“FORGIVENESS IN THREE DIRECTIONS”

EPHESIANS 4:31-32
INTRO: FORGIVENESS it is what every person needs. I want to speak on this
subject this morning because it is something that applies to all of us.
Romans 3:23 tells us—“For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” Because we have all sinned, we all need forgiveness.
Psalm 53:2-3 tells us—“God looked down from heaven upon the
children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did
seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become
filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” And Ecclesiastes
7:20 tells us—“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
and sinneth not.” Forgiveness is man's deepest need and highest
achievement. --Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) (Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version
3.0f. Copyright 1990-1998. Parsons Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved).

I want to consider this morning FORGIVENESS IN THREE

DIRECTIONS. Let us note first…
(1) GOD’S FORGIVENESS TOWARD US
EPHESIANS 4:32—“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven
you.”
A. HIS FORGIVENESS IS UNDENIABLE. The central theme of the Bible is
God’s forgiveness toward us. He delights in showing mercy and bestowing
forgiveness. Exodus 34:7 tells us that our God is a God who practices in
“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the
fourth generation.” He graciously invites all to be forgiven—“Come now, and
let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.” (Isaiah 1:18). Isaiah 55:6-7 invites—“Seek ye the LORD while he
may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the
LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon.” God’s forgiveness inspires assurance and awe. We
read in Psalm 130:3-4—“If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared.” Ephesians 1:7 assures us that all we need we find it Jesus—“In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
B. HIS FORGIVENESS IS UNBELIEVABLE. It is hard for us to imagine or
conceive why Almighty God would offer forgiveness to sinners such as you
and I but that is exactly what He did. This is one of the many wonders of
GRACE. Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us—“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his
great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” The psalmist
tells us in Psalm 86:5—“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and
plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” The question this
morning is, “How does God forgive?” :
 HE FORGIVES FREELY. There are no charges attached to His forgiveness.
“For thou, Lord art…plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”
ILLUS: A sign in a convenience store read, "Check Cashing Policy: To err is
human. To forgive, $10." It's a funny way to recognize the fact that we
make mistakes, but it's also evidence of the way many people think
about forgiveness. To forgive is to accept within yourself the
consequences of the sins of others. It means to accept the pain, the
problems and the burden that comes when someone sins against you.
Forgiveness is neither an easy nor a frequent gift. This is what God
has done for us: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Pet. 1:18,
19). What did God give for your forgiveness? It wasn't money or
anything of wealth or value in worldly terms. He gave His Son. Jesus
took upon Himself the burden of our sins. (Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f.
Copyright 1990-1998. Parsons Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved).
 HE FORGIVES UNCONDITIONALLY. There are no strings attached to
God’s forgiveness. He does not tell us, “I forgive you but…”. He simply says
“I forgive!” The story of the prodigal son shows us this so vividly and
beautifully. When the son came home the father simply said to Him,
“Welcome home son.” He didn’t tell him, “I forgive you son but if you mess
up again I will throw you out,” or “I forgive you son but I can never love you
as much as I once loved you.”
 HE FORGIVES COMPLETELY. 1 John 1:9 assures us—“If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”
ILLUS: A soldier was shot and lay dying on the battlefield. He called for the
Chaplain. When the Chaplain arrived the soldier said, “I know I will
soon be in eternity. I have asked God to forgive me of my sins. But
can you tell me if He will forgive me or not?” The Chaplain assured
him that God had forgiven him. Then he read to the dying soldier this
verse: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The dying man said,
“Did that really say ‘all sin’?” The Chaplain read it again to him. The
man said, “Does that mean I can go to meet God with every sin
forgiven?” “Yes! That is exactly what it means” replied the Chaplain.
“Then,” said the dying man, “I am ready to go.”
 HE FORGIVES ETERNALLY. Friend, once your sins are forgiven, they are
gone never to be brought up against you again! In Jeremiah 31:14b the
Lord promises—“…For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their
sin no more.” In Hebrews 8:12 the Lord assures us—“For I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities I will remember no
more.”
ILLUS: Hymn, “My Sins Are Gone”
FORGIVENESS IN THREE DIRECTIONS we see GOD’S FORGIVENESS
TOWARD US but also let us see secondly…
(2) OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARD OTHERS
 EPHESIANS 4:31-32—“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
A. RESPONDING TO OUR HURTS. When someone had done you an injustice
you can respond in one of three ways:
 RAGE. You can become angry and bitter and carry hurt feelings around
toward that person who has wronged you. That will put you below that
person! Someone has said, “Anger is the most impotent passion that
