Most believers agree that God wants us to forgive, but you and I both know how difficult forgiveness can be to walk out. Over the next 5 days, I’m going to discuss 5 essential truths about forgiveness from God’s word. These truths will help you transfer the principle of forgiveness from your head to your heart. Today is the day to forgive. Now is the time to walk in freedom.
Troy Black
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:24
Forgiveness is Impossible
Yes, you read that right. Forgiveness is impossible. Before you start throwing Bibles at me, let me explain. I don’t mean forgiveness is always impossible, but that it’s impossible when we are walking in the old nature. We can know in our minds that forgiveness is the right step to take, but if you or I are trying to take that step in our own strength, we’re going to find ourselves facing an impossible task.
The way God makes forgiveness possible for us is by giving us the nature of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross in order to accept the punishment for sin that we deserved. We owed an enormous debt that we could never pay, but Jesus paid our debt with His own life. When He did that, He offered the righteousness of God to everyone who believes in Him.
God expects us to release others of their debts because Jesus willingly went through hell in order to release us of ours. Walking in the nature of Christ means keeping the truth of His sacrifice in the forefront of our hearts and minds. It means allowing the gospel to influence every aspect of life.
By placing our complete hope in what Jesus did for us, we’re able to consistently respond with grace instead of a grudge. That doesn’t mean we are perfect—we’re still human. However, the more we are walking in the life Christ provides, the more our actions are going to reflect His character.
Day 2
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 4:19, Matthew 5:43-45, Romans 12:14, Romans 12:17-19
Forgiveness is a Sacrifice
“God, why haven’t you struck that person with lightning yet?” Has that thought ever run through your mind? We all have thoughts like this at times, but we need to keep in mind the origin of those thoughts. Vengeful thinking starts in the old sin nature, and it takes root in our hearts if we allow it.
In order to truly forgive someone, God expects us to follow the example of Jesus and make a sacrifice. We obviously don’t have to make the same sacrifice Jesus made for us, but we do have to be willing to let go of the reigns of justice—our right to get revenge.
When someone wrongfully hurts us, they do owe us. I’m not denying that. Real forgiveness is not pretending like someone never hurt us at all. Instead, it’s choosing to release them from that debt even though they don’t deserve it. It means choosing to let go of our right to get even.
I understand that this doesn’t come naturally to us. We want to feel like life is fair. However, the more we learn to trust God and His character, the easier it becomes. We need to keep in mind that God has the better perspective. The Bible says He can see the true intentions and actions of those who have hurt us, and that He is just. The more we believe God’s words about Himself, the easier it is to put the outcome into His hands.
One practical way to do this is to pray for the person who wronged you. Pray for their good, not their evil. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He prayed for the very people who were killing Him, saying, “Father, forgive them.” He is our perfect example.
Day 3
Scriptures: Hebrews 2:17-18, Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 12:1-3, Hebrews 12:14-15, Ephesians 4:31-32
Forgiveness Means Breaking Down Walls
One of my deepest scars has been the lasting mark of rejection. Because of a period of isolation I walked through many years ago, I began to harbor unforgiveness in my heart toward friends and family. Over time, that unforgiveness turned to bitterness, and the bitterness bred a rejection mindset. This is something I sometimes still struggle with today (I’m not perfect either), but I’ve also learned that bitterness is a liar.
Bitterness will tell you to build walls around yourself. It will enforce walls of protection around your heart. Even though the walls feel right at first, they ultimately hurt us. They eventually cage us in.
So, how do we break down the walls? We combat the lie. Bitterness tells you that no one understands how you feel, but that’s not true. Jesus understands. Hebrews 4:14 tells us that Jesus can “sympathize with our weaknesses.” No matter what pain you have experienced, Jesus has felt it too. He was unloved, lied about, abused physically and verbally, rejected, humiliated, abandoned, betrayed, and killed. Because He lived a perfect life, He deserved all of God’s blessings. Instead, He received all of our pain. No matter what you have been through, you need to know that Jesus can empathize with you.
When we draw near to Jesus, read His words, and listen for His voice, we can hear Him saying, I understand how that feels. That’s when the walls begin to come down. As we allow our heart to be softened by the love of our Savior, He replaces bitterness with freedom.
As we enjoy freedom through the Holy Spirit, we are compelled to share that same freedom with others by choosing to forgive them when they wrong us.
Day 4
Scriptures: Romans 2:2-4, John 13:34-35, Ephesians 2:4-10, Luke 6:45, Romans 12:21
Forgiveness Responds to Evil With Good
There’s nothing wrong with encouraging good behavior, but we need to remember it is not our behavior that saves us. One false gospel that is sometimes preached is that we can earn salvation through good works. However, Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are saved “by grace” and “through faith.” Jesus did everything on the cross, and we get to receive salvation when we believe in Him.
To respond to evil with good, we have to start with this truth: apart from Jesus, we can do nothing (see John 15:5). Ephesians 2 goes on to explain that, when we accept salvation through faith, we are then able to live out the good works for which we were created. Let me say it another way: to live like Christ, we have to allow the gospel to change who we are, not simply what we do.
I’m not making an excuse for our actions never changing. I’m saying that we cannot truly change our actions until we allow the love of Jesus to saturate our hearts and minds. If you have a hard time responding to evil with good, my encouragement to you is to return to the scene of the cross. The Bible says that the cross was God’s demonstration of His love for us (see Romans 5:8). If you want to be sure of how much God loves you, look at Jesus hanging on that tree. Look at the nails in His feet and hands. Look at the spear in His side. Look at the thorns on His head.
It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been saved, we all still need to be reminded of the cross. You still need it. I still need it.
The more our hearts are centered on the gospel, the more we are able to respond to evil the way Jesus did. When others (especially those who have wronged us) see us respond to evil with good, they are seeing the gospel lived out in our lives. They are seeing God’s love in action.
Day 5
Scriptures: Romans 8:1-2, 2 Corinthians 2:7-11, Isaiah 1:18, Colossians 3:12-13