278. Why is forgiveness important for my own life in Christ?
A. My need for God's forgiveness reminds me that I am no better than anyone else.
Psalm 130:3-4 If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lrd, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.
Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
B. God's forgiveness enables me to forgive others, freeing me from anger and resentment toward them.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive their trespasses.
Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to Him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Read Genesis 50:15-21, about Joseph forgiving his brothers; Matthew 18:23-35, about the unforgiving servant; and 1 Timothy 1:15, where Paul says he is the greatest sinner.
Note: "Just as we daily sin much against God, and yet He forgives everything through grace, so we, too, must ever forgive our neighbor who does us injury, violence, and wrong, shows malice toward us, and so on. If, therefore, you do not forgive, then do not think that God forgives you" (LC III 94-95).
Eventual commentary
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