Cornerstone for Christian LivingNorthCreek Church

Lesson 12 – Part 1: Forgiveness

  1. Introduction
  1. Take from Scripture what we can and not interject from our own experiences
  2. Define forgiveness
  3. Answer the following questions:
  1. Is forgiveness conditional?
  2. If a person does not repent, do we still have to forgive them?
  3. Do we have to remain friends?
  4. Who does a lack of forgiveness hurt?
  5. Does it matter how heinous the sin is?
  6. Do they have to acknowledge or admit guilt for us to forgive?
  1. What does scripture say about forgiveness?

A.Two Greek words to consider:

1.Charizomai-(Colossians 3 and Ephesians 4) — to do something pleasant or agreeable, to do a favor, to give, grant or show oneself to be gracious (s______o_____ h______- actions stemming from the heart.)

2.Aphiemi - (Matthew 6 and Luke 17) - to send the offense away from mind and heart, to disregard, to omit, neglect,s______o______m______

B.Colossians 3:12-14 (charizomai) -

1. Forgive j______a______(in both passages) the Lord forgave you which means:

a)He holds no grudges — He treated Jesus as if He lived our life to make it possible for us to live Jesus' life. He looks at Jesus and sees us and He looks at us and sees Jesus.

b)With respect to salvation and by definition, His judicial forgiveness is gracious and f______.

c)God is always ready to forgive as a Father.

d) He does not p______o______h______for evil to come to us.

2. Above all this, put on L______(Colossians 3). And, love does not keep a record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5)

C.Ephesians 4:32 (charizomai)

1.Verse 32 is the opposite of verse 31

a)Be kind (Luke 6:35) - benevolent, gracious as opposed to harsh, hard, bitter, sharp

b)Tenderhearted — compassionate

c)Forgiving — as best defined by Matthew 18:21-35

2."Just as" God forgave us — we must always check ours, with the picture of His, as our measure.

D.Matthew 6:12-15 (aphiemi)

1. Verse 12 doesn’t just remind us to forgive, it b______us to it. "As" we forgive others.

2.Delayed forgiveness on o______part means delayed forgiveness on H______part — day-to-day, not salvation.

3.There is a certain comfort (in being one of His elect) which we lose in our guilt when we don't act according to any of God's principles.

Matthew Henry: "The reproaches and terrors of his own conscience would be his tormentors, for that is a worm that dies not."

Costs of unforgiveness:

E.Luke 17:1-4 (aphiemi)

1.If he repents, cancel the debt. "You owe me nothing" — gracious, be ready to love

2.Does not say that if he doesn’t repent, don’t forgive him

3.But does it say you have to enter into another agreement or open yourself to being hurt again?

Matthew Henry says, "we must be ready to help him and do good to him, and if he repent and desire to be friends again, we must be free and familiar with him, as before.” (Luke 6:27-38)

F.Matthew 18:21-35 – “parables are of use, not only for the pressing of Christian duties; for they make and leave an impression." Matthew Henry

1. Verses 23-27— His forgiveness came out of c______for him

a)The debt of his sin was so great that he could not repay it.

b)The debtor was not concerned about his debt until he was called to pay it back even though he was indebted all along. He just didn't care.

c)The debtor begged for a chance to repay and it was granted. God is ready to forgive when we humble ourselves before Him.

2.Verses 28-30 — the debtor was still c______

a)The debt of the other was little in comparison to the debt of the owner

b)The creditor/debtor was very demanding of the debtor

c)He was cruel

3.Verse 31 — all those around suffered and they went to their lord as we ought to in prayer.

4.Verses 32-34 — their lord's response

a) The lord r______him for his cruelty

b) The lord r______the pardon and cancelled the acquaintance

  1. Verse 35 — Application of parable

a)Henry, "Those that do not forgive their brother's trespasses, did never truly repent of their own, nor ever truly believe the gospel; and therefore that which is taken away is only what they seemed to have.” Luke 8:18

b) They that show no mercy, r______no mercy.

c)We must forgive in our hearts: God looks at your hearts, not just outwardly appearing to be peaceable and reconciled. That is not enough. We must, from the heart, desire and seek the welfare even of those that have offended us.

Bible Knowledge Commentary: “With salvation in mind: Though God's forgiveness of sin is not based on one's forgiving others, a Christian’s forgiveness of others is based on realizing he has been forgiven"

Henry’s: "What reason is it that God should forgive us the talents we are indebted to him, if we forgive not our brethren the pence they are indebted to us?"

Those basic questions? We'll continue next week.

What is the main thing you have learned from this lesson?

As a result, what is the Lord asking you to change?

Lecture notes: Steve Mawhorter1