258 - Forgiveness is the Fruit of Grace#
258 - Forgiveness is the Fruit of Grace
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Matthew 18:19-22,
19 Again I tell you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” 21 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?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! Thank You for leading us to Your presence during this wonderful time. We are willing to receive Your grace and live it out in our lives. Please help us to receive strength from You, to live it out, no longer relying on ourselves, but solely looking to You, and completely entrusting this time to the Holy Spirit to renew and guide us. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!
The topic we are sharing is: Forgiveness is the Fruit of Grace.
No matter how long you have believed in the Lord, or if you have not believed in Jesus, forgiveness is something we all need to do. However, this is not something that can be done just because it is told to you. The world knows about forgiveness, but they cannot forgive. What is the difference between us and them? If you believe in Jesus but still rely on yourself to forgive others, it shows that your faith is not effective.
We are all recipients of grace, and God also hopes that we receive His abundant grace continuously, allowing us to be renewed and transformed. The ultimate goal is for us to live in this world by relying on God's grace. Therefore, our faith must be grounded; we should not just say, "I do not look at this world; I see this world as dung; I am a citizen of heaven"… Don’t you think that sounds empty? After you leave the church, do you encounter earthly people or heavenly people? Jesus did not ask us to believe in Him and then isolate ourselves in the mountains and forests.
Since we live in this world, we must interact with people, and in our interactions, misunderstandings between people are inevitable. Why do misunderstandings occur between people? The root cause began with Adam and Eve. Ever since they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, conflicts, suspicions, and distrust began to arise among people.
The most important point is that there is a distinction of good and evil within, and the standard is oneself. When there is a conflict between people, they say, “I am right, you are wrong.” If we find ourselves in a conflict and feel that we are wrong and the other party is right, we will not deliberately argue with them. We all think the other person is wrong, and we want to correct them, and if we approach others with this attitude, the problems will only increase, leading to misunderstandings and conflicts.
What should we, as children of God, do? This is precisely when we need to use grace; otherwise, our faith will become disconnected from our lives. If we only know about grace but do not apply it in our lives, and when faced with situations we still act as we did before, just like the world, then the Lord's faith seems to have little effect on us, and we might still be in a theoretical stage. What should we do then?
Continuously meditate on God's word, making His word a part of ourselves, and try to face our lives with God's word. Some things you may not understand, but when you try to do them, you say, “Lord! I cannot do this, but give me strength to do this.” When you act, you will witness God's power in you, which can save yourself and those who hear you.
The first point we share: Forgiving others is releasing oneself.
In the scripture we read today, Jesus is saying: In the church, you must pray with one heart and one mind, and my Father in heaven will surely fulfill it for you. God does not look at the number of people, but whether these people can be of one heart and one mind together. If the people gathered together are of one heart and one mind, such gatherings will be beneficial. While Jesus was speaking this, Peter came forward and said to Jesus, “Lord! My brother has sinned against me.”
Does that prove they are of one heart and one mind? Peter said, “How many times must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” We can think about it; now there are issues between people in the church, and Peter says, “I think forgiving him seven times is enough, right?” According to Peter, the maximum tolerance is seven times.
I want to tell everyone: Every church has problems. First, let’s clarify the concept: What is a church? A church is not a building; it is a group of people redeemed by the blood of Jesus gathered together. The smallest church is two people, and the key is to let Jesus be among you. Since these people are together, conflicts are inevitable; everyone’s thoughts and personalities are different, so when interacting, it is unavoidable to encounter differing viewpoints.
Peter’s brother offended him, and he said, “I can forgive him seven times.” This might be Peter’s limit. How many times do you think you can forgive someone who offends you? For example, if there is a problem between a husband and wife, and the wife says, “I am a Christian; I will forgive you first and not hold it against you.” Is this forgiveness? It sounds like the issue is temporarily set aside, but the matter still lingers in her heart. Once, twice… until one day it explodes, and she will bring up the first incident, proving that there was no real forgiveness, just a temporary suppression in her heart.
What God means by forgiveness is to wipe it away. You have a sin, and God wipes it away; now it cannot be seen, nor can it be brought up again. This is called forgiveness, meaning that the matter is completely over, and from then on, it will never be mentioned again; it has become the past, forever forgotten. This is Jesus’ forgiveness for us. So do not think that God will one day bring up old accounts; that is not the case. This is Jesus’ forgiveness for us.
