About: Forgiveness

 Forgiveness. I feel many of us have been hurt and are struggling today to forgive.   In this episode we will discuss different views of forgiveness and see some great examples of it!  

Transcript

TODAY LETS TALK ABOUT FORGIVENESS!  

The teaching of others:

For whatever reason, stoic philosophy intrigues me. It's not scripture-based but based on the teaching of old stoic philosophers. So when it comes to forgiveness I was curious to see what stoics had to say. So I did some homework on my favorite stoic philosopher of the day, Ryan holiday. Ryan encourages his readers to exercise forgiveness by following the words of Epictetus. He states, “we need to forgive our inner self. We also need to forgive ourselves over and over and try to do better the next time.”  

I do believe forgiveness is the key to beginning the self-healing process that many of us need in our spiritual being. We have let bitterness build for so long that it dominates much of our thoughts and actions. When we twist that to self-forgiveness though we can very quickly find ourselves in trouble. I cannot forgive myself. Only God can extend forgiveness for my inner frailties and failures. I can ask forgiveness of others, but like David said, “Against thee and thee only have I sinned.”  

I am also not a try to do better next time guy. I feel that is an open-ended statement that justifies our wrongs and calms our inner conscience. If I told my kids they needed to do better next time with no guidance on how or why it would be like giving them a bow and arrow and telling them to hit a target but not telling them what the target was. 

So what about our baldheaded friend Gandhi? What does the man who strives for peace say about this important area of forgiveness? One of Gandhi's most well-known quotes is concerning forgiveness. He says the weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Allow me to go from Holiday Inn Gandy Jordan Peterson. Peterson is and very intriguing personality. It is mind-blowing to see how he has become such a household name for many of us today. Social media has done him many favors. Now in this area of forgiveness and repentance, we would not necessarily agree even though we might in other areas.  
 He said regarding the subject of adultery: “We don't take adulterers into the public square and stone them, so you probably shouldn't do that to yourself. If you regret it, well then, you have to repent and then a tone. The keyword here is IF!  

Again, in Peterson style, he says some good things about repentance and he sees things much as I would. He emphasizes when you can find your way back to the path repenting will ensure you don't wander off the path again. Now, I can handle that a whole lot better than I can do stoic philosophy. Honestly, what does Jesus tell the church at Ephesus? Remember, when you were fallen, repent, and return to your first works. Or other words, get back on the path where you left it.  

The issue is there is no outside source of help to overcome our sin issue. Peterson says to learn and evolve. So if you commit adultery and feel bad about it, to gain trust again with others, you must begin by trusting in yourself. Unfortunately, I don't trust in myself at all! 

So you can see how stoics, Peterson, and Gandhi have a commonality in all of their teaching. Forgiveness solely depends on you.  

So what route should we take? A route that doesn't depend upon me as a person but upon the finished work and person of Jesus Christ.. When a person has experienced the forgiveness of Jesus is amazing the level of forgiveness that they can offer someone else. Again, I am not saying this is easy especially when you've been hurt, abuse, or taken advantage of as a person. But please…

Allow me to give you two incredible examples of forgiveness.

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/03/world/baripada-journal-forgiving-her-family-s-killers-but-not-their-sins.html

Another is Elizabeth Eliott. I won’t take time to go into her story, but how could she forgive the ones who killed her husband and then take the gospel to them for them to find the forgiveness in God that she offered to them through God. Amazing.

Jesus said we are to continually forgive, or as he told Peter 70×7.  While  hanging on the cross he cried out "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Forgiveness is a letting go and letting God moment. Forgiveness is a realization of bitterness in my life and the execution of it.
Forgiveness also might need to be something we seek out from others. Maybe it's not what they have done to me, but what I've done to someone else.

Ephesians 4:32 I believe is the standard for forgiveness. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

If Christ can forgive me and what I have done against him there is no reason why I cannot forgive others. Who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to seek forgiveness from? Possibly you are listening and you've never asked Christ for forgiveness of the sins that are in your own life and excepted him as your Savior. You cannot extend forgiveness to others until you've experienced it from God yourself.