Forgiveness is God's command, according to the Bible. We have to forgive others as quickly as we expect God to forgive us. We are supposed to forgive each other as Christ has forgiven us. Forgiveness is not something we do for others, we do it for ourselves to get well and move forward.
Jesus is our Model !
When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Forgiving someone can be difficult. Why do we need to forgive others? How can we forgive a person? The Bible can provide us with answers, inspiration and direction.
Actually, forgiveness is not only about others, but also about our own spiritual growth. Love and forgiveness cannot be separated. If we choose to live out the love of God as the purpose of our life, then forgiving is an option that cannot be avoided.
#1 Because we are sinners we should forgive others --------
Matthew 6:14-15 NIV For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Colossians 3:13 NIV Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
#2 Be ready to forgive over and over again ------
Matthew 18: 21-22 NIV Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
#3 To avoid making others be overwhelmed ------
2 corinthians 2:5-8 NIV If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
#4 Love will lead to forgiving others -------
1 corinthians 13:4 - 6 NIV Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
#5 Priority when it comes to forgiving others ------
Matthew 5:23-24 NIV
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
#6 Forgive others rather than judge others -------
Luke 6:37 NIV
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
John 8:7 NIV
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
#7 A remarkable example of forgiveness -------
Acts 7:59-60 NIV
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
#8 Jesus is our Model ------
Luke 23:33-34 NIV
When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
#9 Jesus’ command to us ------
Luke 17:3-4 NIV
So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says , ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
#10 How to treat enemies --------
Romans 12:20 NIV
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
I believe that your life must will be blessed through forgiving others. Would you like to choose to forgive for the benefit of others? Maybe your decision can bring an opportunity of redemption for others.
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Reasons to Forgive the Person You Hate the Most -
Forgiveness is God's command, according to the Bible. We have to forgive others as quickly as we expect God to forgive us. We are supposed to forgive each other as Christ has forgiven us. Forgiveness is not something we do for others, we do it for ourselves to get well and move forward.
Must-know Reasons To Forgive -------
#1. Forgive people who hurt us so that God may forgive us our sins.
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."(Mark 11:25)
#2. Forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior. Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.
#3. You will begin to heal when you let go of past hurts, forgive those who have wronged you and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes.
#4. Forgiveness does not change your past, but it does enlarge your future.
#5. You can't reach for anything new if your hands are full of yesterday's junk.
#6. It takes a strong person to say sorry but a stronger person to show forgiveness.
#7. Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.
#8. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.
#9. Pain is the fist that knocks you down. Forgiveness is the hand that helps you back up again.
#10. Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.
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Jesus' Teaching on Forgiveness: 7 Bible Verses You Should Know
1. Matthew 5:23-24 NIV
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
2. Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
3. Matthew 18: 21-22 NIV
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
4. Luke 6:37 NIV
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
5. Luke 17:3-4 NIV
So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says , ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
6. Luke 23:33-34 NIV
When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
7. John 8:7 NIV
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
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Quotes On Forgiveness -
#1. Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you.
#2. And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others.
#3. There are a lot of bad things in life that are evil. Not everything that happens in this world is God’s will, but that’s why we need God in our lives. So forgiveness isn’t forgetting what happened, it’s about finding what good came out of it.
#4. Once I forgive them I can stop looking at how they hurt me and start seeing why they did it. I can actually be sympathetic and begin to pray for them, for the hurt they carry that caused them to hurt others. I relinquish my right to get even. I respond to evil with good.
#5. To begin loving people today, we must close the door on the past. And that cannot happen without forgiveness! Forgive those who have hurt you - for your sake, not because they deserve it.
#6. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant it. It’s done. The price has been paid. You can be forgiven today.
#7. The love of Jesus Christ covers your sins, and it also gives you the power to let other people off the hook. You’ve been forgiven, and you can forgive others.
#8. "God's mercy to us is the motivation for showing mercy to others. Remember, you will never be asked to forgive someone else more than God has forgiven you."
