Title: Forgiveness, Forgiveness / Matthew 6:14,15.
Contents The first thing that surprises visitors who come to Korea from abroad when they look down at the Korean land from the plane is that there are many cross bell towers.
The cross is a symbol of Christianity. This cross teaches us what the proposition of Christianity is. What is the proposition of Christianity? They are ‘sin’ and ‘forgiveness’.
When it comes to “love” in Christianity, it also refers to forgiveness for sinners.
In order to save us sinners, God sent his beloved only begotten Son, Jesus, to this earth to die on the cross. This is because we, who are sinners, cannot solve the problem of sin and cannot enter the kingdom of God in the form of sinners. That is why he chose the death of Jesus on the cross to forgive our sins and lead us to heaven.
The ‘cross’ refers to the three things of God.
The first is the justice of God.
The second is God's love.
Third is the power of God. That is, it is the power to save sinners (Romans 1:16).
-Jesus tells us to pray about our daily bread and then talks about the problem of ‘sin’.
It is that the problem of sin is as important as the problem of human eating and drinking. In other words, human beings are always living in sin. That is why we cannot experience true happiness without forgiveness for our sins.
-All humans are sinners.
He is speaking of 'our sins'. I am not talking about the sins of any particular person.
The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and “there is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:23).
Moreover, he says that “the result of sin is death.”
Death, disease, suffering, etc. that came to this earth are the root of all these things because of human sin.
- But the forgiveness of those sins is only done by God.
God has decided to forgive those who repent and believe in Jesus who died on the cross for the method of forgiveness of sins.
Forgiveness of sins is accomplished through God's method, and it is impossible in any other way.
The Bible says, “He was pierced for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. .” (Isaiah 53:5,6)
*God's forgiveness.
1. It is grace that is freely given. But this worthlessness is in Jesus.
2. This forgiveness is complete. It is not a reduction of sins, but a complete forgiveness of sins.
3. This forgiveness is eternal.
*If you put this together.
The source of forgiveness is God, the channel of forgiveness is Jesus Christ, and the means of receiving forgiveness is repentance.
-Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our sins.”
This is the privilege of a child of God. It is natural for children to ask their parents to forgive them for their mistakes.
We must have the courage to lay our sins down on God and pray for forgiveness.
Ex) During someone's lecture.
It refers to the time when he was most upset while raising his child. At that time, when he did something wrong, he beat him and said he did something wrong. Later, I saw him confessing that it was a time when he lost and did not hear what he said, even after ejaculating.
Our God has already forgiven all our sins and wants us to pray for repentance, asking for forgiveness for our sins. That is why He wants you to maintain a right relationship with God and live a new life.
-However, when the Lord taught this prayer, there was one caveat. It is “when we forgive the sins of others.”
Moreover, after teaching the Lord's Prayer, he added the Lord to the text he read today, and the Lord is about this verse.
In other words, we are people who have already been forgiven of all our sins, but our relationship with God cannot continue to be perfect if we do not forgive the sins of others.
Ex) Even when offering a gift to the altar, if you remember your brother who has not forgiven you, you must first forgive him and then come and offer the gift.
There is a strong command we receive from God in this prayer. It means that you forgive the sins of others.
Actually, if you think about it, ‘forgiveness’ is very important.
If we ourselves are not forgiven of our sins, we will never go to heaven. And if we do not forgive each other in our human lives, our lives are not complete.
Because even the destruction of one family cannot forgive each other. This is because the dissolution of either group cannot be forgiven.
Forgiveness is a great thing. Forgiveness is something only the most courageous can do. Forgiveness is the most difficult task of creating new happiness.
Ex) A husband who forgave a wife's mistake. After that, she became a good wife.
-While her husband was out of the country, this woman could not overcome her loneliness and fell into the seduction of her friend. My husband, who later found out about this, had a severe conflict. One cold day, he climbed Mt. Gwanak together, took off his clothes, broke the ice, took a bath, and said that we were new, forgave her, and came down from the mountain to worship on Wednesday. It is said that after visiting the church and starting the church life, he was established as a very good worker.
Example) People's attitude toward a woman caught in adultery. But Jesus forgave her, and she became a new disciple of the Lord.
We often try to lift the stone of condemnation. He often takes up the stone of criticism, and he treats the righteous sheep harshly, or perhaps even the sinner, who tries to cover up his sins with it.
Ex) Jesus raised the high priest’s prayer to God, saying, “Forgive their sins” as the first prayer that Jesus prayed on the cross.
Ex) In imitation of this Jesus, Stephen offered the prayer as he was stoned to death.
Example) Joseph forgave his brothers who sold him to Egypt.
Colossians 3:14 “If anyone is accusing anyone, forgive one another and forgive one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you too.
Forgiveness is the greatest courage. Forgiveness is the greatest love. And forgiveness is the greatest expression of faith.
Ex) Confession of a witness during the 12.12 incident. “A fact-finding must be done in order to assess the historical truth while everyone is still alive. And I want to remain the one who forgives them, not the one who wants their punishment.” I was deeply moved when I saw the article that said that.
-Aren't we still incapable of forgiving others, making excuses for our own faults, hoping to be forgiven, and accusing us of not understanding and forgiving the sins of others?
Do you still have an unforgiving heart? And do you have a broken heart that cannot forgive others?
Look at our Jesus, who forgave my sins. Jesus has already forgiven the sin of the person I had not forgiven. And I am also forgiven with him.
We have the love and courage to forgive the sins of others. I hope that you will not miss out on a happy life of blessing and peace as you fall into Satan's tricks and live a life that you hate and cannot forgive.
Who do you need to forgive now?
Forgive the sins of the husband, the sins of the wife, the sins of the children, the sins of the parents. And forgive the sins of your neighbors and brothers. Only then will you enjoy the peace of mind of liberation and freedom.
And we must pray.
"God. Now I forgive my brother's sins. Forgive me for my sins and help me live a wonderful life as a child of God.”
Amen.