Therefore, the meaning of forgiveness is to eliminate, forget, and never bring it up again. By this standard, how many times can you forgive someone? It is others who offend you, not you who offend others. Some say three times is already pushing it. But Jesus tells Peter to forgive seventy times seven; seventy and seven are both complete numbers in the Bible, meaning complete forgiveness.
The power of complete forgiveness certainly does not come from within you; what comes from within you might be two or three times, or maybe seven times like Peter, which is already the limit. Beyond that, you cannot forgive anymore. But the forgiveness that comes from God is eternal forgiveness.
Let’s first look at forgiveness under the law, Matthew 6:14-15,
14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Under the law, God requires us to forgive. Why does God want us to forgive? Some say, “If I do not forgive others, God will not forgive me.” This is something you must forgive. What I want to say now is, why does God want you to forgive? You must understand what God’s original intention is.
Let me ask you a question: The essence of the law is love, four words: love God, love others. Since it is love, think about it, why does God want you to forgive? If you do not forgive, people will be in constant conflict, condemnation, and self-blame. Whether under the law or under grace, God hopes we will forgive. What if some people are unwilling to forgive? Therefore, God established a rule under the law: If you do not forgive others, I will not forgive you. Some people say, “Then I will not forgive; what will God do to me?”
Look at Mark 11:24-25,
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Jesus also spoke other scriptures: When you want to offer a gift to God and remember that your adversary has not been forgiven, leave your gift there, go back and reconcile with your adversary, and then come back to offer your gift. This is all under the law; it seems that if I do not forgive, God will not let me go. But we think, since God is love, why does He insist that we choose to forgive?
Conversely, if a person prays with hatred in their heart, what will they pray for? If I hate someone, when I pray, do you think I won’t think of them? I think of them, and how can I pray for them before God? Obviously, curses will arise. I don’t know if you have ever prayed like this: “Lord! Strike that person dead with lightning.”
Isn’t this a curse? Coming before God with hatred, does God want us to live like this? Suppose you have twelve children, and one child comes to you and says, “Dad! Quickly whip the eldest to death; I see him suffering…” As a father, what would you do? Would you fulfill that prayer? No.
What does our Heavenly Father see us as? We are all His children, but how do we pray? “Lord! Quickly strike that person dead with lightning; they are truly despicable.” Do you think God will fulfill that for you? Then when God does not fulfill it, what will you do? Eventually, one day, you will hate God too.
So God says, “When you come before me with hatred, first remove that.” Under the law, no matter what method you use, you must remove it first, even if unwillingly, which is difficult for us to do. So brothers and sisters, Jesus also gave us a command to forgive others; otherwise, it will affect us, and we will be bound ourselves. God wants us to forgive because He hopes we will be released.
Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven (forgive: the original text is release).”
When you forgive him, how will you be released? In the eyes of the world, if he offends me and I forgive him, I lose face; if I forgive him, I am not respecting my own dignity. Isn’t that so? Think about this question: When you do not forgive him, who gets hurt? Sometimes we think that by hating him, he will also suffer with me, but what if he does not even know about it? The one who gets hurt is still you. God cares about you, which is why He hopes you will let go of these things from your heart.
If there is a conflict between two people, whoever lets go of the conflict first, receives the power of forgiveness from God first, and is released first. Amen! If neither person is willing to release, then both are bound. This is what God wants us to do; He says, “Let there be no jealousy, strife, or quarrels in your heart.” God hopes that His love, joy, and peace will fill your heart.
This is us under grace, right? God hopes we live this kind of life. When your heart is filled with hatred, how can you be filled with love? You may have experienced this; when someone is filled with hatred, how do they see the world? They see everyone as targeting them.
Suppose one day you wake up in a bad mood, driving to work, and you notice how many red lights there are. Every time it’s a red light for me! Even the traffic lights are against you, and you see nothing good around… Actually, it’s not that the world has changed; it’s that your heart is filled with hatred, filled with jealousy and strife, which leads to your being bound.
God hopes you will be released, so at that time Jesus said to Peter, “Whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” Who is bound? When a person’s heart is filled with hatred, they are actually bound by the lies of the devil. We need to untie it.
For example, some people have not believed in Jesus and have lived in hatred and jealousy. We need to untie them by first letting the evil forces leave them, then allowing the Holy Spirit to enter them and renew them, and that person will be released. Amen!
