FORGIVING OTHERS

by Frank Hammond

ISBN 10: 0-89228-241-X

ISBN 13: 978-089228-241-8

Copyright © 1995. Revised 2011.

Impact Christian Books

IMPACT CHRISTIAN BOOKS, INC.

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Kirkwood, MO 63122

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www.impactchristianbooks.com

All passages are from the King James Bible unless otherwise noted.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS

Introduction

The Liberating Benefits of Forgiving Others

The High Cost of Unforgiveness

Characteristics and Benefits of True Forgiveness

Prayer of Forgiveness

Resist the Devil

FORGIVING OTHERS

THE KEY TO HEALING AND DELIVERANCE

INTRODUCTION

As scriptural evidence is assembled, it becomes clear that unforgiveness comes with an enormous price tag. When the pros and cons are laid side by side, anyone with a teachable spirit can see that unforgiveness is not worth the repercussions that it produces. Unforgiveness literally brings a curse.

Jesus taught us to pray:

“Our Father which art in heaven… forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Matt. 6:9,12

What are the “debts” for which we are to ask forgiveness? They are sin debts, and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). The debt is insurmountable, and the consequences of non-payment are unthinkable. Without Christ’s forgiveness, we will stand before God’s judgment seat condemned to everlasting death in the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels. There is no possible way for any one of us to pay our sin debt.

But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom. 6:23b

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).

Eph. 2:4,5

Who are the debtors Jesus expects us to forgive? They are those who have sinned against us. They have wronged us in one or more ways: rejection, abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, verbal), abandonment, betrayal, neglect, cruelty, cursing, deceit, slander, theft, and others.

For one to say that he has forgiven someone, is to say that he has purged his heart of all bitterness. In effect, one says, “Your debt is canceled. You owe me nothing — not even an apology.”

From God’s perspective, forgiveness of sins is an act of grace: undeserved favor. Our forgiveness of others is likewise an act of grace whereby we display our identity with God, being perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. (see Matt. 6:48). You can know have truly forgiven when you are able to.

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…”

Matt. 5:44 (1)

When we forgive those who trespass against us, we show our capacity for and readiness to receive God’s forgiveness. Therefore, we can pray, “Father forgive us our debts as we also herewith forgive our debtors.”

By making the Lord’s Prayer our daily prayer, we continually remind ourselves of the importance to us of God’s forgiveness:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…”

Rom. 3:23

This prayer also keeps us mindful of our need to forgive others. The Lord’s prayer links God’s forgiveness of our sins with our forgiveness of others’ sins. Each one of us needs to forgive, because each of us has been offended at one time or another, to one degree or another. Some are continually hurt and live in constant likelihood of further hurts.

We have two choices in dealing with offenses. We can apply either law or grace. The law advocates an eye for an eye: doing to others as they do to us and returning evil for evil. Grace, on the other hand, returns good for evil and blesses those who curse us. Cursing those who curse us is an example of the law approach. Blessing those who curse us is an example of grace. In Christ, we are no longer to be governed by law but by grace.

What difference does it make whether we react to hurts with law or grace? It makes a vast difference. When we respond in grace, then we have favor with God: we merit His blessings. If we respond with reprisals, then we give place to the devil and are brought into bondage.

When asked, “Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law,” (Matt. 22:36) Jesus replied,

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Matt. 22:37–39

Jesus summarized the whole law into one law of love, which came to be called “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). James refers to the law of love as the “law of liberty” (James 1:25). Forgiving love is liberating. It liberates us from many needless bondages. Join me in discovering the liberating benefits of forgiving others.

11 All boldface, italicized or bracketed scriptures are the author’s emphases.

THE LIBERATING BENEFITS OF FORGIVING OTHERS

BLAMING OTHERS IS BYPASSED

Even though your parents, spouse, former spouse or others may be responsible for the struggles you have had in life, nothing is gained by blaming them. It surely doesn’t improve your present relationships and does nothing to heal or resolve problems within yourself.

