, not only is it from the heart as God first forgave us, but it’s realizing that God gives grace, God gives mercy, and ultimately, yes, God will judge those who violated his will.

Consider in Hebrews chapter 10. Even in the midst of a section that’s not exactly about forgiveness. Consider the amount of forgiveness that’s lost. Consider what we have and what we violate if we turn our back on Jesus and the sacrifice that he made on the cross in Hebrews 10 26. If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. That means there’s no more forgiveness. Verse 27, but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. As we consider forgiving others, it is very hard. Because we like to be bitter. Because we like to harbor grudges. And because we want to take the personal vengeance now. We want to see them suffer now because of what they did to me now. You did this to me, I’ll do that to you. Whether it’s more, whether it’s less, whether it’s equal vengeance, Jesus says, God reveals, never avenge yourself. When we consider Jesus’ response to those who would come and even slap on the cheek, what does Jesus say? Slap them harder, right?

4. Pride Is Difficult

Punch them in the gut. He says, turn the other cheek. It’s very clear, though, in verse 26 that if I violate God’s will, if I try to take vengeance, if I don’t forgive, if I allow bitterness to seep in, resentment to change my soul, in verse 26, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Because bitterness, resentment, personal vengeance, and pride, our third point this morning, are all under the category of sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth. We know that God’s children are not marked by bitterness, do not take personal vengeance, and are not puffed up with pride. We know that God’s children are loving, kind hearted, forgiving others as Christ forgave us. Here’s a mark of difference. Pride is difficult. In Proverbs chapter 18, consider with me the wisdom of the Proverb, and perhaps this is our biggest problem in forgiving others, because we kind of like it when somebody is worse than us when we can hold it over them, and also because we think we’re right.

We know the situation because we know the facts. If someone would just understand from my perspective, they would know I’m right. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 17. The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him. Have you ever had that happen before? You’ve just been convinced in verse 17 that someone came to you and told you a story, that they were right, that the other person was absolutely in the wrong until the other comes and examines him. It’s often said that there are always three stories when it comes to a marriage. There is what he said, there is what she said, and there is the truth. Too often, though, in Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 17, we stop at the first part.

The one who states his case first seems right. And not is it egregious enough to not listen to all sides of the story? You know who we hear first in matters of forgiveness? My story. I hear my logic, my thought, and I feel my wrong. And I feel vindicated in any action I take therein. Forgiving others means first of all, remembering that God in Christ forgave us. Secondly, that my forgiving of others is what will my eternal life will hinge upon. And consider also that I need to be loving. I need to be willing to listen to the whole story, and most importantly, I need to be forgiving and let God be the judge and stop trying to take his place. When we consider the pride that comes with a lack of forgiving others, it is nothing but.

This is all me. This is self inflicted wounds. When I allow pride to distract me, when I allow personal vengeance to distract me, when I allow bitterness and resentment to change my course in this life from following God to following the lusts of the flesh, it is my fault. In Orlando, another thing that we know kind of uniquely here, not just unique only here, but we know a lot about these things called mosquitoes. Have you heard of them? They swarm around, they like to bite. Have you ever had just a little mosquito bite and driven you crazy? You start itching it, you start scratching it, what happens? It gets all better, right? When you scratch it? Now, just a small little bite, very annoying, might be itchy, might not, but you don’t like it on your skin because it messes up our perfection.

What do you do? You scratch it, it gets bigger, it lasts longer. It takes even more time to heal than if you had just let it alone and treated it in the first place. Surely we can see that if we would forgive, if we would treat the wrong right in the first place, we would save not only others, but ourselves, a whole lot of grief and sin in the meantime. Not only does this apply this lesson of forgiveness to our eternal life, and that is absolutely the most important case that the Bible can make on any subject, that we should be with God, that we should not allow sin to separate us from God. But can I just tell you, bitterness doesn’t feel bad to the person who wronged you.

Bitterness is what I feel. Pride is what I struggle with. Taking personal vengeance is what consumes my thoughts, not the others. Consider for a moment, if if some if you knew someone had something against you, if you thought about it but you didn’t know it, if I’m up here this morning and someone says, Do you think anyone has something against you? I say, I don’t think so. I hope not. Someone in the audience has something against me. Who’s upset right now? Me or them? The one who’s bitter, the one who’s holding the grudge. We have to realize that not only is Jesus’ wisdom, not only is the advice of the scriptures of God pertinent to the eternal life, it’s pertinent to our lives now. We must forgive.

