THE DOCTRINE OF FORGIVENESS

FIRST LESSON: HEBREWS Chapter 8 verse 12

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniqui
ties will I remember no more.
SECOND LESSON: LUKE Chapter 23 verse 34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots.
GOLDEN TEXT: MATTHEW Chapter 5 verse 44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to the
m that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
.
Introductory Song:
Forgive one another if you want salvation.
Forgiveness, The Source Of Salvation:
Brethren, if the words of God were to have an end, this gospel would rightly hav
e been said to be the last of all gospels. It is indeed the mother of all gospel
s and the key to the kingdom of God.
The crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ would have been in vain, both to Him an
d mankind, if He did not pray the Father to forgive His persecutors. This symbol
ic act teaches that man should always forgive his offenders. If somebody slaps y
ou, steals your property, or lies against you, be constant in praying to God to
forgive such a fellow. Whatever anybody does to you, be quick to pray for the Fa
ther's forgiveness for the person. The reason is, if you forgive another person,
God will equally forgive you.
Who is that person whose sins and iniquities are forgiven and will not be rememb
ered by God? Who are those whose sins are not counted against them by God? These
are they who hold fast unto the key to the kingdom of God, the key of forgivene
ss. No matter the magnitude of the error committed against you, be constant, in
season and out of season, to pray to God to forgive your offenders.
If you desire to have salvation, if you desire, your sins be forgiven, sincerely
ask God to forgive your offenders. In other words, let such a prayer come deep
down from your heart, and it will so stand. When Stephen was being stoned to dea
th, before he gave up the ghost, he knelt down and prayed God to forgive his ene
mies for they knew not what they did. Similarly, Our Lord Jesus Christ did not o
nly teach the people to practice the gospel of forgiveness, but He actually prac
ticed it on the cross when He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what
they do." (Luke Chapter 23 verse 34). Let that be your prayer at all times. By
virtue of your status as a Child of God and your co-habitation and interpersonal
relationships with others, let those words form the foundation of your approach
or reaction to all adverse situations you encounter.
No man can be justified upon his works; neither can anyone be condemned by his w
eaknesses. The only point of your justification or condemnation as the case may
be, is your willingness or refusal to forgive one another. Whether your offender
comes back to you with a repentant heart, asking for forgiveness or not, be ste
adfast to forgive. Your conviction should always be, your offenders are ignorant
of their deeds.
You stand to be free from any problem, if you practice this gospel, and you shal
l secure your ticket into the kingdom of God. If you endeavor to implement this
doctrine or policy of forgiveness, you will have no cause to quarrel or fight an
ybody. You will have no cause to take anybody to court, kill or begrudge another
person.
The scripture says:
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confess
ion is made unto salvation." (Romans Chapter 10 verse 10).
It is a doctrine that requires no procedure or any hard and fast rules to practi
ce. Be sincere in your prayer to God to forgive those who offend you and that wi
ll be done. Therefore, once you pray for the forgiveness of another person, God
will, in turn, forgive you. The children of Israel wanted to obtain justificatio
n through the law, that was why they stumbled and fell, but the Gentiles who sou
ght for justification through grace obtained salvation.
It is said in the commandments: "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adul
tery, Thou shalt not steal," (Exodus Chapter 20 verses 13 to 15), and so on. If
a person should obey all other commandments but offends in one, such a person ha
s offended in all. If the same commandment, you should not resist an evildoer al
so says, you should not steal, do you not know, if you do not steal but resist a
n evildoer, you are guilty of both? The Law of Moses says, whoever kills with an
y instrument commits murder and is worthy of death. Our Lord Jesus Christ came w
ith a different view of this commandment and said, "whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall
say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall
say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew Chapter 5 verse 22).
The Mosaic Law states, for one to be guilty of adultery the person must indulge
in the very act. The commandment as amended by Our Lord Jesus Christ states, "wh
osoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her al
ready in his heart." (Matthew Chapter 5 verse 28). Therefore, the moment you are
angry with your brother or cast a lustful eye upon your sister, you are guilty
of murder and adultery respectively. You stand equally condemned even if you hav
e obeyed all the commandments, except one.
