Five Truths About Forgiveness

by Deek Dubberly on February 1, 2010
in Biblelife, theology

10 Comments

Rembrandt's, The Return of the Prodigal Son

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:

  1. If anyone should be a pro at forgiveness it should be the Christian (Matt. 6:12).
  2. An unforgiving attitude will absolutely devastate the spiritual life of a Christian (Matt. 6:14-15).
  3. There is a very close relationship between judging someone and being unforgiving (Matt. 7:1-2).
  4. There is no limit to how forgiving we should be (Matt. 18:21-22).
  5. Great punishment awaits those who are unforgiving (Matt. 18:23-35).

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?

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Comments

10 Responses to “Five Truths About Forgiveness”
  1. Chris says:
    February 1, 2010 at 9:45 am

    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).

    Reply
    • Deek Dubberly says:
      February 1, 2010 at 10:12 am

      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.

      Reply
  2. MichaelOris Howard says:
    February 2, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    The Piper Quote I have never forgotten (and I probably paraphrase it): Asking man to forgive is like asking him to fly!

    Reply
  3. Jack Hager says:
    February 23, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    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…

    Reply
    • Deek Dubberly says:
      February 23, 2010 at 4:23 pm

      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.

      Reply
  4. Jet says:
    February 23, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Deek Dubberly says:
      February 23, 2010 at 7:43 pm

      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.

      Reply

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