Please pray for devotional member, Angela S., this week. Thank you!
Day 1
Forgiveness
The act of excusing or pardoning others in spite of their slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God's pardon of the sins of human beings.
Terms used in the bible that were translated into the word forgive, forgiveness, forgiven.
Calach- Found in the sacrificial laws of Leviticus and Numbers. The Old Testament teaches forgiveness based on sacrifice.
Aphiemi- to remit or forgive debts or sins.
Charizomai- bestow or favor unconditionally based on an act of forgiveness
Aphesis- to dismiss or release.
God Completely forgives sin. No sin is too great for God to forgive. God forgets we ever sinned. The initiative comes from Him because He is ready to forgive. He is a God of grace and pardon. Psalm 51:1, 9 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Isaiah 38:17 Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
Hebrews 10:17 Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."
Day 2
Forgiveness
Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of God's holy character. But his pardon is gracious.
In Genesis, God wanted Adam to obey, but God gave Adam the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been like a prisoner, and his obedience would have been hollow. The two trees provided an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and consequences for choosing not to obey. Sin causes us to be separated. Forgiveness brings us closer.
1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
God expects us to imitate him by being both merciful and just. We must be totally dedicated to God. We need to be set aside for his will and apart from the influence of sin. We must be in fellowship with God in order to become more holy. God gives us his Holy Spirit to help us obey and to give us power to overcome sin. Call on God for his power and you will find yourself further from the grips of sin. If you do slip, asking for forgiveness is going to bring you back in to fellowship with God.
Psalm 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
Romans 5:6-8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In order for God to forgive sin, two conditions are necessary.
First, a life must be taken as a substitute for that of the sinner. In Old Testament times, the animals blood made atonement for sin when offered with the right attitude. The death of an animal was proof of its innocent death and therefore provided a sacrifice for the fulfillment of the penalty of death. God would then grant forgiveness to the sinner. In New Testament, Jesus was the last blood Sacrifice to wash away sins.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Second, the sinner must come to God's sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith.
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
In this passage, people repented and then were baptized as a symbol of the washing of their sins which is what God does when we ask for forgiveness, he cleanses us and washes away all our sins.
Acts 10:43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
It is important to remember that God heals and forgives. Our faith is powerless without God. We who have faith must pray. All prayers are subject to God's will. Prayer is part of God's healing process. Forgiveness is his gift for being faithful.
Day 3
2 Corinthians 5:15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.
Is it hard for you to live to please Christ instead of live to please yourself? Why or why not?
Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Why would God place a tree in a garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it?
He was the perfect sacrifice, the final and ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament sacrifices. Since he bore the laws death penalty against sinners, those who trust in His sacrifice are freed from that penalty. By faith, sinners are forgiven.
Do you believe that you are freed from the death penalty against sinners?
Those who are forgiven also die to sins controlling power in their lives.
Is Christs death worth the forgiveness of your sins? Does this change the way you think about sin? About Christ as our sacrifice?
Whether you choose to accept it or not, Christ died for our sins.
Do you find it hard to accept truth even if you disagree? Have you ever met anyone who believes in God, but not in Jesus?
Day 4
Forgiveness and Fellowship
I have to admit that I struggled with this devotional. I really thought I would write something different about forgiveness and even now I am struggling with the fact that God wants more from me. I think there is something more and I am just not getting it. I received the two words: Forgiveness and Fellowship. Further study revealed to me how the two are related.
When we sin, we must come to God in a spirit of repentance. If we do not do this, we create a wall or a separation between ourselves and God. When we do not learn to forgive others, we are not reflecting the character of Christ. Also, we are committing a sin. Unforgiveness is a sin! Eventually, not forgiving others also separates us from them. This separation will cause us to stop fellowship with those who we have not forgiven and pull us away from God. It is natural for us to pull away and retreat when we have sin in our lives. God's forgiveness of us demands that we forgive others, because grace brings responsibility and obligation. Jesus placed no limits on the extent to which Christians are to forgive others. A forgiving Spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ. If you cannot forgive others, you are not reflecting God, you have a barrier separating you and therefore you will not have fullness of God's presence in your life.
Matthew 18:35 So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses
Luke 6:37 Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.
Luke 17:4 And even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turns to you seven times and says, I repent [I am sorry], you must forgive him (give up resentment and consider the offense as recalled and annulled).
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.
Okay Lord, I guess now is the best time to ask you to give us all a heart check. Are we separating ourselves from you, from others? Have we let unforgiveness build a wall, making fellowship hard. Please reveal to us the grudges that we may be holding onto. Please prepare our hearts and the hearts of those whom we need to forgive. Father, reveal to us any walls that we may have built which would make it hard for others to forgive us. Help us to be open to others who may need to be in fellowship with you only through the forgiveness of something we have done. Allow us to be open to repentance and your grace that extends to all those who are covered by your son, Jesus Christs, sacrifice. Lord, I pray that I have pleased you with this devotional, please reveal to me the areas in my life that I need to pay more attention to. I praise you for the revelations you have brought me through this devotional. Amen.
Day 5
Ask God to reveal to you any one whom you are holding a grudge; those who need to forgive you.
Praise God for his sacrifice, his grace and for the fellowship that offers an environment for repentance.
Confess any grudges you know about, but may not be willing to let go of. Confess the things that make it hard for you to forgive.
Pray for God to work in your heart to dissolve any grudges and to help you to be more forgiving in the future.
Praise Fridays:
Don't forget to let us know of any praises from this week. It will help us get through the weekend and lift our spirits. It may encourage someone!
Lord, thank you, I am constantly in awe of your power to teach me and use me when I am willing. You are awesome.
Because he has been acquitted and declared righteous, this is also true for those whom he represents, thus, Christs resurrection was a necessary condition for the forgiveness of human sin. To be forgiven is to be identified w/Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.
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