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged; do not condemn others, and you will not be condemned; forgive others, and you will be forgiven. For us, no matter how your adversary treats you, God hopes we will always forgive, which is the forgiveness of seventy times seven, allowing no hatred, grievances, or complaints to exist in your heart.
Please remember: When you forgive him, you do not lose; when he does not forgive you, he is the one who loses. This is life under grace. Our preaching ultimately aims to help you live in your life. Some say, “But I have been wronged, I have suffered losses…” You forget: God will give you more. Temporarily, you may indeed suffer some loss, but God will compensate you. The key is whether you can believe in this Lord; if you do not believe in everything about Him, you truly cannot forgive.
Luke 17:3-4,
3 Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
These are the words Jesus spoke to us. It is clear from the beginning that you must pay attention; to pay attention means not to take this as a common matter, but to often think about it. Why does Jesus emphasize this? If your brother sins against you, who has sinned against whom? You will find that in these matters, Jesus does not discuss right or wrong; perhaps you are right, and he is wrong. Why should I forgive him?
The Bible does not say, “If you are right, you will not be bound.” Sometimes you are indeed right, but your adversary will still find fault with you, thinking you are wrong even when you are right. If you fall for his tricks and go against him, you will be bound. So brothers and sisters, you must be cautious; if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. How to rebuke? The Bible says if your brother goes astray, you should gently rebuke him with love. If he repents, forgive him, and you will be released. This means that the matter has passed, and I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus!
Is this the state after forgiveness? Thank the Lord! If he sins against you seven times in a day and then says he is wrong seven times, what should you do? At this time, you need to learn to be a bit foolish; some might say, “After seven times, to forgive him again means we have a problem.” God says if he turns back seven times, forgive him seven times, to let your heart be released. Thank and praise the Lord!
Always remember: In life, sometimes we suffer grievances, pain, and bondage because we care too much about right and wrong. When it comes to right and wrong, it will produce some condemnation in the heart. For example, we always think: Is this thing right or wrong? You may inadvertently condemn yourself or others. Look at whether your starting point is out of love; the Bible also has rebuke, which is that he has done wrong, and when we rebuke him, shouldn’t we also seek to restore him? When rebuking him, are we saying pleasant words? If it is out of love, it is to help him; if not helping, then it will lead to his demise.
If we focus on right and wrong, we either feel that others have wronged us or we feel we are too despicable. Proactive forgiveness is a fruit under grace; clearly, you are right, yet you go to find him and reconcile. The Lord Jesus hopes we live in His freedom. Freedom means you will not be disturbed or affected by this matter. Amen!
In this world, when people interact, if one person scolds another, does that person not react at all? Generally, the reaction of the other person is the same; they hope that the other person will react with rage, veins bulging… At this moment, they become happy and more vigorous in their scolding. If your heart is filled with the grace of Jesus Christ, you are filled with the freedom of Jesus, when they continuously attack you with slanderous and malicious words, you can bless them in your heart, and your heart is filled with grace. Some say, “I cannot do that.” Indeed, you cannot do it; today I am not asking you to strive to do it, but to understand the grace of Jesus. Hallelujah!
The second point we share: The power of forgiveness comes from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your little-mindedness cannot forgive others. Ephesians 4:30-32,
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
The previous verses tell us that if the heart is always filled with bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander, it will grieve the Holy Spirit. Do not casually grieve the Holy Spirit. What truly grieves the Holy Spirit is that your heart should not be filled with these bitterness; the Holy Spirit wants to comfort her, but she is filled with bitterness and cannot hear anyone’s words.
If she thinks about the grace of Jesus Christ, these bitterness will be removed; God does not want us to live in bitterness. Therefore, all these must be put away from you. How to remove them? The next verse also gives us the method: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Where does this power come from? The last sentence, as God in Christ forgave you.
How did God forgive you? You were filled with sin, had many bad habits, and committed countless sins in your life. God sent His most beloved Son to suffer, die, and shed blood for you to forgive your sins. From a human perspective, who among us deserves Jesus to die for us? No one, but God wants to accept you; He wants to fulfill part of His righteousness. You have sin, and He cannot look at you without sin, so He must resolve your sin by having His Son die for you, fulfilling His righteousness. Jesus, so lovely and holy, ultimately died for you, so when God looks at you, all your sins are forgiven. Amen!