The advent of Our Lord Jesus Christ was to open the door that was closed against
His disciples, and to set them free. The key Our Lord Jesus Christ used to unlo
ck the door is forgiveness. And He had handed over this same key to us as the so
urce of salvation. To be able to have all your offenses forgiven, you must forgi
ve another person who offends you and impute no sins upon anybody.
Illustration:
Once upon a time there lived a certain king who had a servant and this servant o
wed the king some money. One day, the king invited the debtor and requested the
debtor to redeem his indebtedness. The debtor pleaded insolvency and prayed the
king to have mercy upon him and give him more time. The king obliged and let him
off. On the debtor's way home, he also met his fellow debtor and instantly conf
ronted him demanding him to settle his debt.
Meanwhile, the money the servant was owed was far too meager compared to the amo
unt he owed the king. The man held his fellow debtor by the neck and dragged him
all over the place disgracefully. When the information about the attitude of th
is servant towards another person reached the king, the king sent for the servan
t and had the servant imprisoned for not forgiving a fellow debtor like him, who
even owed him a smaller amount, compared to his indebtedness to the king, the m
an forfeited his forgiveness. Therefore, do unto others what you would wish to b
e done to you.
The Israelites missed salvation because of their refusal to practice this gospel
. The distance from Egypt to Canaan is not that much, but because of the inabili
ty of the Israelites to obey the Lord and practice His gospel, it took them over
40 years to get there. Ordinances, therefore, do no good to anyone. This is so
because whether or not you keep to the ordinances of any place, they can still b
e turned against you. Note, if you forgive one another the same gesture will be
extended to you.
If you were to know what constitutes sin, you would not hesitate to forgive your
offender. If you love only those who love you and hate those that hate you, are
you saved? Do you not know, whatever you do to another person, you are directly
doing it to yourself? When you free others you are freeing yourself and if you
curse or plan evil against another person, you are doing the same to yourself.
God finds no pleasure upon the death of the wicked. That is why, He gives His gr
ace unto those who care. For human beings the situation is different because som
e people rejoice over other's misfortunes. By this singular act, you are disobey
ing God's commandment. Read the first lesson again.
FIRST LESSON: HEBREWS Chapter 8 verse 12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniqui
ties will I remember no more.
The Great Promise:
The above passage by implication means, whoever forgives another will be forgive
n. You can have the boldness to pray to God for forgiveness, only if you forgive
your offender, this forms the foundation of this New Kingdom, the doctrine of f
orgiveness. This explains why Christ covenanted, He shall be merciful to His peo
ple and their sins and iniquities shall He remember no more. The pronouncement b
y Our Lord Jesus Christ that the Father should forgive His killers for they know
not what they do, closes the old chapter of darkness and opened a new chapter o
f salvation unto mankind.
You get angry, hate your fellow man, and kill one another because of your inabil
ity to forgive. If you plan evil against another person and pray, he should be d
estroyed, the same destruction awaits you. The judgment you pronounce against an
other person, the same binds you. Who is that man who will have one sheep missin
g from his flock of hundred and he will not abandon the ninety-nine to go search
ing for the lost sheep? The heavens feel the pain anytime you oppress, curse, vi
ctimize, judge or do anything that causes others to be distressed. What does it
profit you if you refuse to forgive your offenders? If you commit an offense and
you are cast into prison, you are only reaping what you sowed.
But if you are cast into prison for no reason or for the good you did, the heave
ns will rejoice and your reward is great. If mankind should learn to forgive one
another, the world would by now, have been problem-free, for the grace of God w
ould have been in abundance. If the habit of imputing sins upon people would cau
se them misfortune, no one would have any cause to report or complain about anot
her person. This is the era for the Children of God to practice the Word of God.
The Word of God, though it may look like a mustard seed is the source of man's s
alvation, and the gospel of forgiveness is the greatest of all. Now, do you not
know, if you point a finger at somebody the remaining fingers point at you? Why
is the world only calling Jesus, Jesus but cannot practice His commandments? Sal
vation does not depend only on calling upon His name but on practicing His words
. He is the greatest teacher who teaches and practices what He teaches. If you c
laim to be His disciple why are you not a teacher too?