5. Recognize the Stakes

We must let it go. We must remember God. So as we move to conclude the lesson this morning, consider two points and one final question. How can we be more forgiving? First of all, we have to recognize the stakes. In Matthew chapter 18 and verses 15 through 17, what was the purpose of going and telling your brother who has sinned against you is fault in private? That you may gain your brother? What was the purpose of taking two or three witnesses? That you may gain your brother? What is the purpose of taking him to the church? And if he still does not turn from his sin, does not repent of his wrong, why would you make him unto you a Gentile? Because his soul is valuable.

That’s why in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the whole idea of withdrawal is not about pointing out sin and being mean. It’s about the soul. So that someone who is ostracized from the people of God and the faith which he once walked recognizes that he is missing out on what is most important, and that’s the blessings and forgiveness that comes with following God. We need to remember the stakes of our forgiving others is the same stakes upon which I am forgiven by God. And that’s a powerful level. When I consider again what Jesus said in the model prayer and what he said in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 35, that I must forgive my brothers if I am to be forgiven by my God, I better step back and be very careful at any turn in taking vengeance, allowing bitterness to seep in, allowing pride to keep me from forgiving my brothers.

6. We Just Need to Be a Christian

I better be very careful with that. Consider, secondly, back in Colossians chapter 3 in our opening text this morning, we just need to be a Christian. Can I say something more plainly than that? If we do not forgive others, we are not being Christians. We are not being followers of Christ. People who do not forgive, people who are marked by bitterness, pride, and seeking personal vengeance, are not Christians. And that’s hard because there are times I do every one of those things. And if we’re honest, probably everyone in here has. We need to step up. We need to pray for forgiveness from our God, seek for forgiveness from whoever we’ve wronged, and choose to be a Christian today. In Colossians chapter 3, in verse 5, we were to put to death what is earthly in us sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. Put off these terrible attributes of sin. But rather in verse 12, put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, that’s forgiving, that’s caring for others. Kindness, that would lead us to be forgiving, kind to others. Humility as opposed to pride, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And again, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. If I want to leave this building this morning as a Christian, I must forgive now. Or go on my way to my brother who has sinned against me and tell him this fault between me and him alone. There’s no other way to be a Christian.

You either address the sin or you turn your back on God. Those are the options. Consider in verse 14, and above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and that the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Do we think for a moment that harboring bitterness, taking vengeance, or having pride will allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts? Absolutely not. We need to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts by seeking his ways, trusting in God’s law, and in verse 14, putting on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. That is God’s answer to an unforgiving heart. Put on love, put on holiness, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, putting on love, and in so doing, allowing the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts.

Conclusion

Consider with me one question. Would I want to be forgiven by God the way that I forgive others? If it came to it this morning and this life was over, if Jesus came and the second coming of Christ was now, and Jesus came as was promised in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, like a thief in the night. And God said, Okay, Greg, you’re up. Your standard is how you have forgiven everyone, not just those who you loved and who you forgave, but everyone who has sinned against you. How you have forgiven them is dependent upon whether or not I will forgive you.

Praise be to God that our God is loving, gracious, merciful, and forgiving in the most perfect of ways. And that he forgive me when I do not. If we recognize, as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 6 and in Matthew chapter 18, and as Paul makes clear in Ephesians chapter 4 and in Colossians chapter 3, that we must forgive others if we are to be forgiven. This becomes the only question that matters. Am I forgiving? No excuse stands in the way because at the day of judgment it’s just me and my God. And we must be forgiving. We need to recognize the stakes. We need to step up and be loving children of God. We need to be Christians this morning if we want to be part of Christ.

Consider the invitation stands just in the same as the way of application. If Jesus were to come now, not just in respect to forgiving others, but in any sin, any trespass of God’s law, what would I do? How would I feel if I knew Jesus was coming today? If I knew God was coming now, if I knew the judgment would be now, would I be safe? Would I be happy, rejoicing, praying that God does come now? Or would I be praying for more time? Praying desperately for forgiveness, knowing I haven’t done what I need to do to be a faithful servant of Jesus’. Trust in the Lord today. If you’re a Christian and you’ve turned your back on God or turned your back on others through a lack of forgiveness or a lack of love, realize you can come forward and you can confess that sin and God will forgive you.

And recognize if you’re not a Christian, you can make things right with God now. You can take advantage of the perfect life of Jesus, gain the forgiveness in the forgiveness that comes with the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Be baptized into his death, be buried with him, and be rise in newness of life, sharing in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. If we can help you in any way, be a Christian, be pleasing to God now as we stand and sing the invitation song.