God wants to forgive us, but He can’t forgive someone who harbors resentment and unforgiveness. Join Pastor John Bradshaw as we discuss the topic of forgiveness and its power to mend and restore a broken heart.

<p>God wants to forgive us, but He can’t forgive someone who harbors resentment and unforgiveness. Join Pastor John Bradshaw as we discuss the topic of forgiveness and its power to mend and restore a broken heart.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

It Is Written

John Bradshaw

Forgiveness

Let's pray together and ask for God's blessing.

Our Father in heaven, we come to you in the name of Jesus.

We are thankful for your presence with us.

We ask that you would speak to us through your word and bless us.

Guide us in the word we ask in Jesus' name.

Between 1948 and 1994 there existed 1 of the most controversial political practices in all of the 20th century.

To those born after that time, or even to those of us looking back all these years later, it can seem almost bizarre that the South African system of apartheid was ever practiced and accepted.

Apartheid is a word that means separateness.

The system of apartheid was 1 of legal racial segregation.

Apartheid classified South Africans, and even visitors to South Africa, into racial groups — black, white, coloured, and Indian or Asian.

A law passed in 1949 made it illegal for people to marry someone of another race.

Everyone over the age of 18 was forced to carry an identity card specifying their racial group.

It was illegal for people of different races to use the same public amenities such as restaurants, public swimming pools, restrooms.

Blacks were relocated to live in black homelands.

And in 1970, black South Africans were no longer considered citizens of South Africa, but instead were citizens of 1 of 10 self-governing territories.

Of course, the system bred massive discontent, enormous protests, and drew international condemnation.

Many were brutally, cruelly, unjustly treated under apartheid.

But sadly, here in this country, we can imagine it, only too vividly.

De Klerk was elected president of South Africa in 1990, he moved swiftly to end apartheid.

He controversially received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, along with Nelson Mandela.

By the time elections were held in 1994, apartheid had been dismantled and the nation of South Africa was being governed by a black majority.

Now you might expect that when blacks in South Africa assumed power, that their prime concern would be revenge.

Many people expected mass bloodshed, vendettas, rioting.

But what happened was something really rather incredible.

Though it was imperfect, and though some people would strongly disagree with it, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up, where victims and perpetrators of violence and injustice could testify.

The chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Like the country's new president, Nelson Mandela, he was committed to seeing South Africa move forward and not descend into chaos.

And after serving in that capacity, he recognized the 1 key component that would give the nation surely, or should I say, that would surely give the nation a future.

He said, There can be no future without forgiveness.

In Matthew 6, right after Jesus gave his disciples the Lord's Prayer, he said this, it's Matthew 6 and verse 14, He said, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, let me read that again, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Now that's a whale of a statement.

Jesus said plainly, unambiguously, if you don't forgive others, God won't forgive you.

Now, he didn't say, if you don't obey me, God won't forgive you.

He didn't say, if you don't serve others, God won't forgive you.

He said, if you don't forgive others, God will not forgive you." And that's a statement that many people struggle with.

Because while you're sitting there wondering, does God really want me to forgive a certain individual for that?

The answer that comes back to us from the Word of God is, yes, even that.

In Jesus' day, it was evidently spiritually fashionable for people to be religious outwardly, but inwardly full of garbage.

Those pitiful Jewish leaders who didn't want to desecrate the Passover while they were in the throes of murdering the Son of God.

James and John, who were laboring with Jesus and planning on calling fire down from heaven and incinerating some people who they felt were uncooperative.

Leaders in the church who were careful to fast and fulfill certain religious requirements, but they were planning to kill Lazarus.

So when Peter came to Jesus 1 day to ask a question, he had to felt pretty righteous.

He said in Matthew 18, verse 21, LORD, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until 7 times, but until 70 times 7.

Jesus taught that it is the duty, and I would add the privilege, of the Christian to forgive, And he taught that forgiveness is a prerequisite for entering into heaven.

If you are an unforgiving person, or if you are holding onto grudges and slights and hurts and crimes that you are flat out refusing to forgive, don't waste your energy hoping to go to heaven.

Heaven is not for those who refuse to forgive.

The 1 who had the greatest reason not to forgive was Jesus.

There He was, dying for the sins of others, not His own sins, but your sins and my sins, and as people were driving nails into his hands and into his feet.

Jesus prayed to his father and said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

And that's interesting, because they knew exactly what they were doing.

Crucifixion was calculated to inflict maximum pain and damage, the greatest amount of suffering.

What they did was intentional, yet Jesus cried out to His Father and requested that His Father forgive His tormentors.

While they knew what they were doing physically, they did not get it spiritually.

Sometimes it can seem impossible to forgive.

Someone right now is saying, I know that I have to forgive, I know what the Bible says, but how do I do it?

How do you forgive someone who ruined your marriage?

How do you forgive someone who ruined you financially?

How do you forgive someone who slandered you deliberately?

Who was responsible for you losing a job?

How do you forgive someone who abused you or who killed your family member?

How do you forgive a parent who ruined your life?

How can a German Jew forgive his or her Nazi captors?

How does an African American forgive a racist system?

Or a South African, a black South African, forgive apartheid?

But Jesus doesn't ask you to do the impossible.

That is, he doesn't ask you to do anything that his grace can not enable you to do.

What do we read in Philippians 4 and verse 13?

We read, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, through Jesus.

Even forgiveness for the most awful things can become real in your life.

Ephesians 4.31 says, Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.

Be kind 1 to another, tenderhearted, forgiving 1 another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you." Well Let's first consider what forgiveness isn't.

A lot of people would be able to let those forgiveness issues go if they knew what forgiveness is not.

It isn't saying something is okay when that something is not okay.

Forgiveness isn't necessarily forgiving and making up and pretending like nothing ever happened.

And forgiveness is not necessarily setting others free.

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Forgiveness

Transcript

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Recorded

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35m

Breaking the Silence

37m

The Cost of Forgiveness

52m

Marriage Heart to Heart

Forgiveness

54m

Seventy Times Seven

38m

Care Enough To Confront

42m

Forgiveness: Preparation for Eternity

28m

A Legacy of Faithful Service

54m

The Power of God's Forgiveness

3- Our Joy in Forgiveness

53m

The Alabaster Box- How Jesus Treated People

40m

The Parables

The Unforgiving Servant

39m

The Savior and the Sanctuary

41m

Sound Doctrine