Sunday, February 22, 2009

PREACHING THIS MORNING...'Must I Forgive?'. What is our attitude toward forgiveness? Can the Christian afford to withhold forgiveness? "For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What was the conclusion?

I've tried to frame it as a "should" vs. a "have to." Then again, we usually get caught up in "have to" issues - trying to figure out what the minimum God requires of us is.

Alan said...

The conclusion is that we can never afford to withhold forgiveness. God has said he will use our measure of forgiveness for us. As one who needs all the mercy I can get, I need to show all the mercy I can.

A corollary to that is the question of what do I gain by withholding forgiveness? Is God's forgiveness contingent upon me forgiving someone? Obviously not, and I certainly don't want my forgiveness before God contingent upon the whims of some other person.

I also argue that we forgive without being asked, rather than take the stand of 'I don't have to forgive him because he never asked me for it.'

God be merciful to me the sinner.