#9. "Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior."
#10. "Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured."
#11. I forgive. First, because I've been forgiven by God. Second, unforgiveness makes me miserable. And third, I'm going to need more forgiveness in the future. So we don't forgive for their benefit. We actually forgive for ours.
#12. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves that allows us to get on with our lives instead of being trapped in the past by resentment.
16 Inspirational Quotes On Forgiveness -
#1. You will never forgive if you wait until you feel like it. Choose to obey God and steadfastly resist the devil in his attempts to poison you with bitter thoughts. Make a quality decision to forgive, and God will heal your wounded emotions in due time.
#2. You cannot forgive without the power of the Holy Spirit. It's too hard to do on your own. If you are truly willing, God will enable you, but you must humble yourself and cry out to Him for help. In John 20:22-23 Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit!" His next instruction was about forgiving people. Ask God to breathe the Holy Spirit on you so you can forgive those who've hurt you.
#3. Forgive quickly. The quicker you do it, the easier it is.
#4. Unforgiveness is spiritual filthiness, so get washed in the water of God's Word to forgive and stay clean.
#5. Forgiveness is not a feeling - it's a decision we make because we want to do what's right before God.
#6. I know from personal experience how damaging it can be to live with bitterness and unforgiveness. I like to say it's like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die. And it really is that harmful to us to live this way.
#7. When you make a mistake and the devil comes and tells you 'You're no good,' you don't have to take on the guilt and condemnation he wants to put on you. No! You can immediately confess your mistake to God, thank Him for forgiving you and cleansing you with the blood of Jesus, and move forward in the victory of His grace and forgiveness.
#8. Who are you helping most when you forgive the person who hurt you? Actually, you're helping yourself more than the other person. I always looked at forgiving people who hurt me as being really hard. I thought it seemed so unfair for them to receive forgiveness when I had gotten hurt. I got pain, and they got freedom without having to pay for the pain they caused. Now I realize that I'm helping myself when I choose to forgive.
#9. Do yourself a favor and forgive anyone that has anything against you. Do it as an act of faith and trust God to change and heal your emotions. Pray for your enemies and never say another unkind thing about them. It is the only way you can move past the pain and begin to heal.
#10. Forgiveness is not a one-time thing that happened the day you received Christ. It is an everyday thing, for the rest of your life.
#11. Choosing forgiveness is one of the most difficult things God asks us to do, especially if we believe that who ever hurt us is in the wrong and doesn't deserve to be forgiven. But God instructs us to practice forgiveness. And when we choose to follow the path of forgiveness, we will experience the peace and joy that come through obeying God's Word.
#12. When you forgive, you must cancel the debt. Do not spend your life paying and collecting debts.
#13. Your fellowship with God flows freely when you’re willing to forgive, but it gets blocked by unforgiveness.
#14. Many people ruin their health and their lives by taking the poison of bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. Matthew 18:23-35 tells us that if we do not forgive people, we get turned over to the torturers.
#15. Forgive God if you are angry with Him because your life didn’t turn out the way you thought it should. God is always just. There may be things you don’t understand, but God loves you, and people make a serious mistake when they don’t receive help from the only One who can truly help them.
#16. You may even need to forgive a situation or an object—the post office, bank, a certain store that may have cheated you, a car that always gave you trouble, etc. Get rid of all poison that comes from bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.
15 Inspirational Quotes On Forgiveness ........
#1. We have to remember, when we forgive we're not doing it just for the other person, we're doing it for our own good. When we hold on to unforgiveness and we live with grudges in our hearts, all we're doing is building walls of separation.
#2. You must forgive the people who hurt you so you can get out of prison. You'll never be free until you do. Let go of hose wrongs they've done to you. Get that bitterness out of your life. That's the only way you're going to truly be free. You will be amazed at what can happen in your life when you release all that poison.
#3. If we don't forgive ourselves for mistakes we've made--and everybody's made their choices, some worse than others--we'll never experience the good life God has in store.
