Bible Forgiveness

Bible forgiveness starts with God, the ultimate forgiver.  God is love and without love, Bible forgiveness is impossible for us to achieve on our own, but with God all things are possible.

Love is patient, kind and understanding.  When you walk in love, you will experience offenses just like any other offended person.   Yet, because of love, you simply let them pass right on by and make the choice not to be offended.  Everyone has the opportunity, on a regular basis, to take offense.  Luke 17:1 says, “It is impossible that no offenses should come.”  So, be certain that offenses will come.  The key is to decide to walk in Bible forgiveness before offenses come and avoid unforgiveness at all cost.  Much of biblical forgiveness will be done before anyone even asks for forgiveness.

When someone offends you, you are supposed to admonish them, to reprove or scold, in a mild and good-willed manner.  In other words, let them know, in a pleasant way, that what they did was out of order.  When they see the error of their way and ask for forgiveness, you are to forgive them.  Even if they offend you seven times in a day, saying, “I repent”, you shall forgive them.  This is a great truth and example of Bible forgiveness.  When demonstrating forgiveness you may have to repeat the forgiveness many times for the same offense.

Remember that Bible forgiveness is based on love and love is patient, kind and understanding.  That means we are patient while they come to the fullness of change, knowing that good things take time.  We are kind to them even though they do not deserve it, in and of themselves.  Knowing how we would want to be treated, we treat them with kindness and an understanding.  By understanding we know we cannot even pick up a stone, let alone throw one.

Bible forgiveness is willing to forgive, forget and move on.  It does not sit around moaning and groaning over what happened in the past or maintain the past by rehearsing it over and over.  Re-living our past offenses keeps them alive and causes us to die some more each day.  This creates the dilemma of making the past the present and causes it to continue into your future.    Let life back into your everyday living by walking in Bible forgiveness.