RETALIATION IS NO LONGER A CONCERN

It is not our business to punish others for their wrongdoing; this is God’s prerogative, and He is big enough and wise enough to handle it In fact, God tells us NOT to take the matter of revenge into our own hands.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Rom. 12:19

HOLDING A GRUDGE BECOMES A THING OF THE PAST

A grudge is what the Bible calls “malice,” and malice is spite or active ill will toward another.

When the Israelites kept the Passover, they meticulously removed all leaven and leavened bread from their houses. Leaven represents sin, especially the kind of sin that permeates like yeast and influences others. Therefore, God’s Word tells us to be as thorough in removing malice from our lives as the Israelites were in removing leaven from their houses.

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump… For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Cor. 5:7,8

EMOTIONAL BURDENS ARE LIFTED

Resentment, bitterness, anger, jealousy and hurts are heavy burdens and can have powerful negative impacts upon our emotions. By not forgiving, we remain under the burden of the law, for the law requires “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Lev. 24:20). Jesus made it possible for us to be free from this burden of the law, by providing the alternative of His love, grace, meekness and humility:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matt. 11:28–30

PHYSICAL HEALING RESULTS

There is a factual basis in our saying, “He gives me a pain the neck. He makes me sick to my stomach; I’m fed up with him. I’m sick and tired of him.” Bitterness and hatred along with unforgiveness can make us sick. Therefore, do your physical body a favor by forgiving all who have trespassed against you. Drop all resentment; let it go. Refuse to let it take its physical toll.

The consequence of allowing the root of bitterness (resentment, unforgiveness, recalling the hurts, anger, hate and retaliation) to remain is physical infirmities such as migraine headaches, indigestion, ulcers, colitis and arthritis.

It should come as no surprise that some arthritis is clearly a result of prolonged bitterness. The word arthritis means “joint inflammation,” and the Bible compares the joints of our body with our relationships to others. Arthritis strikes the joints of the body — fingers, elbows, knees and vertebras. The connecting links between various parts of the body are afflicted with arthritic pain and swelling as a consequence of the poison released in one’s body by continued bitterness. Furthermore, resentment and unforgiveness produce spiritual arthritis, which destroy the healthy ligaments of love-based forgiveness and allow demons to bind up the “joints” of human relationships with painful consequences.

Love-based forgiveness produces healing and restoration, but unforgiveness sets in motion the powers of destruction. Love is necessary for having both a healthy physical body and a healthy spiritual Body.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ… so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

1 Cor. 12:12,25 NIV

… speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Eph. 4:15–16 NIV

The Church is the Body of Christ; and, in order to have a strong, functioning Body, each joint must be healthy and working. The love that unites us must be strong and active. By being joined together as one Body, we supply strength to one another by ministering to each other in love. In contrast, the absence of love causes spiritual arthritis to set in.

Only human beings created in God’s image are capable of forgiving. Forgiveness is not a characteristic of the wild animal kingdom. Lions, bears and hyenas do not forgive; they bite and devour. When we fail to display God’s love toward others and refuse to forgive, then we become like vicious animals.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Gal. 5:14–15

Have we not known family members and even Church members who were cannibalistic, devouring one another? We have cute ways of expressing our cannibalistic natures: “I chewed him out,” or “I ate him alive.” Those who hated Stephen “gnashed their teeth at him… and began to stone him” (Acts 7:54, 58 NIV). Brethren, these things ought not to be!

When we forgive others, we emulate Father God and thereby display His character. Do you believe that God wants us to strive for His perfection and holiness? How can we take on God’s nature? Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount:

“… Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust… Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Matt. 5:44–45,48

The moment we stop forgiving we become unforgiving, and unforgiveness is sin. Failure to forgive is especially offensive to God since we expect Him to be gracious to us and to forgive us our sins. Such an attitude says, in effect, “God, I am unthankful for the grace You’ve shown me.” Being unwilling to forgive is to slap God in the face.

While the last drops of the precious blood of Jesus were flowing from His veins, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Yes, when Jesus was paying our sin debts, He had forgiveness in His heart and on His lips. When Jesus died He canceled the penalty and power of sin and provided a way of forgiveness for us. Once we grasp the significance of God’s grace, given us through the shed blood, we could never have the audacity to refuse to forgive others.