accompanies the mind of man. It effects nothing it goes about, and it hurts
the man who is possessed by it more than any other against whom it is
directed.” — CLARENDON. (Pearls From Many Seas by J. B. McClure, Editor. The Master Christian
Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
 REVENGE. You can get revenge, make that person pay dearly, for what
they did to you. That makes you even with that person! He who can not
forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself. —
GEORGE HERBERT. (Pearls From Many Seas by J. B. McClure, Editor. The Master Christian Library
Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). Forgiveness is better than revenge,
for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge is the sign of a
savage nature. – Epictetus (Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f. Copyright 1990-1998. Parsons
Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved).
 RELEASE. You can let that anger, bitterness, and vengeful feelings go and
forgive that person. Listen what Ephesians 4:31-32a says—“Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another…”. When you release those feeling and
forgive that puts you above that person!
B. REMEMBERING HELPS. There are three things that will help you to be
able to forgive others:
 REMEMBER HOW GOD FORGAVE YOU. None of us deserve God’s
forgiveness. The Bible tells us here in Ephesians 4:32—“forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” If the Lord forgave
us for all our sins and trespasses we should forgive others of their sins and
trespasses against us. C.S. Lewis had this to say about forgiveness: "I think
that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like
setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him." --C.S. Lewis (Bible Illustrator
for Windows. Version 3.0f. Copyright 1990-1998. Parsons Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved).
 REMEMBER THE TOLL OF UNFORGIVENESS. Friend, an unforgiving
attitude will destroy you. It will not only destroy your fellowship with the
Lord but it will also destroy your testimony, and rob you of your peace and
joy. Unforgiveness will even destroy your health. “Life lived without
forgiveness becomes a prison.” --William Arthur Ward (1812-1882) (Bible
Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f. Copyright 1990-1998. Parsons Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved).
 REMEMBER YOUR HELP TO FORGIVE. We cannot forgive through our
own strength, but we can forgive with the Lord’s help (Philippians 4:13).
We must ask the Lord to help us forgive and see how He changes our
attitudes about the wrong we have incurred and about the person who
inflicted the wrong upon us.
FORGIVENESS IN THREE DIRECTIONS: GOD’S FORGIVENESS TOWARD US,
OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARD OTHERS, and thirdly…
(3) OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARD OURSELVES
JOHN 8:32, 36—“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free…If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.”
A. RESTING IN OUR FORGIVENESS. Friend, the most difficult person you’ll
ever have to forgive is yourself! D. L. Moody confessed the truth about us
all: “I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.” It is at
this very point that Satan desires to get the victory over us: God has
forgiven us but we cannot forgive ourselves. We act as Judge, jury and the
executioner of ourselves. We listen to Satan’s lies and sink deeper and
deeper into despair. We allow guilt to overshadow and overwhelm our lives.
B. REMEMBERING OUR FREEDOM. Friends, you and I have no right to
bring up and judge the sins of our past which God has forgiven and
forgotten. We are free! Jesus said—“If the Son therefore shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed.” When Satan tries to remind you of your past
sins tell him to leave you alone because you are free in Christ.
Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.
CLOSING: Forgiveness should flow in three directions. We have seen GOD’S
FORGIVENESS TOWARD US, OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARD
OTHERS, and OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARD OURSELVES.
A little boy came to the Washington Monument and noticed a
guard standing by it. The little boy looked up at the guard and said,
"I want to buy it." The guard stooped down and says, "How much
do you have?" The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a
quarter. The guard said, "That's not enough." The boy replied, "I
thought you would say that." So he pulled out nine cents more. The
guard looked down at the boy and said, "You need to understand
three things. First, thirty-four cents is not enough. In fact, $34
million is not enough to buy the Washington Monument. Second,
the Washington Monument is not for sale. And third, if you are an
American citizen, the Washington Monument already belongs to
you." We need to understand three things about forgiveness. First,
we can not earn it. Second, it is not for sale. And third, if we accept
Christ, we already have it. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 218-219).

Friends, Christians have been given forgiveness. Because of that

we should be willing to forgive others—“forgiving one another, even
as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Are you willing to
forgive those who wrong you? Are you willing to forgive yourself?
Let us always keep in mind that the first word from the cross was a
word of forgiveness! (Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows,
(Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997)).

PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY

FOR SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 15, 2009.