He sees you through Jesus. When we think about how Jesus forgives us, you will have the power of forgiveness within you. Your friend offends you, and compared to your relationship with Jesus, you have offended Jesus more. When you think this way, when you forgive others, you always think, “How did Jesus forgive me? How did Jesus pay for me? Even though I am nothing, I have so many bad habits, yet Jesus still forgave me.”
Think about the grace of Jesus, and you will have the strength to forgive everyone around you. When you truly have the strength to forgive, you are the one who gains freedom and release. Amen! When we understand this, Christians under grace become very proactive. Perhaps it is indeed their fault, but this person can find them, forgive them, and admit their mistakes. This does not mean that when you find your brother’s mistakes, you do not point them out, and everyone just says nice things.
The meaning of forgiveness is that even if he offends you, you do not let these exist in your heart. When you communicate with this person, you can face them calmly, and your heart is still filled with love. Think about Jesus on the cross; He was nailed to the cross for our sins, yet there were still people mocking Him, “Doctor! Haven’t you been able to stir things up for years? Haven’t you healed so many people? Heal yourself, come down from there, and I will believe you…”
Are these people despicable? Isn’t this a form of mockery? But what did Jesus do? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Why could He say such words, and why was He not angry at all? If it were us, truly trying to save that person while we were about to die, and that person was still mocking you, what would we say? “Fine! You deserve to die; I won’t go on the cross; I’ll come down…” That person would be doomed! Jesus was filled with grace; when He looked at this group of people, He said, “You do not understand what you are doing now; one day you will understand, and you will not speak like this.” Amen!
At this moment, do you understand a bit? When your friends or family attack you with harsh words, you know they do not know what they are doing; they do not recognize who you are. If they believe in Jesus, they will know you are a child of God, the one whom God loves, and they will not casually attack you.
Some say, “But Christians attack each other too?” It is precisely because they do not recognize God’s grace and do not understand Jesus’ redemption that they speak arrogantly and attack others. Otherwise, do you know who stands beside you? The one redeemed by the blood of Jesus; what right do you have to attack him? Because when you attack him, you are attacking God, denying everything God has done in him. Have you thought about this? If we understand the grace of Jesus Christ, when you look at people through Jesus, you will naturally have forgiveness within you. Hallelujah! And you will truly let go of this matter completely from within.
Colossians 3:12-14,
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 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. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Through this passage, do you recognize your identity? God’s chosen ones mean you are the one chosen by God. Among so many people in the world, why did God choose you? Why does God love you? Because you are God’s chosen one, and you also have another identity: you are holy and beloved. Holy, in the original text, means set apart; it does not mean you will not sin.
In the Old Testament, the high priest’s hat had the words written on it: Holy to the Lord, indicating that he was a set-apart priest, different from others. Does that mean he would not sin? He would sin, but he was still a set-apart person. You are a holy and beloved person, proving that you are different from the world; you are God’s chosen one, the one loved by God. Thank and praise the Lord! So when you understand your identity, you will naturally live a life that matches your identity. This is not something emphasized; it is something you can live out once you understand it.
Suppose there is a beggar, filthy from head to toe, searching for food in a trash can every day. If he gets tired, he will lie directly on the ground. You walk over and say, “Look how dirty the ground is; don’t lie on the ground.” He will say, “The ground is much cleaner than me; it is cleaner than I am.”
Why would he lie on the ground casually? Because he is more filthy; others have already told him he is filthy, and he tells himself he is filthy. If you say more, he will say, “It doesn’t matter; I am just that kind of person.”
Suppose you are wearing a brand new white dress worth thousands of dollars. If you get tired while walking on the road, you would not just sit on the ground because your outer garment determines your behavior. This is not something emphasized; it is not that your parents remind you before going out that this dress is new, and if you get tired, you must find a seat and clean it before sitting down. Is it necessary to remind you so much? They only need to tell you how much this dress is worth; just tell you how clean you are.
I am now telling you: You are who you are, and then you can naturally live a life that matches your identity, and that is called behavior. You are a recipient of grace, and one fruit that comes out of it is forgiveness. Forgiveness is to let yourself be unbound and live in freedom. Hallelujah!
It is precisely because you know your identity and understand the value of Jesus Christ that you can choose to forgive others, and you have this power, which comes from Jesus. Just like I said earlier, if this dress is a precious gift from someone, you will feel much higher than others when you walk on the street because of its high value, and then your behavior will naturally change.
