General Thoughts on Forgiveness

This is a combination of stuff from The Peacemaker by Ken Sande as well as my study for this week. It'll all come together this weekend in my sermons on John 13.

THREE PRIMARY WAYS THE WORD FORGIVENESS IS USED IN THE NT:

• to exonerate, or withhold punishment. as in "to forgive sins". this is something that is typically only done by God or Christ in the New Testament.
• to lay aside, or to put away. this is the idea of choosing to just overlook someone's fault against you. it requires no interaction, it is just a decision.
• to set free. as in setting someone free from whatever they may owe you, whether it be material, financial, emotional, or even an apology.

FOUR "TRUTHS" ABOUT FORGIVENESS:

• Forgiveness is never the wrong thing to do
• Forgiveness is always Jesus' way
• Forgiveness doesn't "fix" everything
• Forgiveness is for YOU not for THEM

FOUR PROMISES OF FORGIVENESS:

• I promise not to dwell on this
• I promise not to use this against you
• I promise not to talk to others about this
• I promise not to allow this to hinder our relationship