THE HIGH COST OF UNFORGIVENESS

If you went to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread and it had a $99.99 price tag, what would you think? What would you do? You would certainly not agree to pay that price for a simple loaf of bread. You would protest, “That’s too much.” So, how will you react to the price of unforgiveness? Let’s look into the Word of God and find how much unforgiveness costs.

1. UNFORGIVENESS ROBS US OF GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Ponder these words from the lips of Jesus:

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Matt. 6:15 (see also Mark l1:25; Luke 6:37)

If one disqualifies himself from God’s forgiveness, where does that leave him? Without God’s forgiveness of sins, he is an unforgiven sinner, without salvation and facing an eternity in hell separated from God. What a price!

Matthew’s Gospel records the account of a master who forgave his servant of an insurmountable debt. When, in turn, this forgiven servant refused to forgive a small debt owed by a fellow servant, his master was angry. Listen to what his master determined:

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Matt. 18:34

What a sobering declaration! The debt once forgiven is now reinstated. The servant who received grace and mercy, and then showed no grace and mercy, must remain under the power of tormentors until his debt is paid in full. What a price!

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Jas. 2:12–13 NIV

A minister has given us the following commentary on the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer saying that if we do not forgive others then God will not forgive us:

“Here is a man who has been bitterly wronged by another; he says to him, ‘I forgive you this, but I cannot forget it.’ He enters his closet and prays: ‘Father forgive me, as I have forgiven him! Say to me in words that thou forgivest me, but do not forget my offenses! Blot them not out of the book of thy remembrance! Do to me as I do to him!’ Oh, how often does this prayer, if offered sincerely, mean a curse.” 2

What a price for unforgiveness!

2. UNFORGIVENESS ALLOWS A ROOT OF BITTERNESS TO GROW

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled…

Heb. 12:15

Pikra is the Greek word translated “bitterness.” It means that which is pointed, sharp and penetrating. It is therefore painful. Bitterness is painful both to the one who is bitter and to one towards whom the bitterness is directed.

Bitterness will “trouble you.” The Greeks used this word to describe the trouble caused by an armed mob — wounding, killing, looting, demolishing and raping — a painful troubling indeed!

“Many be defiled.” Miaino is the Greek word for “defiled.” It means “to be stained… with demonic processes.” 3 Thus, demons are given a legal right to aggravate the bitterness. What a price!

3. UNFORGIVENESS SHUTS GOD’S EARS TO OUR PRAYERS

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:24–25

Two conditions to answered prayer are set forth in the above passage. First, one must have faith in God: “Believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Second, one must forgive “ought against any.”

In Matthew 18, in the introduction of His teaching on forgiveness, Jesus said:

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shalt ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matt 18:19

If, for example, a husband and wife are in disunity due to some offense, their prayers are hindered (see: 1 Pet. 3:7). God will not give them the things they agree upon, and neither will He be in their midst (Matt. 18:20). What a price to pay for a broken relationship.

How many times have we been frustrated in our prayers, and even felt angry toward God, because we have prayed and prayed without a response from above? We need to search our hearts and be confident that there is no suggestion of unforgiveness toward others. Our prayers are in vain when uttered out of bitter hearts. Indeed, what a price!

4. UNFORGIVENESS ROUSES GOD TO TURN US OVER TO TORMENTORS, AND IT BLOCKS OUR DELIVERANCE

And his lord was wroth [with the unforgiving servant], and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Matt. 18:34–35

Notice that it is God Himself who turned the unforgiving servant over to the tormentors. So, this was an act of Divine judgment. By drawing from other Bible translations, we see the seriousness of the punishment imposed:

“In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured…” NIV

“And angrily his master handed him over to the scourgers…” BERKLEY

“And so angry was the master that he condemned the man to torture…” NEB

Who are these jailers, scourgers and torturers? They are demon spirits. The punishment imposed on the unforgiving one is the same fate that awaits the devil and his demons.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Rev. 20:10

The Legion in the Gadarene demoniac cried out in fear of Jesus, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:29). This demon understood well his ultimate destiny. The word “torment” occurs again in Rev. 9:5 in reference to locust-like demons released from the bottomless pit with the power of scorpions to inflict torment on men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads. This is not a pretty picture.