#4. “Keep in mind, hurting people often hurt other people as a result of their own pain. If somebody is rude and inconsiderate, you can almost be certain that they have some unresolved issues inside. They have some major problems, anger, resentment, or some heartache they are trying to cope with or overcome. The last thing they need is for you to make matters worse by responding angrily.”
#5. If you feel “stuck” today, you may want to examine what you’re holding on to. Be willing let go of past disappointments by choosing forgiveness. Who hurt you? Who wronged you? Release it to God. Do you need to forgive yourself? Do you need to receive God’s forgiveness? Let go of the past so you can overcome disappointments and experience the bright future God has in store for you! There is freedom in forgetting!
#6. It is a hard thing to let go of mistakes we've made and sins. God wants us to do that because He knows the guilt and the condemnation will keep us from becoming who He has created us to be. Salvation and Christ's love is a gift. You don't earn it. You've got to receive that gift. I think one of the most important things is starting off the day forgiving others and forgiving yourself. You learn from your mistakes, but I don't think you have to drag them back into today.
#7. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that what that person did was right or that you even have to get back into a relationship with that person. Forgiveness simply releases the debt they owe you so that God can release the debt you owe Him. Ask the Lord tosearch your heart and show you if there is any unforgiveness blocking Hisblessing in your life. Ask Him to show you more about this gift of forgivenessso that you can walk in the freedom and victory He has for you today.
#8. Forgiveness is a choice, but it is not an option.
#9. You have to take the good with the bad, smile when you're sad, love what you've got and remember what you had...Always forgive but never forget, learn from your mistakes but never regret, people change, things go wrong, just remember, life goes on.
#10. FORGIVE The People That Hurt You. God Will Pay You Back With Double The Joy...Double The Victory.
#11. Life is flying by.You don’t have time to waste another minute being negative, offended or bitter.If someone did you wrong, get over it and move forward.
#12. “You may be at across roads in your life. You may have issues to deal with; people you need to forgive. You can go one of the two ways. You can ignore what you now know to be true and keep burying that bitterness in your life, pushing it deeper and allowing it to poison and contaminate you and those around you. Or you can make a much better choice by getting it out in the open and asking God to help you totally forgive and let it all go.”
#13. “When we don’t forgive, we’re not hurting the other person. We’re not hurting the company that did us wrong. We’re not hurting God. We’re only hurting ourselves.”
#14. “Every twenty-four hours God has a fresh new supply of grace, of favor, of wisdom, forgiveness.”
#15. Life is too short to live that way. Learn to travel light. Every morning when you first get up,forgive the people that did you wrong the day before. Forgive your spouse for what they said. At the start of the day, let go of the disappointments, the set backs from yesterday. Start every morning fresh and new. God did not create you to carry around all that baggage. Let it go and move forward in the life of blessing He has in store for you!
Must-read Quotes about Forgiveness -
#1. Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness. - Billy Graham
#2. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. - C.S. Lewis
#3. I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one. - Henry Ward Beecher
#4. To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. - G.K. Chesterton
#5. If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive. - Mother Theresa
#6. There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love. - Bryant H. McGill
#7. Our forgiving others is not a cause of God's forgiving us, but it is a condition without which He will not forgive us. - Thomas Watson
#8. No child of God sins to that degree as to make himself incapable of forgiveness. - John Bunyan
#9. He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven. - George Herbert
#10. The voice of sin is loud, but the voice of forgiveness is louder. - D.L. Moody
#11. Our love for God and our appreciation of His love and forgiveness will be in proportion to the recognition of our sin and unworthiness. - Dave Hunt
#12. As long as you live on earth, you won't see the end of injustices. Yet God desires for you to let go of injustices and hold on to His grace. Only He can give you the power to forgive those who have hurt you the deepest. - Paul Chappell
Jesus is our Model ------
Luke 23:33-34 .When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Amen !!!!
Be Blessed and be a Blessing .