Whoever puts the words of God into practice, the same is he that worships God in
Spirit and in Truth. Therefore, he does not only teach righteousness, but pract
ices the true worship of God, in Spirit and in Truth. Whoever is not deceitful a
nd does not allow evil communication to proceed from his mouth, the same is the
one who worships God in Spirit and in Truth, and these are they whose sins and i
niquities have been forgiven and forgotten by God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do go
od to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and pers
ecute you." (Matthew Chapter 5 verse 44). But when you impute sins upon another
person are you not guilty of the same offense? Read the second lesson again.
SECOND LESSON: LUKE Chapter 23 verse 34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Always Forgive:
Under what condition or state of mind did Christ make the above statement? Was i
t when all was well with Him, and when He was dining with His disciples? Was it
when all His people fell down, worshipped, and loved Him? Was it when His proper
ty was stolen or when His wife was seduced? Far be it. He made this plea when He
was facing an awkward predicament on the cross. Who can make such a statement i
n such a state? He had the power to kill His killers or do what He pleased to th
em but He did not. Instead, He prayed the Father to forgive them.
This gospel reveals the secret of the power in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star
. Here, there is no fighting, no hatred, and no imputing of sins upon anyone. In
the life of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, nobody has ever suspended or exc
ommunicated any person. My eyes neither behold any sins or unrighteous things. I
hold the same belief, like the other thief on the cross, who accepted his iniqu
ities and his fate, and asked the Lord to remember him in His kingdom. If you ar
e indeed a thief, a murderer, an idolater, a fornicator among others, then you h
ave no cause to be angry.
Why do you have to fume when you are called a sinner when indeed, you are one? C
hrist even advised every man to admit, he is a sinner before He uses His blood t
o cleanse him (the sinner). Remember the story of the publican and the Pharisee
at prayer to God. The Pharisee extolled himself and paid himself tributes but th
e Publican quietly prayed almost inaudibly to any other person, presenting himse
lf as a woeful sinner of no worth. Then, he obtained God's grace because of his
humility.
The Bible says, whoever humbles himself will be exalted but whoever exalts himse
lf shall be abased. Who is the person that humbles himself? He is the person who
sees himself as a sinner. Who is the person who exalts himself? He is the perso
n who is full of himself and considers himself righteous. It is therefore, becau
se you regard yourself as a righteous man, you impute sins upon another person a
nd continue in sin.
Any person who sees himself as a sinner, does not impute sins upon another and d
oes not condemn anybody, no matter what any person may do to him. For that reaso
n, Christ said, "for judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not
might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharise
es which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, W
e see; therefore your sin remaineth." (John Chapter 9 verses 39 to 41). Can you
see why man's sins have remained with him up till today?
Therefore, all those, who refuse to forgive are the ones who claim to be holy an
d righteous. Can a thief catch a thief? Can a murderer condemn a murderer? This
explains why the scripture says, there is no righteous man on earth. Rather, any
man born of woman is pregnant with sins and iniquities. It is because of the si
nful state of man that God instructed Abraham that a ritual (circumcision) shoul
d be performed upon any first male child born of a woman, for the purpose of pur
ification.
The reason John the Baptist was instructed to baptize with water was that many m
ay repent and be pure. Man had been so filthy and so his baptism with water was
to serve as a purification measure. When that lawyer said to Christ, "good teach
er what shall I do to have eternal life," Christ told him, "there is no one that
is good except God." Now, you claim to be good, what will God regard you as? Wh
y did Christ not order that the woman who was caught in adultery be stoned to de
ath? You may recall the significant thing which He did. He stooped down and wrot
e the sins of each of the accusers and then ordered anyone amongst them who thou
ght himself to be righteous, to cast the first stone at the woman. At this junct
ure, they rather departed one after the other. That was a clear indication, ther
e is no righteous man on earth. Did you not know, if you impute sins upon anothe
r person, you are also condemning yourself? This gospel teaches love, peace, pro
sperity and the ability to practice every other sermon. If the entire world were
to know the efficacy of this gospel and practice the same, mankind would live a
problem-free life. The scripture has instructed everyone to first of all remove
the scale from his eyes, so he may be able to remove a speck from his brother's
eyes. (Matthew Chapter 7 verse 5). If you paint your face with charcoal or blac
k powder, would you know how you look like except you stand before a mirror? Whe
n you are well dressed and stand before a mirror would you not view your appeara
nce differently? Read the golden text below:
GOLDEN TEXT: MATTHEW Chapter 5 verse 44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to the
m that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
.
