HOW can we forgive?

THE HARD TRUTH: WE CAN'T. NOT ON OUR OWN.

Many of us say "I'll forgive anything...but I won't forgive THAT." We draw lines in the sand. We say "this far, but no further." Often it's something that impacts us or someone we love deeply.

Here's the truth: That line isn't real. Not in Jesus' book.

I don't think we CAN forgive in our human nature. Jesus calls us to such a high standard that it goes beyond our ability. It has to be THROUGH GOD working in you that you can even do it.

MATTHEW 18: PETER'S QUESTION
Peter asked: "How many times shall I forgive? Up to seven times?" (Seven = number of completion. Peter thought he was being generous.)
Jesus answered: "Not seven times, but SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN." (Or 77, depending on translation.)

Jesus isn't giving a literal number. He's saying: FOREVER FORGIVENESS. It's not quantifiable. It's infinite. It's complete.

WHY WE CAN'T DO IT:
Romans 3:10-12 - "None is righteous, no not one. No one understands. No one seeks God. All have turned aside. They've become worthless. No one does good, not even one."

This isn't just Paul. He's summarizing FOUR other Bible passages. This is an over-and-over theme: You're not good. I'm not good. The best person you know isn't good. We're incapable of good.

Yet we're asked to TOTALLY remove the transgressions people lay on us. Set it as far away as possible. Forgive quickly, in the moment. No number of times someone can wrong you where you finally say "Now we're done."

FORGIVENESS ≠ RECONCILIATION

Reconciliation = restoration of relationship. Everything made right. Moving forward as friends, hand in hand.

Forgiveness = in HERE (your heart). I'm not gonna hold that anymore. I'm not counting it against you.

Forgiveness doesn't mean I put myself in a position where you can do it again. BUT, sometimes it MIGHT mean that. Maybe that's between you and God.

THE HILARIOUS PART:
You can't do it yourself (everything you do is evil in your flesh). YET through God you CAN. AND YET...you HAVE to.

God loves doing that. "You can't do it. Only God can. But you totally have to though."

MATTHEW 18:23-35: PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT
A king forgave a servant's MASSIVE debt (10,000 bags of gold—unpayable). That same servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a tiny amount. Refused to show mercy. Had him thrown in jail.

The king called him back: "You wicked servant! I canceled your ENTIRE debt because you begged me. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?"

The king handed him over to jailers to be tortured until he paid back everything.

The point: God forgave you an UNPAYABLE debt. How can you not forgive others?

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