Don’t blame God or His ministers if you cannot receive deliverance. No deliverance minister can cast demons out of anyone who has unforgiveness in his heart. If God has turned him over to the tormentors until he “should pay all that was due,” then the debt of forgiveness must be settled first. What a price is imposed on an unforgiving heart when, as a result, one is turned over to tormenting demons that cannot be cast out.

5. Unforgiveness Gives Satan an Advantage

To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Cor. 2:10–11

There was a man in the Corinthian church who was involved incestuously with his father’s wife. Paul had led the church to take disciplinary action,

“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

1 Cor. 5:5

Later, in his second letter to Corinth, Paul saw that the sinful man had repented and deserved restoration into the Body of Christ lest “such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow,” and lest through their failure to forgive, “Satan should get an advantage” of the church (2 Cor. 3:7,11).

Satan will seize every opportunity to foster division, for then he can win his objective. The Church had taken a necessary action in disciplining the unrepentant sinner, and now it was time for all to agree upon his restoration and forgive him. There would be no inconsistency in forgiving him, for Jesus gives instruction, “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them” (Luke 17:3 NIV).

By refusing to forgive, restore and encourage a repentant person, we allow a broken relationship to remain unresolved, and we allow the devil to carry out his “devices” against us. What a price for self-imposed ignorance!

6. UNFORGIVENESS PREVENTS US FROM PARTAKING OF GOD’S NATURE

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Pet. 1:3–4

Peter goes on to exhort us to add to our faith: virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Love-based forgiveness is the apex of Christian character and the nature of God. Without the exercise of these virtues, one is declared “blind” and unable “to see afar off.” He loses his spiritual perception, becomes barren and unfruitful and forgets that “he was purged from his old sins” (2 Pet. 1:8–9). What a price to pay for unforgiveness!

7. Unforgiveness Causes us to Walk in Darkness

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother [is unforgiving], is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:9–11

Walking in darkness is walking in step with Satan and his kingdom. It is doing the devil’s thing rather than God’s thing. As Christians, we should know better. When we were born again, God “delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” Col. 1:13. But, when we allow our hearts to be consumed with hatred and unforgiveness, we forsake the light and walk again in paths of darkness where there is no Divine guidance.

The light of God is spiritual armor: discernment and protection from the wiles of the devil. In order to equip ourselves with the “armor of light” we must first “cast off the works of darkness.”

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk… not in strife and envying [void of love and forgiveness].

Rom. 13:12–3

Can you afford to live apart from Divine guidance without protection from the devil’s wiles? What a price to pay for harboring unforgiveness!

8. UNFORGIVENESS BINDS US TO THE ONE WE DESPISE

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

John 20:23

REMIT means to let go, pardon and forgive. When you forgive another’s sins against you, you let it drop; forget it and cease to dwell on the offense and the offender any longer.

RETAIN means to hold on to. Thus, unforgiveness locks you into the other person. You are not free; the poison of bitterness continues to flow within you.

In centuries past, the punishment for murder was to chain the murderer to his victim’s body. He was forced to drag the dead body with him everywhere he went until it decayed and fell away of its own accord. What a dramatic illustration of what unforgiveness does to us. We are tied to the person we despise; we cannot get away from tormenting thoughts and emotions. What a price!

9. Unforgiveness Robs us of Eternal Rewards

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?…

Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss.

1 Cor. 3:3, 13–15

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

2 Cor. 5:10

…we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Rom. 14:10b, 12

Some recoil at the thought of forgiving others. Let them weigh the consequences. When the loss of eternal reward is at stake, what a price to pay for a stubborn refusal to forgive!

10. Unforgiveness Grieves the Holy Spirit

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, 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.

Eph. 4:30–32

There are various ways of bringing sorrow to the Holy Spirit. It was assumed by Paul that the Spirit dwelt within every Ephesian believer and that the experience of His fullness would have an effect upon their integrity, speech and attitude toward others. Therefore, he exhorted them to put away and get rid of every trace of unseemly blemishes. Bitterness must be replaced with sweetness. Wrath and anger are unjustifiable human emotions manifesting themselves in shouting, brawling, slander and abuse. The poisonous fountain of all these grievances is the “old man [self]” which must be “put off” and replaced with the “new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22, 24).

