When you fail to forgive
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Col. 3:13 ESV)
Forgiving others always
Forgiveness is a very serious subject and the Bible has a lot to say about it. Christians must forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. We must even forgive others sacrificially, if it becomes necessary. We see an example of this when Stephen asked God to forgive those who were stoning him to death. (Acts 7:54-60).
Warnings about not forgiving others
God won’t forgive you - “… if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6:14-15)
Sickness, weakness or death - Don’t take communion without first forgiving others. “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Cor. 11:28-29 ESV)
Stirred up trouble –“Hatred stirs up trouble, but love forgives all wrongs.” (Prov. 10:12)
Keep on forgiving
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matt. 18:21 ESV)
Jesus taught to pray this way…
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6:12-15 ESV)
Therefore…
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you…” (Matt. 6:14 ESV)
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:2 ESV)
Quote:
“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.” - Henry Ward Beecher