You can test it yourself; even if a girl is rude and behaves inappropriately, as long as she is wearing an expensive dress, she will immediately become a lady. It is precisely because you have told her the value. Similarly, if we always condemn others and say others are filthy, in the end, that person will not care anymore.
When Jesus came to preach in the world, everyone was under the law. How did Jesus treat those under the law? Did He strike them? “I am the Son of God; you are all filthy and despicable…” Did He say that? No, Jesus knew who He was, and He treated those under the law with truth and love. Jesus never said the law was bad.
So today, we should not say the law is bad, brothers and sisters; they are just bound. What they need is mercy, not attack. Therefore, we should have compassion for those under the law who are not released, giving them grace and truth. Those who are willing to receive will have their lives changed.
Today, through God’s word, you should know that you are God’s chosen one, set apart by God, and you are different from the world; you are loved by God. Always remember: God’s grace is upon you, and you will have a heart of compassion, and you will also bear the fruit of forgiveness. Amen! Some say, “This church is not good, so I want to leave; these people are not good, so I want to leave this group.”
Remember: If that is the case, you must return to heaven; you cannot find a perfect person on earth. If you say, “A certain church is great,” once you go there, that church will become bad because you have problems. If you say this group of people is great, once you go, that group will become bad because you have problems.
What we need to solve is not others; we need to change ourselves and receive God’s grace. Hallelujah! Please remember: There is no perfect church in this world; even those who believe in Jesus are imperfect. As long as it is a church on earth, there will definitely be problems. When encountering problems, we do not choose to attack, condemn, exclude, or distance ourselves, but to solve these problems with the love of Christ. Forgiveness is very important in resolving issues between people.
When a person truly understands God’s grace, they will embrace all imperfect people and use truth to help them overcome these problems. Today I want to talk to you about the principle under grace: If a person says they truly understand grace, the first manifestation is tolerance, and within tolerance is forgiveness; they can embrace everyone.
Isn’t Jesus like this? When He came to this world, how chaotic was it? Under the law, people were competing and attacking each other… Jesus embraced everyone; anyone could come to listen to Him preach, and anyone could receive from Him. Jesus loved all these people. Otherwise, there would not be the content of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…,” because He has great grace within Him.
Some say, “I can love those who are good to me, but I cannot love those who are bad to me and attack me.” This is actually the love of the world, which anyone can do. When we did not believe in Jesus, if others were good to us, we would also be good to them; that is too simple. So how does the grace you believe in Jesus manifest in you?
It is when others are not good to you that you can use God’s love to forgive them and give them God’s love. This is the manifestation of the grace of Jesus Christ. Grace is unmerited and undeserved; God gives it to us. Can we also give to others what they do not deserve and should not have? When others attack you, they deserve a curse, but you should give them the unmerited grace and blessing of God. Since you have received grace, do not give the law to others; also give grace to others.
Let’s talk about a person, Paul. Everyone is familiar with Paul. When Paul was teaching the Corinthian believers, the Corinthians did not understand and even attacked and slandered Paul, but Paul did not give up on them or let them go. Let’s read a few verses. If you were a pastor, how would you treat this group of believers?
2 Corinthians 8:20-21,
20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.
After Paul arrived at the Corinthian church, he indeed received some offerings, but he took these offerings to help the Jerusalem church. As a result, this group of people said, “Paul, you are not upright; you came to our church just for money; you are greedy.” This is the first thing; let’s look at
2 Corinthians 12:15-16,
15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.
Paul spent so much for the Corinthian church, expending his resources and energy, and prayed for them, yet this group of people said, “Paul, you are using all kinds of methods to trap us and control us.” Just like today, I also advise you: Live like this, do not casually follow the ways of the world. Others say, “You are trapping me, brainwashing me.” What should be done with this group of people?
2 Corinthians 12:19, “Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in Christ before God; and all for your upbuilding, beloved.”
If you were Paul, would you still care about this group of Corinthian believers? Every time you go, they pick on your faults, think you are not upright, and always want to gain something from them. Would you still care about them? The most direct and simple way is: I will distance myself from this group of people, and then I will be clean! My ears will be clean, and I won’t have to trouble myself.
This is the way of the world, but Paul is a servant of God; he is a person who understands the grace of Jesus Christ, so he did not give up on this group of Corinthians. You will find that the content of 1 and 2 Corinthians is particularly rich, while the book of Philippians is not as extensive, right? The book of Philippians has only that much content and ends there, praising the Philippians. However, in 1 and 2 Corinthians, we learn many things; the Corinthians looked down on Paul, and Paul corrected them with truth.