The Essence of Forgiveness:
The above passage constitutes the binding duty to be discharged by everybody. Th
e only way to obtain salvation is to practice this gospel. Every man is at "the
other side of the sea," because of iniquities. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only
person who has been able to cross over to "the other side of the sea," (that of
salvation), and He has given us the foundation for crossing. Your persistence i
n sins and claim for holiness stand between you and the kingdom of God. There is
a local adage, which says, a child that prevents the mother from sleeping in th
e night must also stay awake.
Once upon a time, there lived a certain Bishop who presented himself as a true m
an of God and made people to believe so. When he died, the people strongly belie
ved, he was on his way for eternal rest after a meritorious service. When the co
rpse was taken for burial at the graveside the Bishop tapped from inside the cof
fin, causing the people to run for fear. A few people summed up courage and went
back and opened the coffin to see that the man was back to life. He ordered, he
should be taken back to the church. In the church, he asked the congregation wh
ether they knew why he came back. Nobody knew. The Bishop told the people in the
church, in the world beyond, people are divided into two groups: the believers
and the unbelievers. That when he attempted as a Bishop with his Bible and garme
nt to join the group of believers, the usher warned him not to join the group fo
r he was not pure. It was explained to him that he bore people malice had impute
d sins upon people and had been indulging in other vices. The Bishop said then,
the agony of going to join the group of unbelievers caused him to take the optio
n of coming back to the world. The Bishop spent more than three weeks to reconci
le with his enemies and adversaries.
This is a great lesson for all. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EXISTANCE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO
ACQUIRE WEALTH OR ANY MATERIAL THING, BUT AS A CHANCE TO REPENT AND BE SAVED. If
God were to impute sins upon man, would any person survive? If God had not turn
ed His face against our iniquities, who would be saved? Your parents, your wife,
child or money are not the things that will debar you from entering into the ki
ngdom of God, but your refusal to forgive your transgressors.
MATTHEW Chapter 5 verse 42 states:
"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not t
hou away."
If you fail in this responsibility then you are a failure. When Peter asked the
Lord how many times his brother would offend him and should forgive him, whether
seven times, Christ said, "Not seven times but, until seventy times seven." (Ma
tthew Chapter 18 verse 22). In other words, continue to forgive your offenders a
s many times as they offend. If you impute sins upon another, then you have brou
ght to nought the precious blood, which Christ shed for the world.
By imputing sins upon another person, you have condemned such a person. NOTE THA
T IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO JUDGE OR AVENGE. IT IS GOD'S PREROGATIVE TO J
UDGE OR AVENGE. NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS OR HOLY ENOUGH TO JUDGE, NOT EVEN THE ANGELS
.
Endeavor to be your brother's keeper and know, whatever you do to one person any
where in the world affects you too. If you pray God to forbid any bad thing from
happening to you, and that God should take evil away from your present location
and send such evil to distant places, are your brethren not living at the place
you want the evil to be transferred to? Is that not a manifestation of selfishn
ess and ignorance? All the people the world over, whether in America, India, Bri
tain or Africa, are your brethren and their problems should be yours.
Take for instance, if, as a trader, you obtain some goods, (from a retailer), on
credit to sell and you promise to pay the money back, but you instead renege on
your promise and you help yourself to the profit. For this reason a thief steal
s those goods, and so the problem becomes cyclical. That is so because the whole
saler, from whom the retailer obtained the goods, might have bought them on cred
it from the manufacturer, who must have obtained a loan from the bank to carry o
n the business. The bank too will be affected. Every person therefore would ulti
mately be affected from that theft. Can you see now why it is necessary that you
show love to your enemies, and pray for those who despitefully use you?
May God bless His Holy words. Amen.
THANK YOU FATHER.