Mutual forgiveness reflects spiritual maturity and true Christian fellowship that must flow from ungrudging love. Our forgiveness of others is to be like God’s forgiveness of us. Paul sets forth the highest motivation when he exhorts: “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” How could we dare offend the precious Holy Spirit by Whom we are “sealed unto the day of redemption?” Grieving the Holy Spirit through unforgiveness is a sin, the price of which is too great to consider.

2 A quotation from G. D. Boardman by: Broadus, John A., An American Commentary on the New Testament, Vol I, The American Baptist Publication Society, 1886, p. 142.

3 Bromiley, G.W., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Wm. E. Eerdman’s, 1974, 593.

CHARACTERISTICS AND BENEFITS OF TRUE FORGIVENESS

TRUE FORGIVENESS KNOWS NO LIMITATIONS

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven.

Matt. 18:21–22

7 x 70 = 490. Does this mean that after we have forgiven someone exactly 490 times that we can then hate him and retaliate against him with God’s approval? Of course not. Jesus is speaking of unlimited forgiveness. Since unforgiveness is sin, then we must never cease to forgive.

TRUE FORGIVENESS IMPOSES NO CONDITIONS

True forgiveness is birthed in grace. Grace is not founded on performance-based acceptance but upon love-based acceptance. How could God ever accept us based on our performance? But He has! He has accepted us on the basis of what Christ did for us at Calvary.

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Eph. 1:6

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom. 5:8

The word “accepted” is charitoo, a form of charis, the Greek word for grace. God’s acceptance of us in Christ is freely bestowed. His grace is “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.” 4

God imposed no conditions on us as a prerequisite to meriting His forgiveness. Likewise, we are to freely forgive with gracious hearts, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. (Eph. 4:32).

TRUE FORGIVENESS IS A DEBT WE OWE

Until we have forgiven, we owe a debt. Wherever there is an occasion to forgive, there is a debt that is owed. The Word says,

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

Rom. 13:8

Or, as the NIV renders the verse:

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.”

One can never utterly claim to have discharged his debt to love others. It is an ongoing obligation.

One who loves both God and neighbors has fulfilled the law. At issue here is not love of God but love of one’s neighbor. Gal. 5:22–23 sheds further light on love. Paul calls love a fruit of the Spirit that fulfills the law. There is no law against loving your neighbor, and there is no law that forbids you to forgive your enemies. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of love in a yielded believer (a love to which the law offers no objection), for “against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:23). Love fulfills all that the law requires, and the debt is canceled. To be perpetually in debt is not a good testimony for a Christian, and to refuse to make good one’s obligation is disgraceful. Therefore, pay your debt by forgiving all.

TRUE FORGIVENESS IS AN ACT OF THE WILL

Forgiveness is a decision not a feeling; therefore, it is not something that occurs over a period of time, or in stages, but in one fell swoop. We’ve all heard people say, “Well, I’ve tried to forgive him” or “I’ve forgiven him a little.” Those who make such statements do not understand the nature of true forgiveness. Isn’t God’s forgiveness instantaneous and complete? Indeed, we are not waiting for God to have a feeling of forgiveness or to arrive at final forgiveness through some gradual process. God decided, even before we sinned, to forgive us through Jesus Christ.

Make a quality decision to forgive one and all. Forgiving others is not a piecemeal or prolonged process; it is an instantaneous determination based on one’s expectation of like forgiveness from God.