Brothers and sisters, this is the servant of God. Why did Paul do all this? If it were for his own name, would he need to? No need; he could just give up on them. But he did not give up; he repeatedly encouraged them, hoping they would turn back, and all of this is to help them recognize the truth, understand the truth, and live out the truth. Amen!
Now the Corinthians, as Paul said, are like infants in Christ; they do not know their own weight and even attack Paul. Paul’s life is already very abundant, yet they still look down on Paul and think they understand a lot, but how much can they actually live out? Almost none.
Some say, “The Corinthian church has many gifts.” What does their church life look like? Have you found problems in reading 1 and 2 Corinthians? Jealousy, strife, divisions, and all worldly things appear in the church. With so many gifts, what benefit do they bring? No benefit at all.
If you understand one truth and can live it out in your life, that is of great benefit. Amen! Thank the Lord! So everything Paul did was to hope they would live it out in their lives. And today, what we are talking about forgiveness is to help you not be accused by others and to live in freedom, which is very precious. When Jesus preached, did many people attack Him? What was the most malicious? They said He was an illegitimate child, “We were not born of sexual immorality.” This statement is pointed; when Jesus was born, He could not even clearly say who His father was. Could He clarify?
If He said, “My father is the one in heaven,” do you think this group of people would believe it? Absolutely not; if He said, “I was born of the Holy Spirit,” they would not believe it and would instead ask, “Tell me how the Holy Spirit gave birth to you.” Can this be explained clearly? So others said, “He is an illegitimate child; look, His mother was already pregnant before marriage…” What malicious words!
Why did Jesus come? To save them, but Jesus did not give up; He did not defend Himself. This is someone filled with grace. He has already forgiven this group of people, already pardoned them. Do you know how many sins Jesus, our God, has forgiven you? He has forgiven all your sins and has forgiven you all your sins. When He forgives you, He hopes you will live a joyful life, a life of grace. Amen!
Let’s look at God’s intention, Psalm 103:2-5,
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
God hopes you will live in this world like this, often thinking of Him, who has forgiven all your iniquities and healed all your diseases. Do not forget all His benefits. When you say, “I have no strength in my heart; I cannot forgive; when I see this person, I hate them,” what should you do? Turn your eyes to think about God’s grace, and you will have strength.
This is particularly important: Live out the word in your life, which is something everyone needs to practice. Otherwise, if you come to listen to the word every week but do not apply it in your life, it will just pass by. But if you receive one sentence and can immediately apply it in your life, allowing your life to change, that is a great thing for you.
When you cannot do it, think about the grace of Jesus Christ; when you do not have this strength, think about how He helps you, how He forgives you, how He embraces you, and you will have this strength. The more you think about it, the more strength you will have. And what God asks you to do is certainly beneficial to you.
Today, I give you a piece of advice: Whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, anything God does not want you to do is certainly not good. Even under the law, anything God does not want you to do is certainly not good. Conversely, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, anything God wants you to do is certainly beneficial to you.
Forgiveness is something we are to do. What if you say you cannot do it? Pray to God, asking Him to give you strength, or think about what Jesus did for you on the cross, and you will have strength. Therefore, the power to forgive others and to forgive others certainly comes from the grace of Jesus Christ. I do not hope everyone lives in heaven; we need to live on earth, but we should live on earth with a heavenly mindset, living on this earth with grace.
The third point to share is mutual forgiveness and mutual confession.
Many people say that talking about grace does not involve confession. Is mutual forgiveness also a form of repentance? Turning to God, God hopes we live like this. Let’s look at mutual forgiveness and mutual confession.
James 5:14-16,
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Let me briefly share this passage. The behavior emphasized by James is consistent with the behavior emphasized by Paul. Both of them do not tell us to be justified by works; rather, the justification by works that James speaks of is justification before men, which is the same as what we are talking about today. Do we need to forgive God? No, you need to forgive people. For example, today when it comes to confession, many people always feel they need to confess to God. Some teachings have deviated in this area.
Let me give you an example. I offended him, and then I come before God: “Lord! I was wrong; I should not have treated him like that… Please forgive me.” After praying, I feel relieved, but how should I treat him? I say, “I have already confessed to God; what does it have to do with you?” When we meet, can our relationship be restored? No, this is where many misunderstandings lie.
