Are you Saved but Still Fighting to Forgive?
FREEDOM & FORGIVENESS AS A FOLLOWER OF JESUS
In my journey with God, I suffered under severe demonic oppression and torment when I entered into periods of unforgiveness.
Even as a true follower of Jesus.
This included unforgiveness towards God, others, and myself.
That’s when I learned this freeing truth from Jesus: there is deliverance in forgiveness.
WHY WE NEED TO FORGIVE GOD
I have confessed unforgiveness and offense towards God.
Let’s be clear, Yahweh does no wrong.
Yet if we perceive what He is doing or not doing in our lives through a faulty lens, that can cause offense or resentment in us.
This can come up as anger or accusation towards God.
If you have any shame or fear about confessing something to God, this is often rooted in offense against Him.
Not dealing with this can invite depression, anxiety, fear, worry, doubt, confusion, and the like into your life.
Unforgiveness is an open door, and sin is crouching by right outside of it, and its desire is to devour you (Genesis 4:7).
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Genesis 4:7 NKJV
FORGIVENESS WORKS BOTH WAYS
God desires to forgive us for our sins, but we must be willing to receive forgiveness from Him.
To receive forgiveness from Jesus, we must extend forgiveness towards others.
Not as performance, but as a heart posture. Not as a transaction, but because we have received mercy from God, we extend mercy toward others.
Jesus is merciful, so those who belong to Him must be merciful as well.
MERCIFUL MASTER VS. UNMERCIFUL SERVANT
Jesus teaches us the danger of unforgiveness towards others in the parable of the master and the servant (Matthew 18:23-30, 31-34).
In 21st century terms, the servant owes the master millions of dollars. The servant can’t pay it back.
The master says, “I’ll forgive your debt. It’s no problem!” The servant is joyful about this and goes about his day.
Another servant comes up to that forgiven servant. This new servant owes him 500 dollars but can’t afford to pay him back.
Instead of following his master’s example of mercy, he gets this servant thrown into jail!
The master finds out and throws the unforgiving servant into jail for not forgiving the debt of his fellow servant.
FORGIVENESS FACT CHECK
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that someone who did evil to you deserves access to you.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean you trust a former abuser or invite them back into your life.
Forgiveness means that you choose to release the debt to the one it belongs to, Jesus Christ.
God says that every sin is against Him and that vengeance is His and His to repay (Romans 12:19).
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 NKJV
When you want to take vengeance in your heart, you are placing yourself as the judge above Jesus.
STAYING CLEAR OF SODOM & GOMORRAH
Unforgiveness is less of a feeling and more like a territory. Imagine it as Sodom & Gomorrah.
Everyone who remained in Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed.
Like Lot who was righteous but lived in Sodom, followers of Jesus can choose to be in a place of unforgiveness even though they don’t belong there.
Lot survived because he left Sodom and Gomorrah in time when the angels told him to go.
“When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV
Jesus can deliver us out of that place of unforgiveness, but we must first recognize that we do not belong there.
If we choose to stay there or we look back, we can suffer the consequences of the wicked.
This is what happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back towards Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).
“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26 NKJV
Even as children of God, we can come under torment if we choose to stay in a place of unforgiveness.
Not based on who we are, but based on where we are.
FORGIVENESS IN ACTION
When I truly repented of unforgiveness, I felt lighter in my spirit. My mind cleared up. I was able to focus. My walk with God was not only stronger but more stable. I could hear Holy Spirit with more ease.
True forgiveness helped me to have a heart of compassion, even for those who had done evil against me.
Ask Holy Spirit: “Reveal to me anywhere that I am in offense and unforgiveness because I want to repent.”
As you are reading this, take some time right now and make the choice to forgive.
Even if you do not feel like it, you can make the choice. We must be governed by the Spirit of God, not our emotions.
“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5 NKJV
LOOKING AT JESUS
We decide to forgive because of Jesus. We forgive because He forgave us and adopted us into His family as co-heirs with Him.
“And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:17 NKJV
If we got what we deserved, we would all be destroyed.
If the Father chooses to forgive, we imitate our Father and we choose to forgive.
If the Father chooses to love, we imitate our Father and we choose to love.
Jesus Christ is our example of what this looks like. While Jesus hung from the Cross, He cried, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).
As we do this, we become like Jesus.
Where you tolerate unforgiveness in your heart, you will remain bound.
P.S. If you’re ready to become more like Jesus and not stay bound in unforgiveness, preorder Becoming Sons of God here. Once you do, you’ll automatically receive a resource to help you with the next step on your forgiveness journey.