Biblical Building Block #16 Forgive One Another (Colossians 3:13) – PART 3

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from a Bible Study Series taught at Fellowship Baptist Church, titled “Biblical Building Blocks for Strengthening Relationships.”

Biblical Building Block #16 Forgive One Another (Colossians 3:13) – PART 3

Colossians 3:13, Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

3. God forgives Totally.
God never does anything partially or halfway, including forgiveness of our sin. Notice: The following Scriptures.
Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:17, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Jeremiah 31:34, “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Micah 7:18-19, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

This means when we confess our sin, God wipes out every heavenly memory and every trace, making it, as far as His eternal records are concerned, as if our sin never happened. That's great news because we don't have to feel guilty about something that never happened. In legal terms, this means our sins have been expunged—they have been erased, or removed, completely. God wants us to forgive where we don’t remember it against them. I can remember it to watch out for them, but I shouldn’t go around remembering it to hold it against them. Let’s say I do something to you and you have forgiven me for it. You don’t go around and remember it against me. You remember it in a sense that knowing I’m frail, feeble, that I’m a human being. But you don’t hold it saying; “I remember what he did to me”. If you remember it holding bitterness than you haven’t forgiven. I want to remember my offences, that it humbles me, and reminds me not to do that brainless thing again. It requires our response to go to the next level as we choose to freely and wholeheartedly forgive with no restraints and no strings attached. Just as God has extended His grace to us so many times by freely forgiving us of our sins against Him.

This is wonderful news because when our sins are forgiven, there is no longer any barrier in our relationship with God. We can take advantage of the promise in Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Perhaps you don’t have any idea what your act of forgiveness will do for the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” They thought they were killing a blasphemer, but in reality, they were crucifying the Saviour of the sins of the world. Stephen said, “Lord lay not this sin to their charge.” They thought they were stoning a heretic, but God was launching the Apostle Paul.

Questions to Consider:
Can you think of someone whom you wronged, intentionally or unintentionally, but regardless of your bad behavior, they took the high road and forgave you for it?
How much precious time was wasted that could never be recaptured because you got upset?
Have you considered that this may be something you’re going through right now?
Why don’t you choose forgiveness, move on, and let the Lord deal with it in His own way?

Points to Ponder:
I confess that I take heed to myself and I refuse to walk in unforgiveness, bitterness, or strife.
Neither do I attempt to justify my own negative behavior in response to what upset me.
Instead, I choose to give place to the love of God, which is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit who indwells me.
I make a daily decision to love and to forgive others as God through Christ has loved and forgiven me.

Prayer, Father God, please reveal those I need to forgive. Shine the bright light of Your truth into the dark corners of my heart, where I hide unforgiveness. I choose today to forgive. Because it’s something You commanded me, I know it’s possible. And because it’s something that pleases You, I beg You to help me. Please help me to forgive, deeply, from my heart, as You have forgiven me. Wherever possible, and as much as it depends on me, please heal my relationships. In the name of Jesus, who paid the highest price for my forgiveness, amen.

Thank you for reading PART 3 of Biblical Building Block #16 of this series. Please visit this website tomorrow for Biblical Building Block #17 of this series.

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