Let Go?

 

September 16, 2024

Colossians 3:13

“Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”

Over the next few days let us consider the importance and power of forgiveness. Everyone that is reading this is either needing to forgive someone or will need to forgive someone or needing forgiveness from someone else. I believe we can all acknowledge that in our living people are going to be unkind, impolite, and sometimes rude. Some of us have been mistreated and hurt. For sure, some things in our life should not have been said or happened, but they did happen and they were said. Here is an uncomfortable truth, without forgiveness our life will be controlled by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. It is our natural inclination to respond to unkindness or being wronged with an attitude of “payback.” Yet, deep down in our spirit we know that for our personal and spiritual growth and peace we must learn to be forgivers of individuals that we encounter and experience in our day to day. This week as we continue our One-Anothering series we will focus on forgiving one another.

The Bible has many instructions and examples about forgiveness, and the Bible also includes warnings about being unforgiving. I want to share two of the teachings with you today.


The first is Ephesians 4:31, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. (32) Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (NLT). When you start forgiving others you will discover that the bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander toward the person begins to melt away. That is why we said above that being forgiving is important for our personal spiritual growth and peace. Please note I said when we take the first step toward forgiveness that our resentment or unforgiveness begins to melt away. There is a process to forgiveness and we need to recognize that.

The second statement about forgiveness you need to see and the one we will focus most of our attention on today is Colossians 3:13 which says, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT).

I want us to unpack Colossians 3:13 and examine some key truths and principles about forgiveness.

First, forgiving one another is letting go of our resentment toward others. Colossians 3:13 says we are to “forgive.” You are told to “make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you” (NLT). The word “forgive” (aphiemi) literally means to let loose, release, or let go of something. For example, if you take out a loan from a bank, you are in debt to that bank, but if that bank were to forgive you of your debt they are letting go of that debt, they are releasing you from paying them back. They are forgiving you of that debt.

When someone sins against you: they lie to you or about you, they break a promise or vow they made to you, they steal from you, they hurt or violate you in some way, they were rude to you, they offended you… they sinned against you in some way. If you are not careful you will begin to hold a grudge against them and you will feel like they owe you something. This grudge shows up in the form of resentment, bitterness, and anger. 

To forgive someone is to let go of the grudge, let loose of the offense, and to not hold them in debt for what they said or did. You are releasing them from the debt of sin against you. You are letting go of the resentment and grudge you have against them. This is why Jesus said, “But when you are praying first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against…” (Mark 11:25, NLT). Stop holding the grudge and let it go. You let it go with forgiveness.

A second principle we encounter is that forgiving one another is based on Jesus forgiving you. Look again at Colossians 3:13, “Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT). Our motivation to forgive others is based on Jesus love and forgiveness toward us. This is significant. What we tend to do is forgive people based on what they say or don’t say, do or don’t do. For example, if they apologize or ask for forgiveness, but it doesn’t seem genuine or real enough we hold back forgiving them. Our forgiveness is based on whether or not we see enough humbleness, remorse, or regret. (at least that has been my struggle)

The truth and reality of this verse in Colossians 3, is very uncomfortable for us to hear, because it states that we are to forgive people because the Lord forgave us. Forgiveness, according to the Bible, is not conditional on the character or actions of the other person.

This concept is repeated in Ephesians 4:32 where it says, “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ as forgiven you” (NLT). I think one of the signs that you have truly forgiven someone and let the grudge and resentment go is when you can treat that person with kindness and tenderness.

In the days ahead we will dig a little deeper into this. For today, I wonder if the following questions may be a good exercise for us as we think of One-Anothering by “forgiving one another.”



1. Who do you need to forgive? Who has hurt you? Who lied to you? Deceived you? Violated you and your trust?



“When you forgive someone you set a prisoner free… and that prisoner is you.”



2. Who do you need to ask forgiveness from? Who have you hurt? Lied to you or lied about? Have you violated someone? Have you misused someone’s trust? 

It takes courage to ask for forgiveness. You can do it. God supports you on this.