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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Why
Forgiveness Biblical forgiveness as
it applies to God, us, sin and initial salvation is the deletion or
cancelation of all our sins from God's records, and that upon our genuine
repentance, trusting Jesus with our lives that results in His Spirit
entering our very being. God's
forgiveness is not the end of the matter.
The goal of initial forgiveness is having a trusting relationship
with God Himself. When we as Christians
realize we have committed a sin that God has already forgiven, we thank
Jesus that He sits at God's side as our lawyer and atoning sacrifice (1
John 2:1 - 2) who deflects God's righteous wrath from us due to the sin in
question. Without this reality
burned into our souls, the sin and resulting guilt will disable us from
being the Christians we are called to be.
Once admitting to the
sin in question we seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and a brother or
sister in Jesus if needed, to overcome the sin.
The goal of this process is not to get a sin forgiven that has
already been forgiven. The
goal is to stop the sin and restore that which was lost in our
relationship with God due to the sin.
This is how it works with God and us, and I believe it is how it
works with our human relationships.
Conflict is commonplace
in relationships, much of which is due to an irritation, which is not a
sin. I'm not addressing an
irritation but an offense, a sin against us and how we deal with its
lingering negative emotions.
Whether it's our
relationship with God, a family member, a church associate, or a friend, a
healthy relationship depends on trust that matures over time.
When trust is broken due to a sin, an offense, as with us and God,
genuine repentance is required by the offender followed by genuine
forgiveness or deletion of the offense by the offended.
Only then is reconciliation possible.
A mutual hiding of the sin under the proverbial carpet, pretending
it's gone, will fail to produce a lasting reconciliation.
When the next conflict due to sin arises, all of the unresolved
offenses explode, messing up the relationship all over again.
Repentance and
forgiveness is meant to lead to reconciliation, but how do we rid
ourselves of those lingering negative emotions caused by the offense?
I am not a sociologist offering you a seven step recovery program,
but if you are in tune with Jesus, His Spirit is available to assist you
in relinquishing these negative emotions.
Without Him, it's just a matter of human effort that has its
limitations. I realize that
sounds like a quick off-the- cuff answer, but it is our reality.
Then there's our Godly
obligation to love our offender whether he or she repents or not.
It's a decision we make, understanding that love does not condone
the sin. Neither do we become
a doormat to be stomped upon by the offender.
It's a difficult decision to follow through on, but again, God's
Spirit is available to help us. We
must admit that our loving attempts to reconcile can fail, and often does
fail, but the process can help to relinquish our unwanted negative
emotions. Not even the love of
Jesus has led everyone to repentance. If your attempts at
reconciliation fail, the process you put yourself through will not fail to
produce a maturity in your relationship with Jesus that will over time
deal with the lingering emotions of a failed relationship.
It has worked for me and it can work for you.
Scripture
Reference 1 John 2:1 - 2 "My dear children,
I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we
have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but
also for the sins of the whole world."
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