Going back to the point, when we have problems between people, who should we confess to? We should confess to that person, not to God. This must be made clear! When we offend someone, or when someone offends us, we should confess to that person. This is something we must do; do not think that under grace, there is no need to confess; this statement is not entirely correct.
If anyone among you is sick, let him call for the elders of the church, and they can pray over him in the name of the Lord. This means we should care for those weak members; the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. This refers to speaking to God; he has sinned, and God has forgiven him based on the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; his sins have been forgiven. This means he must understand that God has forgiven all his sins to receive healing; this is one important reason.
Many people do not receive healing; they pray but do not receive healing because they feel God has not forgiven them, that God is still pursuing their past sins, so they carry fear, doubt, and unforgiveness, making it difficult to receive God’s grace, and their faith is non-existent. Another point is, therefore, you should confess your sins to one another; this refers to confessing to one another.
This is also a very important point today. Why do we need to forgive one another and confess to one another? If you carry hatred in your heart, you will be condemned yourself; you will feel that this person is despicable and hateful, and when you pray, it will also hinder your faith. From a medical perspective, if a person is constantly filled with hatred, can their body be healthy? No, it cannot; this is inevitable.
The Bible clearly states, A joyful heart is good medicine; this is the medicine that heals all our bones; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. If you are constantly sad and filled with hatred, thinking of that person, you will not be able to sleep at night. What should you do? The pastor prays for you: In the name of the Lord Jesus, Jesus has healed you. Good! You fall asleep, but in the middle of the night, you suddenly think of that person again…
If you do not resolve this hatred, can you be healed? Some people may have experienced this problem; they get better, but after a few days, they relapse… They pray repeatedly and keep falling. You need to pay attention to another aspect; perhaps you have unforgiveness, which leads to the devil always attacking you. So what should you do?
Forgiveness, where does the problem lie? You must be clear. Every time you think of him, your heart feels uncomfortable, you hate him, and then you lose sleep. To completely resolve this issue, you need to proactively find him and confess to him: “I’m sorry! I have been hating you; what you did made me feel particularly uncomfortable. Now I say it out loud, and I also tell you that I am also wrong; I should not hate you like this.”
You need to practice this; once you say it out loud, you will immediately be released. No matter how many times I tell you this truth here, it is useless; you need to try it once to know what release means. Once you are released, your illness will be gone, and you will be able to sleep at night; this is your release. Hallelujah!
Who benefits from doing this? Of course, it benefits you; why keep hatred in our hearts, blocking God’s grace? Why bother? In fact, the occurrence of conflicts between two people is definitely not one person’s fault; both sides must have problems, just more or less. But many times, we always feel we have no problem; it is the other person’s fault. In fact, both sides have problems, which is why God says we need to confess to one another.
Find where your problem lies and admit your mistakes to him; this is not shameful; it is for your own release. After you release, you will easily receive healing. This is my encouragement to you today; if you are indeed disturbed by some people and have bitterness towards some people, go find that person and reconcile with them, and you will receive healing, freedom, and release. God hopes you will do this, so we need to do this together. Amen!
Finally, let’s look at a passage, John 13:34-35, 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
When we continuously receive God’s love and forgiveness, it becomes very simple. Again, I emphasize, forgiveness is a fruit, a fruit that comes from grace. You do not need to strive to say, “I will forgive today…” This becomes a transaction of works; you need to strive to receive God’s forgiveness and grace, to receive His love, and you will naturally be able to forgive.
So when you continuously receive God’s love, forgiveness becomes very simple because these are all fruits, not something we earn through effort. It is your understanding of God’s love and grace that naturally produces the fruit of forgiveness. How simple is it? It is as simple as a hen laying an egg.
If one day a rooster decides, “From tomorrow, I will work hard to lay an egg,” it will surely fail. Because it does not have it inside, first let your inside be filled with grace, and living it out on the outside will be very simple.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! We thank and praise You for Your grace! Thank You for leading us and helping us to know that forgiveness is the fruit of grace. When we forgive others, we are released, and this is beneficial to ourselves. Lord, please give me strength to focus on Your grace every day, to think about how You have forgiven us. Lord, I also have shortcomings and problems, but You have forgiven me, allowing me to use Your strength to forgive everyone around me.
Please also give me a heart filled with Your love, so that I can bring edification to others, not harm. Please give me strength to pass Your blessings to my brothers and sisters, to my friends around me. I am willing to live out a life of grace; please help me to glorify Your name in this world. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen!