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On this Sunday’s sermon the pastor used Matthew 6:5-15:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
His message was "The Need to Forgive"
The pastor said he had agonized over this message for a couple of weeks. He said this sermon was as much to himself as to the congregation.
He gave an example of a lady that had been shot and was trying to forgive the assailants. She said, "I know I have to forgive them otherwise God will not forgive me."
The New Testament is littered with admonitions to forgive those who have harmed us.
“What is forgiveness,” the pastor asked. He replied, “Forgiveness calls sin, sin. It holds sinners accountable for their actions. Forgiveness is a verb and not a noun. We forgive first and then the sinner must confess their sin. God's forgiveness does not wait for repentance, it forgives first. Accidents need to be excused as opposed to forgiven.“
“Does forgiveness indicate a works-based theology? If we refuse to forgive others, it shows we have not really been saved. Our hearts are still hard as stone.”
The pastor related the story of Joseph and his brothers selling him into slavery and his forgiveness of his brothers for doing so. Forgiveness is hard - very hard. God gives us the power to forgive. God takes even the evil done against us to make it good.
Jesus says if we refuse to forgive, we don't really understand why he died on the cross. Forgiveness is an act of faith. We must forgive those who hurt us. That's what the Bible teaches. Our own salvation depends on it. Lack of forgiveness is like a poison in our being. It eats away at us.
Few people really truly forgive. Forgiveness is a directive of our Lord, not a suggestion.
Posted by Ted at March 28, 2004 7:29 PM