TRUE FORGIVENESS IS ACCOMPANIED BY A RIGHT ATTITUDE

Let there now be acceptance where once there was avoidance, a gracious attitude replacing former hate and resentment. Wish no evil to befall your former enemy. Speak no evil of him to others, and put no curse upon him. This right attitude and its fruit are aptly expressed in the following scripture:

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not… Recompense to no man evil for evil… If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath… Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good… Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple [harmless] concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

Rom. 12:14,17–21; 14:19; 16:19b,20a

TRUE FORGIVENESS QUALIFIES ONE FOR DELIVERANCE

As we have previously pointed out, unforgiveness puts us into the custody of tormenting spirits (see Matt. 18:34–35). Full and sincere forgiveness is a prerequisite for deliverance. God has given the devil a legal right to incarcerate and torture the unforgiving. When one is willing to say, “I forgive so-and-so for the way he has offended men,” those words become the key that turns the lock on the door of bondage and, at the same time, opens the door to deliverance.

APPRECIATION OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS EXPRESSED IN ACTS OF THANKSGIVING

In the Gospel of Luke 7:37–50, we are told of a sinful woman who acted out her thankfulness to Jesus. She found Jesus at supper in the home of Simon, a Pharisee. She proceeded to bathe his feet with tears, wipe them with her hair and anoint them with perfume.

Simon was critical of Jesus for allowing a sinful woman to minister to Him in this way. Jesus reminded this Pharisee that he had not shown the Master the common courtesy of providing water for his feet, greeting him with a kiss or anointing his head with oil, which were the very things this woman had done for Him. Then Jesus added, “to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke 7:47). In other words, Simon had no appreciation for either love or forgiveness. He was void of thankfulness.

The woman’s forgiveness was unearned, and it is this fact that drew out her love. Her love was not the basis of forgiveness, but her faith was: “And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (v. 50). Indeed, we, too, are forgiven by grace through faith.

A realization of what the Cross has done for us will evoke choruses of thanksgiving from us.

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye… teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Col. 3:13, 16b

For:

… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

lsa. 53:5 NIV

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is one's self. When one dwells on the fact that he really doesn’t deserve to be forgiven, that there is nothing he can do to merit forgiveness, that he is unable to reverse the problems that he has caused and the hurts he has inflicted, it is easy to fall into the devil’s traps of hating and despising oneself.

The meaning of grace is found when Christ does something for us that we could never do for ourselves. The acceptance of grace absolves us from all guilt; therefore, we must never allow the devil to put a guilt trip on us. If God has forgiven us, then what right do we have to put ourselves under condemnation?

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus… For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Rom. 8:2–3

We have seen in Hebrews 12:15 that bitterness is a root. It is comparable to the root of the so-called Careless Weed that grows in Southern States. Its tap root grows rapidly and goes deep into the soil. After a few days of growth, it is difficult to dislodge. Out of the root of bitterness springs unforgiveness, hatred, anger, retaliation, violence and murder. All of these emotions and actions are compounded when coupled with a stubbornness that locks one into unforgiveness.

The soil in which bitterness grows is unthankfulness; when one forgets that he has been purged from his old sins, as God for Christ’s sake forgave him. God forbid that we have received the grace of God in vain.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2 Cor. 5:21–6:1

4 Thayer, JR., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, American Book Co., 1889, p. 666.

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS

Lord, others have trespassed against me, but in obedience to Your command and following Your example, I now forgive each person who has ever hurt me in any way. As an act of my will I now forgive [name them, both living and dead]. Lord, I bless each of these, and I love them with your love. I ask you to forgive them, also. And because You have forgiven me, I also forgive and accept myself in the love of Jesus Christ. The curse of unforgiveness has no more power over me. In Jesus’ name I pray.

AMEN!

RESIST THE DEVIL

Satan, I take back all the ground that you ever gained in my life because of my failure and unwillingness to forgive others. I belong to Christ, and He has washed away my sins with his redeeming blood. You and your demons have no more right to me and no power over me. I command every spirit of the root of bitterness and all their companions to leave me, right now, in the Name of Jesus. I also command all spirits of mental, emotional and physical torment to leave me. Go in the Name of Jesus! (Press on in the battle until you are completely free).

AMEN!

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Liberating Benefits of Forgiving Others

The High Cost of Unforgiveness

Characteristics and Benefits of True Forgiveness

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS

RESIST THE DEVIL

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Liberating Benefits of Forgiving Others

The High Cost of Unforgiveness

Characteristics and Benefits of True Forgiveness

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS

RESIST THE DEVIL