Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Sam Storms on Forgiveness - What It Is, What It Is Not

Five Myths about Forgiveness:

  • Contrary to what many have been led to believe, forgiveness is not forgetting.
  • Forgiving someone does not mean you no longer feel the pain of their offense.
  • Forgiving someone who has sinned against you doesn’t mean you cease longing for justice.
  • Forgiveness does not mean you are to make it easy for the offender to hurt you again.
  • Forgiveness is rarely a one-time, climactic event. It is most often a life-long process.


Five Truths about Forgiveness:

  • God in Christ forgave us by absorbing in himself the destructive and painful consequences of our sin against him.
  • God forgave us in Christ by canceling the debt we owed him. That is to say, we are no longer held liable for our sins or in any way made to pay for them.
  • Forgiving others as God has forgiven us means we resolve to revoke revenge.
  • Forgiving others as God has forgiven us means that we determine to do good to them rather than evil. Read especially Romans 12:17-21.
  • God forgave us in Christ by reconciling us to himself, by restoring the relationship that our sin had shattered.

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