Five Truths About Forgiveness
by Deek Dubberly on February 1, 2010
in Biblelife, theology
 Rembrandt's, The Return of the Prodigal Son Last night I shared “Truths About Forgiveness” with my church. It was a topical sermon wrapped up in the words and teachings of Christ. Who better to teach us about forgiveness than He who is the Master of it. I remember reading John Piper’s thoughts on this subject and he said that, “We do more dishonor to God in one day than everyone does to us in a lifetime.” (Sorry, but I can’t remember the source.) Here are five truths about forgiveness:
As believers, these truths should move us. They should prick our hearts at each and every point where we have an unforgiving attitude and they should cause us to bleed both conviction and repentance. Can you think of any other truths about forgiveness that would be helpful to add to this list? |
Good stuff. I wish I could have been there. I might add, “When we are offended by an unrepentant offender, we should follow Jesus’ example and trust the Father for justice (1 Peter 2:21-25; Romans 12:17-21).
Excellent one to add! Matter of fact, if you don’t mind I’m going to steal it for another post I’m working on that addresses the question, “What does forgiveness look like?” Thanks.
The Piper Quote I have never forgotten (and I probably paraphrase it): Asking man to forgive is like asking him to fly!
That’s a really good reference. I did a search for that phrase at Desiring God and apparently it came from within this sermon: http://bit.ly/bjp1WK. I’m pretty sure Piper built it around a quote from John Bunyan.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Forgiveness: burying the offense and not marking the grave
Contrary to the Audio Adrenaline song (Oceans Floor), my sins are not “forgotten” (by God); but He chooses to remember them no more…and tasks me to do the same…
Ooh, that’s good. I’ve never heard it put that way. “Burying the offense and not marking the grave” - I’m going to remember that. Thanks for the input and for stopping by.
Great post Deek.
I say: An unforgiving Christian is like a starving rich man. Either he is mentally unstable, or he simply doesn’t know what he has.
“In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” Ephesians 1:7 If we have been given and do not give what does that say of us?
Wow. I should have consulted your comments and others on this post before I preached on forgiveness. You guys keep giving me great illustrations. I appreciate your thoughts and am grateful you dropped by.