Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website ecb .asia or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Good morning, my brothers.
My sisters, so glad to be in here with you, worshiping
our Lord and coming to his word. We're in a series
called oxygen, I may call forgiveness, the oxygen
of the kingdom. Now, in case of an emergency,
there will be oxygen masks that drop down above
you. And please put your mask on first before
trying to put the mask on of the person sitting
next to you. Everyone got that? How many times
have you heard that announcement before? Every
time you fly, right? It's interesting because
they tell you, don't try to put on the mask,
the oxygen mask of your child sitting next to
you or your elderly parents sitting next to you
first. You put your oxygen mask on and then you
help others to put their oxygen mask on. You
know, it's interesting because when we think
about forgiveness, What we think about is oftentimes
that we need to forgive someone for their sake.
But what we're going to learn this morning is
that actually we need to forgive others for our
sake as well. You see, we might think that we
only forgive someone if they repent, that we
only forgive someone if they're a believer in
Jesus Christ, but that's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches us that we are to forgive everyone.
And what we're going to learn this morning is
that we forgive because God wants us to be set
free. And so forgiveness sets us free. Now, as
we think about this, I want you to listen to
this quote from D .A. Carson in a book called
Love in Hard Places. He said, Christians are
called to abandon bitterness, to be forbearing,
to have a forgiving stance, meaning to stand
in forgiveness. Even where the repentance of
the offending party is conspicuous by its absence,
meaning no one's asked you to forgive them, and
maybe you forgive them and they don't even know
that you've forgiven them. On the other hand,
their God -centered passion for justice, their
concern for God's glory, ensure that the awful
odium of sin is not glossed over. You see, forgiveness
is not simply taking what someone has done against
us and sweeping it under the rug. We serve a
holy God. We serve a just God. And we know that
sin does not go unpunished. In fact, it's the
reason why Jesus, God himself, came to this earth,
became a man. And was crucified on the cross
because sin cannot go unpunished. And we're going
to look to Jesus this morning as we understand
that forgiveness sets us free. Now, it's interesting
because you might say from last week, you might
say, well, you know, it says, well, if you rebuke
your brother or your sister and they repent,
then forgive them. Does that mean that we only
forgive if someone repents? Well, it's interesting
from the context of that passage. It says that
even if they repent seven times because you continually
tell them how they've sinned against you and
they repent, but then they do it again. And then
you confront them and they repent and then they
do it again and you confront them and they repent.
Seven times a day, every day, you're still supposed
to forgive them. But you might think, well, what
if that person is not a believer? Well, here
in Hebrews 12, 14 through 15, it says, make every
effort to live in peace with everyone. Not just
some people, not just the people who repent,
not just the people who are believers, but actually
with everyone and to be holy. Because without
holiness, no one will see the Lord. See to it
that no one falls short of the grace of God and
that no bitter root grows up. You see, we're
supposed to make every effort to live in peace
with everyone. Now, in each one of our hearts,
I want to tell you that you might have a facility
that you didn't know that you have. And it's
not a facility that God made, but it's actually
a facility in your heart that comes because We
are, even though we are believers, we are simultaneously
saint and sinner. Meaning that when you trusted
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you still
struggle with sin. Sure, God took some sin and
he just said, you know what, I'm going to wipe
that out and you don't have to struggle with
that anymore. But there are sins that all of
us still struggle with. We are simultaneously
saint and sinner. And we have this jail cell
that is within our hearts. that we lock people
up in. I can remember when I was a kid seeing
old movies because I'm old. All right, I'm going
to be 57 in three weeks. And I can remember like
50 years ago watching movies. Believe it or not,
television wasn't even in color in my house.
So I was watching black and white. But I remember
watching movies and watching television shows
where the town drunk or someone that did something
wrong would get locked up in a jail cell. And
they would be locked up in this old movie, and
they'd be locked up in the jail cell, and they'd
have maybe their cup in their tin cup where they
would drink water out of, and they'd be clanging
it on the bars, just making an awful noise, just
causing disruption to the point where the jailer's
just going, and you can just see the frustration
on the jailer's face. You see, the problem is
that when we lock people up within our hearts
because we choose not to forgive them, we choose
not to release them, what happens is they're
right in there clanging on the bars, waking us
up at night, making us think over and over again
about what that person said or what that person
did, and they may not even know that we have
them within the jail cells of our hearts. So
who's really getting punished here? Who's really
locked? up. You see, the truth is, here's the
truth of the bondage of bitterness, that when
you lock them up, it actually chains you down.
It chains me down. Now, I got to give credit
where credit's due. There was a person who helped
me create this cartoon -like image, and her name
is A. Her last name is I. And it's kind of amazing.
this image that she created. But it brings us
to this next passage before we get into our main
passage, because you still may say, you know,
I don't know if I should forgive everyone. What
if that person doesn't repent? I don't think
I should forgive them. What if that person's
not a Christian? I don't think I should forgive
them. But in Mark 11, 25, Jesus said, he said,
when you stand praying, or when you kneel praying,
or when you're praying, if you hold anything
against anyone, forgive them so that your Father
in heaven may forgive your sins. Now, what does
it mean to be praying? Well, it means in your
relationship with God, as you're talking with
God, realize that the reason why you're able
to talk with God is because of who you are in
Christ, that you are a sinner. who was saved
by grace, that I am a sinner who was saved by
grace, that while we were still enemies, that
Christ died for us. So when we're having this
relationship with God in which we have the privilege
to talk to God, the God and creator of the universe,
if we hold anything against anyone, whether they're
Christian or whether they're non -Christian,
whether they've repented or whether they haven't
repented, we are to do what? Let's say it out
loud. What are we to do? Forgive them. So that
your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.
And you think, well, is that conditional? The
point isn't that every time you forgive them,
then God forgives you. It's not a conditional
forgiveness. It's unconditional. But what it
means is, is that you actually understand that
your Father in heaven has forgiven your sins
and therefore... You can forgive others, but
it also is understanding that God has a heart
for every single one of his children and he doesn't
want us to be tormented by actually locking ourselves
up in our own jail cell because we can't stop
thinking about the person who's offended us.
In fact, in 1 Peter 4, 8, it says, above all,
love each other deeply because love covers over
a multitude of sins. There are a lot of things
that people have said to you. A hurtful comment
here. A sharp, biting comment there. And maybe
you find yourself, you know, going, well, you
know, usually this person doesn't say stuff like
that, but they said this to me, and boy, I just,
you know, it just keeps bouncing around in my
mind. Think about this verse. Love covers over
a multitude of sins. We don't need to be people
who every time someone does anything to us that
we have to confront them and rebuke them. That's
not what the Scripture teaches. But there are
times when we can just forgive someone and say,
you know what, that's not usually their behavior.
They don't usually make sarcastic comments to
me that hurt my feelings, and I'm just going
to forgive them. But there are times when someone
maybe is making a sarcastic comment towards you
over and over and over again. Maybe it's a person
you're married to. And you need to talk with
them because you're having a hard time forgiving
them. And out of love for them and out of love
for yourself, that relationship needs to be restored.
Or maybe it's someone in the church. Or maybe
it's a co -worker. Maybe it's even someone who
doesn't even know Christ. But they have no idea
how they're affecting others. in the office or
how they're affecting others at the school. So
let me say what forgiveness is not before we
look at what forgiveness is. And then before
we look at the main passage we're going to be
looking at, which is in Romans 12, as we talk
about being set free from the bondage of bitterness.
Forgiveness is not condoning the offender's behavior.
Remember, we've just sang a bunch of songs about
God's holiness. God is a holy and a just God.
And so When we forgive, we're not condoning the
offender's behavior. Whether it's something small
or whether it's a very serious offense. Let me
tell you what also forgiveness is not. Forgiveness
is not continuing in an abusive situation. God
calls us to forgive anyone and everyone. But
it doesn't mean that we need to remain in an
abusive situation. You know, the truth is is
that God's word speaks against abusive situations.
Let's, for instance, take marriage. What happens
when a wife is abused by her husband? Her husband
abuses his wife. I can remember Early on in my
ministry, and I served as a senior pastor, as
a lead pastor for 20 years before becoming a
missionary with Nexus International and focusing
on making disciple -making youth ministries.
In my early years, there was a woman who came
to me. She was in her late 30s. Her husband was
in his early 40s. He was 41. She said, my husband
is hitting me. He's abusing me. And he's also
calling me all kinds of names. And I feel about
this small. And I don't know what to do. And
I said, you know, I said, God sees you. And God
doesn't condone this behavior. In fact, he hates
this behavior. And I shared with her a passage
from the book of Malachi where it says that God
hates the man who covers his garment in violence.
What does that mean? Well, in many countries
today, they use wedding rings to symbolize that
a person's married. But in the Jewish culture
at the time, and remember Malachi is the book
right before the New Testament. It's the last
book in the Old Testament. In the Jewish times,
what a man would do during the wedding ceremony
is he would place a garment around his bride.
And that garment was to symbolize two things.
One, provision, that he was making a promise
to provide for her. But the second was protection,
that he was promising to protect her. And God
says that when a man covers his garment in violence,
that God hates that man. God hates the act of
a man that promises that he is going to protect
and provide his wife, but instead creates a situation
where he covers those promises in violence and
abuses his wife. And by the way, it's also not
okay for a wife to abuse her husband because
I've seen that happen too. I went and I talked
with that 41 -year -old man. I won't share with
you his name, but when I talked with him, I said,
look, I know what you're doing to your wife because
she shared it with me. And it's wrong, and here's
what God's word says. And he didn't change. He
claimed to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but he
didn't change. He kept abusing her. He kept hitting
her. He kept calling her names that he should
not have even allowed come out of his mouth.
So you can't tell me that God doesn't care about
a man's promise to protect and provide for his
wife. God does not call us to continue in abusive
situations. Now sure, are there times when we
do? Yes, I can give you examples in the scripture
where the Apostle Paul was abused, wrongly put
in prison, beaten as a Roman citizen. But he
did say, you know, I just want to let you know
I'm a Roman citizen. And they're like, uh -oh,
we've done something wrong. There were times
when Joseph was wrongly imprisoned for something
that he didn't do because His boss's wife said
that he raped her when he did no such thing and
he was put in prison for two years. But God had
plans for him. God had plans that he would become
second in Egypt. You see, if you find yourself
in an abusive situation, realize that God sympathizes
with you and he does not call you to... to continue
in that abusive relationship, that that abuse
needs to either go away or that relationship
needs to be dealt with. If you find yourself
in that situation, maybe as a man, and you say,
you know what? I don't want to do this, but I
do this. Or if you find yourself in a situation
as a woman where you're like, this is happening
to me. Or even as a man, this is happening to
me. There is help. In fact, you can email counseling
at ecb .asia. And this church has a passion for
helping couples. We have a marriage workshop
that's coming up. But please understand that
forgiveness is not continuing in an abusive relationship,
but we're always called to forgive. for our own
sakes. And that doesn't mean forgetting. You
see, it's not forgetting what happened and remaining
silent. Some people think in the church that
if someone does something wrong, that we'll just
handle it in -house, but there are some things
that aren't handled in -house. I know in my country,
as a pastor, if I hear of abuse of a child, it's
mandatory reporting, meaning I have to report
it. That's the law. There are churches that you've
seen throughout history that have had even their
leaders abusing children. And people have just,
the church has kept it silent. But that's not
to happen. You see, we know in the context of
the passage we're going to be looking at in Romans
12, that right after Romans 12 is Romans 13,
talking about governing authorities. And it says
that if someone's committing a crime, that government
authorities, don't bear the sword for nothing.
They're there because of God's ordained will
to help keep order in society and to make sure
things like this don't happen. You see, it's
not forgetting what happened and remaining silent,
but it's also not turning a blind eye to justice
because we serve a holy God. who is a just God,
who has chosen to pay for our sins through the
person of his Son, so that rather than seeing
our sin, he sees his perfect Son for every person
who believes in him and trusts in him. But God
also calls us to holiness, and he calls us to
be transformed as we behold the glory of the
Lord as seen in the face of Jesus. But I can
tell you that forgiveness is also not this. It's
also not easy. And there is hope for not only
releasing people from the bondage of bitterness
in this jail cell that we've locked them up in
in our hearts, but also releasing ourselves when
we release them and when we trust God to deal
with them. And we're going to be talking about
that. So what is forgiveness? Well, Phil shared
with you a definition. During the first week,
and I reiterated that definition last week, but
forgiveness is this. Biblical forgiveness is
the grace -enabled decision to release someone
from my personal right to collect the debt they
owe me because God, through the substitutionary
suffering and payment of Jesus Christ, has released
me from my debt. Why do we love? Because God
first loved us. Why do we forgive? Because God
has forgiven us. And if we can't forgive someone
else, then you have to question, do I really
understand God's forgiveness of me and am I really
trusting in him? Do I really see my own sin?
And do I see that while I was still an enemy,
that Christ died for me? You see, forgiveness
gives us both the emotional humility and the
emotional wealth to rise above the bitterness
that so easily entangles us. and weighs us down
by providing us power to overcome the revenge
culture that plagues our fallen world. You know,
there was a code a long time ago called Hammurabi's
Code. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,
and that's how many people operated. And yet,
there was a very famous person by the name of
Gandhi who said, an eye for an eye and the whole
world goes blind. And whether you're a Christian
or not, you can see that revenge and an eye for
an eye is not ever helpful. Because it's a culture,
this revenge culture that plagues our fallen
world. And so God calls us to forgive. And when
we forgive, it gives us both emotional humility
and it gives us emotional wealth. It gives us
emotional humility in the sense that we realize
that We all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. And in fact, in the Greek, Romans
3 .23 says, we all have sinned and keep on falling
short of the glory of God. And in chapter 6,
for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. And what
we see is that we are simultaneously saint and
sinner. Paul said, what I want to do, I don't
do. And what I don't want to do, I do. He called
himself the chief of sinners. And if Paul calls
himself the chief of sinners, can't we have the
emotional humility to see how much God has forgiven
us so that we can forgive others? That doesn't
mean there isn't going to be consequences. When
it's a serious sin, there needs to be consequences.
But forgiveness gives us emotional humility,
but it also gives us emotional wealth. Now let
me explain that because when I realize who I
am in Christ and when you realize who you are
in Christ, it gives incredible emotional wealth
because it empowers us to forgive by helping
us to understand that we are completely known
by God. In fact, God knows every thought that
you think through your head. Every thought you've
ever thought, every thought you think now, and
every thought you're going to think in the future,
God knows every thought and he knows everything
you do. He sees everything you do. Every time
you've sinned against God, every time you've
cheated and thought that no one else saw, every
time you've been dishonest and you think, well,
I don't think anyone will figure it out, God
saw it. And God knows. Every time you've gossiped
about someone, God knows. We are completely known.
He knows our fears. He knows our anxieties. He
knows everything about us. We are completely
known. But we are also, in Christ, fully loved.
You see, that's real. That's real love. Because
if we were not completely known, but we were
fully loved by God, that would just be superficial.
Or if we were completely known by God, but we
weren't fully loved, that would be the scariest
thing on earth. But because we're completely
known and fully loved, it means that God has
forgiven us in the person of Jesus Christ to
the point where if we really understand that
and we have that kind of emotional wealth, that
we can forgive others. Now, forgiveness sets
you free. That sounds a lot like something else.
It sounds like Red Bull gives you wings. And
so I asked my friend A, create for me an image,
and I told her what image I'd like her to create,
and she created this. Forgiveness gives you wings.
Red Bull, to rise above revenge. Actually, red
blood of Jesus Christ gives us forgiveness that
allows us to forgive. And when we forgive, it
gives us wings to rise above revenge. Now, in
today's message, we're going to be focusing on
Romans 12, verses 17 through 21. And God is actually
going to teach us. In this passage, how to rise
above revenge and be set free from the bondage
of bitterness. As we forgive those who have sinned
against us by learning how to transfer our offenders
from our system of justice to God's system of
justice in Jesus. You see, you may think that
there's no other option, that that person has
to get locked up within that jail cell of your
heart. And so you are on call and on duty 24
hours a day. Seven days a week, 365 days a year,
because if you don't take care of them, then
who is going to take care of them? If you don't
keep them locked up, who is going to keep them
locked up? But when we understand that we can
transfer a person from our system of justice,
from the jail cell within our hearts, and transfer
them to God's system of justice, it actually
gives us the power to forgive. Because we understand
that we're transferring them to the system of
justice of a holy and perfect, just God. And
by understanding the principle that we're going
to be looking at in this particular passage,
we are going to be empowered to forgive in ways
that maybe we haven't been able to forgive in
the past. So how can forgiveness set us free
from the bondage of bitterness? Well, number
one, Never return evil for evil. We're going
to see that in this passage that if we are simultaneously
saint and sinner, that we can never return evil
for evil. But you know who doesn't ever return
evil for evil? God. You see, the truth is, is
as a person who is simultaneously saint and sinner,
many times I do return evil for evil. I'll be
honest with you. Someone gossips against me,
I'm going to make sure I gossip against them.
Someone hurts me, I'm going to hurt someone worse.
And what God says to me is, Craig, that's not
right. That's not what followers of Jesus do.
Because followers of Jesus never return evil
for evil, even though oftentimes they do. So
I can't, I can't not return evil for evil. Because
there's still part of me that, like Paul said,
wants to do right but does wrong. And the wrong
that I don't want to do, I wind up doing. And
I think probably you feel the same way and you
look and say, how in the world could I never
return evil for evil? You know, the passage says
in Romans 12, 17, do not repay anyone evil for
evil. This isn't rocket science. The scriptures
say that when Jesus was on the cross, they cast
insults on him, but when they reviled him and
cast insults on him, he did not return insults.
When they did evil to Jesus by crucifying the
creator of this world, who did nothing but love
people, who did nothing but heal people, who
did nothing but say yes to God and no to sin,
Jesus never repaid evil for evil. He could have
come off that cross and he could have destroyed
the whole world and it wouldn't have been evil.
Because in his justice, he could have done that.
But he actually chose, even in his justice, to
pay for our sins by inwardly absorbing our sin
into himself and upon himself when he was being
crucified on the cross. Number two, always do
what is right. You think, always do what is right.
That seems impossible. And yet the scripture
tells us and Paul teaches us, be careful to do
what is right in the eyes of everyone. Do you
realize that not only God is always watching,
but did you know that someone else is always
watching you? Do you know that there are cameras
all over this world? And they're always watching
you. And I don't think we even recognize that.
I'll give you an example. I lost my phone here
in Thailand. And I knew where I lost it. And
I went to the police department and I said, yeah,
I lost my phone here. And they actually pulled
up on the screen the time that I lost it, the
place that I lost it. I had no idea there were
cameras. And all of a sudden they go, yep, that's
your phone. You lost it because you put it on
your motorbike seat and it fell off when you
got on your motorbike. And then someone came
along and they picked it up and here's their
license plate number. And the Thai police called
that person and got my phone back. That's how
amazing the Thai police are. But it just goes
to show you, you're being watched. And thank
God Thailand uses that for good. But I want to
tell you that others are watching you as well.
Your children are watching you. Your parents
are watching you. Your non -believing friends
are watching you. Those who are younger in the
faith are watching you. We need to be careful
to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
Because Jesus said, they will know you are my
disciples if you what? If you love one another.
And when we have an unforgiving spirit, it's
very evident. When we come into contact with
that person, we might find ourselves not being
able to engage in what we're supposed to be engaged
with because we're always thinking about someone
who hurt us or something that happened to us.
But we need to be careful to do what is right
in the eyes of everyone. And yet we don't, but
there's one who did. Jesus always said yes to
God and always said no to sin. And he did that
because oftentimes we say no to God and say yes
to sin. Jesus died for not just the sins that
we committed in the past, but the sins that you
will commit today and the sins that you will
commit in the future. Not because you want to
commit those sins, but because Jesus had to die
for every single one of our sins in order for
us to be saved. Now, number three, live at peace
with everyone. It's interesting, we already looked
at Hebrews 12, 14 and 15 that says make every
effort to live in peace with everyone. So this
isn't the only time that this is said. In fact,
it's said many times throughout the scriptures
and we think about peace and we think about Romans
12, 18 that says if it is possible, as far as
it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Now we know that sometimes that's not possible
because a person absolutely refuses to live at
peace with us. And yet, the scripture teaches
us, if it is possible, in your context, in your
situation, as far as it depends on you, live
at peace with everyone. That's a tall order.
And yet, who is the prince of peace? It's Jesus
Christ. And he came to this world and did what
he did. He lived a perfect life that you and
I could never live in order to give us his righteousness,
in order to every time he said yes to God and
no to sin, to give that righteousness to us and
put that righteousness upon us for every person
who trusts in him. But he came to die for our
sins so that we could actually be at peace with
God. And so if he has enabled us to be at peace
with God because of what Christ did, then I'd
read this passage and say if it is possible,
as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone. When we see what Jesus has done for
us so that we can be at peace with God, is there
anyone that we ourselves cannot be at peace with
as far as it depends on us? But what if they're
our enemy? What if they're doing things that
are constantly hurting us? Well, while we were
still enemies, Christ died for us. Maybe in God's
sovereignty, he wants us to love our enemies
and pray for those who persecute us because they
will see our love and see the peace that we have
with God that we've extended to them and that
God will somehow open their eyes to the beauty
of Jesus and they'll be transformed. Number four,
never avenge yourself. We don't have the right
to avenge anyone because we ourselves are sinners.
And if we think we have the right to avenge someone,
it's because we think that somehow we're not
as bad as they are. But in Romans 12, 19 through
20, it says, Do not take revenge, my friends,
but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written,
it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the
Lord. It's interesting because when we look at
this passage, do not take revenge, my friends,
but leave room for God's wrath. If God avenges,
he has every right to avenge because he is a
holy and a just God and he is without sin. We
don't have any right to avenge. But here's what's
so beautiful that sets us free. When we understand
God's system of justice that I don't have the
right to lock people up within the jail cell
of my heart. But when I transfer that person
from my system of justice to a holy God and a
just God who he has the right to avenge, then
all of a sudden that makes forgiveness a little
bit easier because I realize that I don't have
to keep that person under my watch 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Instead,
I can say, you know what, God? You're a holy,
you're a just God. You know far better than me.
And so I'm going to transfer and I'm going to
take them out of my jail and I'm going to put
them in Jesus' jail. But you know what I'm going
to do? I'm actually going to pray. I'm going
to love my enemies and I'm going to pray for
those who persecute me so that they might come
to know the same forgiveness in Christ and the
same transformation in Christ that I've experienced
in my own life. That's what God calls us to do.
But if they don't, you don't have to worry because
God is a holy and just God and if they don't
allow Jesus to pay for their sins and to transform
their lives, then guess what? God will avenge
you. Leave room for God's wrath. Because if you
try to exercise wrath, we learned last week,
what's it gonna do? Like a wreath, it's gonna
twist you. Like a wraith, it's gonna haunt you.
And they're not the ones who are gonna be punished.
It's actually gonna be you because of your own
sin of unforgiveness. But when we forgive, it
sets us free. It gives us wings to love our enemies
and to pray for those who persecute us. And then
there's the final command that God gives us through
the Apostle Paul in Romans 12, 21, overcome evil
with good. And we think, isn't that what Jesus
did on the cross? Didn't he overcome evil with
good? It says, do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good. How do we do good? Well,
in the verse right before that, you saw up on
the screen, verse 20, it says, on the contrary,
if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he's
thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing
this, you'll heap burning coals on his head.
I don't know if you've ever experienced this
before, but I've had people just be nasty to
me. Even some Christians being nasty to me. I
mean, where all of a sudden I'm just being peaceful
and they're just coming at me. Maybe it's over
the discussion of the Bible. And I just go, you
know what? Jesus doesn't want me to insult someone
even if they're insulting me. In fact, he's called
me to the opposite. And you know what happens
every single time? If I keep my calm and I'm
respectful towards them, every single time, for
some reason, one day later, two days later, they
come back and say, you know, I'm so sorry. I
was so disrespectful to you. But every single
time that when they've shoved me, I've shoved
them, or when they've been insulting to me, I've
insulted them. Every single time, guess what?
I'm the one that has to go back to them and say,
I'm so sorry. I reacted in an unholy and ungodly
way and I should have been loving and kind and
I should have been peaceful and patient and gentle
rather than being harsh and I'm sorry. And sometimes,
they look at you and they just say, well, yeah,
you should be sorry. And you're just like, okay.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good. And that's what Jesus did on the cross.
He died on the cross for our sins. He lived a
perfect life for our righteousness. So that...
When God looks at us, rather than seeing our
sin, he sees his perfect son. You see, forgiveness
can set us free from the bondage of bitterness
when we transfer those who have sinned against
us from our system of justice to God's system
of justice. When we realize that God is a holy
and just God, and you know what? He will take
care of unrepentant people. He will take care
of people who we look at and say, how can I forgive
those people? And when we see and we think about
that, we say, you know what, I've got to love
my enemy. I have to pray for those who persecute
me because I wouldn't want, I want them to experience
what I've experienced, forgiveness. I don't want
them to have to pay the penalty for all of their
sins. Can we fast forward the slide? Let me see
here. Did it go backward? Okay. You see, that's
the bondage of bitterness. When I lock them up,
it chains me down. Again. Next slide. Therefore,
I must release my offenders from the jail cell
within my heart and transfer my offenders to
the justice system of Jesus. And what happens
when I do this? I got a final graphic for you
here. Can you advance the slide? And here's the
picture that I want you to see. That when we
release someone from our system of justice and
we transfer them to God's system of justice in
Jesus, when we actually love our enemies and
pray for those who persecute us, we want for
them what Jesus has done for us. That they would
trust in Jesus and that he would welcome them
into his arms and have a relationship with him.
that is so powerful that it transforms their
life to the point where we can actually walk
together as fellow believers, as brothers and
sisters in Christ, in a way in which we can love
each other in the way that Christ has loved us.
You see, forgiveness doesn't mean ignoring justice.
It entrusts it. to the one who can actually do
it right. We are incapable of doing justice right.
But God is perfectly capable with the things
that we experience in our imperfections. So the
forgiveness of Jesus, well, it gives us wings.
It really does. It helps us to rise above revenge.
The forgiveness of Jesus sets us free to love
others like Jesus has loved us. Let's pray. Heavenly
Father, we come before you and we thank you for
loving us so intensely that you are willing to
send your only begotten son to experience this
world that is marred by sin. To live a perfect
life. on our behalf to say yes to God every single
time and say no to sin. So that he could place
upon us his righteousness so that when you look
at us rather than seeing our sin you see your
perfect son. But he also died on the cross in
order to forgive us so that all of our sins could
be piled upon him. And that while we were still
enemies, that Christ died for us so that we could
experience the forgiveness of God and we could
be set free from the penalty of our own sin by
allowing God himself to pay the price for justice
and to pay the price for our wrongdoing. We thank
you. We thank you. for setting us free. Please
help us in our hearts to set others free, knowing
that you will do it right, that if they trust
you, their lives can be transformed. And I pray
that if there's someone here this morning that
doesn't know Jesus, that they would turn to you
and they would say, I want to know more. Please
reveal to me who this Jesus is because I want
to trust him. I want to receive him as the forgiver
of my sins and the leader of my life. I pray
that all of us would experience this love and
this grace that only Jesus can give. And I pray
that you would allow us to forgive. so that we
can be set free to love others like Jesus has
loved us. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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you.