GOSPEL VS MORALISTIC FORGIVENESS

Introduction

[12] Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, [13] bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13 ESV)

Big Sinners with a Big Savior are Big

Forgivers.

Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God

God's Forgiveness

God's forgiveness takes sin seriously and so should ours.

God's forgiveness reckons with a real settling of accounts and so should ours.

God's forgiveness was costly and so is ours

God's forgiveness is real and ours should be too

A Gospel-driven forgiveness:

“Forgiveness is my releasing the guilty person from the punishment due to them for their sins against me—just as the Father releases me from the punishment due to me for my sins against Him.” Johnny Long

CROSS–EYED LOVE is that which can only be

explained by the Holy Spirit as He takes the

work of Christ and applies it to our hearts

In order to forgive your spouse, roommate or friend and heal the relationship- first forget the other person.

The primary relationship is between you and God.

Seen At His Best…A Gospel Forgiver has an “aroma” of

having been with Jesus

Seen At His Worst… A Moralistic Forgiver has an “aroma” of

self-righteousness

(“I would never do that”).

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver has a deep

awareness of having sinned against God, but also

awareness that Christ is a real savior for real sinners

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver evidences little, if

any, awareness of also having offended God

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver experiences what is counter intuitive - the heart is actually strengthened in grace

through forgiveness

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver isn’t really softened

by grace and there is no movement of faith in his own

experience of the love of Christ

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver -experiences a

sense of real community as people are reconciled.

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver remains aloof and distant from the one he has forgiven; continually sees

himself as ‘one up’ and the offender as being in his debt

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver communicates five things:

I will not think about this incident

I will not bring this up and use it against you.

I will not talk about this to others

I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our relationship

I will absorb the debt *Peacemaker Ministries

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver uses

the exposure of the person’s sin to build a

case against the person to use against him later.

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver is hungry for

God’s Word to bring his soul to the place of forgiveness.

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver doesn’t use The Word

on his own heart so the forgiveness he extends is shallow or it doesn’t really

exist

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver has a legitimate

desire to keep the exposure of the sin limited

to those who need to know.

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver is not real concerned with keeping the knowledge of the person’s sin limited only to those who need to know

(“You need to pray for _____ because he’s struggling with______ .”)

Seen At Her Best A Gospel Forgiver knows that she is

capable of the same thing and approaches the person as a

fellow sinner.

Seen At Her Worst A Moralistic Forgiver doesn’t see herself as being capable of doing the same

thing so she approaches the person with an attitude of

condemnation.

Seen At His Best A Gospel Forgiver makes it his

priority to bring the repentant person to the

grace and power of Christ.

Seen At His Worst A Moralistic Forgiver makes it a priority to

remind the Repenter of a “life lesson”

AN ADDED BENEFIT OF FORGIVENESS is that there is nothing quite so attractive to an unbeliever or an estranged believer as a freshly-broken Christian!

A freshly broken Christian who has been with Jesus in FORGIVENESS gives off an aroma of fresh bread - because Jesus is the Bread of life

NOTHING SMELLS BETTER THAN FRESH BREAD