Forgiveness is About Reconciliation; It is Not Therapeutic!
We live in an age, like many in the past that tries to redefine what God has stated and demonstrated leads to a gospel centered life, a life in the Kingdom.
Most Christians fail to even realize we are living in eternity NOW!
Our way of life, our heart, our way of thinking must be focused on Christ and how he thought and lived. Anything else is of the world.
As the secular, scientific mindset has taken over many churches and Christians we have subsequently made all things a matter of personal choice. Many things then become a therapeutic problem.
For those of us willing to see our world and the American Culture in particular has shown us what a failure the "Therapeutic" worldview is. We have adopted the thought processes of relativism and it has invaded everything. Technology has been included in this post-modern mix which in our arrogance allows us to the deluded conclusions we can change even our sex if it makes us feel better.
Sin via The Fall and the subsequent involvement of the Satanic Powers always leads to self-destruction. It is a pattern repeated over and over in human history.
Symptoms of this include the cancel culture (shame & dishonor) that is now widely adopted because it allows us to "win". We value outrage and offense more than humility and forgiveness. Sadly many Christian's have bought into this sinful mindset.
Social media is like gasoline on a fire. Perhaps the potential crash and burn of Twitter & Facebook with help us.
Repent & Forgive
Keep in mind true biblical repentance does not mean 'self-pity and self-absorption, far from it. Self loathing and beating yourself up is yet another sinful attempt by our wicked hearts to by pass the reality. People are image makers of God, all of them, even those who slander you and wrong you. Your caricature of them in your mind or else where diminishes their value.
As in all things we must repent in order to forgive.
Your Lord & The Person of the Holy Spirit constantly sees what is in your heart. All of us will answer before God for our unrepentant thinking and our unforgiveness.
This is no small thing!
Yes forgiveness is complex and more often than not nothing of this earth can right the wrong. God's Holy Word tells us that either the offender will repent and believe in Christ or will not and ultimately face judgement. Your revenge becomes just one more sin you must answer for.
BUT.. There should be no sinful pleasure that someone's soul will burn in Hell. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and remember God is also a just judge. The prophets have shown that no amount of human evil and stubbornness can ultimately stop God’s forgiveness. Jesus’s forgiveness does not seek the unrepentant, nor does He bear their punishment.
John 3:36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Renounce Revenge
Revenge is in no way a part of the Christian Way of Life.
Today many professing "Christians" advertise their revenge mentality. Yet it is a sinful mind set that separates us from God.
Is this you?
Forgiveness then is conditional, meaning it takes place when the offender is repentant. Our Christ-like thinking requires us always to offer the gift of forgiveness. And to also avoid the sinful temptation to use it as a weapon.
Forgiveness focuses on Christ and the Cross, what he did for us, let us make it so in our lives!
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