THE BRIDE OF JESUS MINISTRY INC.
NO. 4 UPPER ISEDE LANE, AGBOR.
BIBLE STUDY
TOPIC: FORGIVENESS
INTRODUCTION: In the world today, the word forgiveness is heard everywhere among human beings. Among families, friends, close associates and even in the churches among Christians, forgiveness is preached. What is forgiveness all about?
Answer:
Forgiveness is the act of pardoning or showing mercy on sinners or transgressors who have wronged others. It is also the Will-Power demonstrated towards an offender, not to demand, revenge, repay or ask for a repair or an amendment of that person's error. Forgiveness is a product of love because when one does not love, that indicates the absence of the heart of mercy which must be present before the act of forgiveness can take place. The heart that loves is the heart that forgives. King David in Psalms 25:6-7 said, "Remember, O LORD thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness; for they have been ever of old Remember not the sins of my youth, not my transgressions, according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
Forgiveness, has no place and will never arise where and when there is no offence. But since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, offences abound everyday hence the need for forgiveness among us. And as children of God, for us to relate well with our Supreme Maker, we must learn to forgive others since forgiveness is part of God's nature. Luke 11:4.
AIMS OF THIS STUDY:
The aim of this lesson is to teach us, the Christians, the need, place and value of forgiveness in the Christian race. For proper and easy understanding of this lesson, the topic in question shall be treated under the following sub-headings.
- 1. Man's relationship with God
- 2. Man's relationship with man
- 3. Examples of some Bible characters that forgave.
- 4. Blessings that follow forgiveness.
- 5. Refusal to forgive and its repercussions.
1. MAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:
The relationship of man with God shall be considered in three stages as can be seen below:
a. PERIOD BEFORE THE FALL OF MAN:
During creation or at creation, God made man last of all His works and put him in the garden of Eden to be the governor of the wonderful city of Eden. Gen. 1:27-31, 2:15. In this city of Eden, God provided every physical things that man needed for comfort and enjoyment. He provided a river as a source water supply for the city and from the place, the river parted into four heads and spread into some part of the world. Gen. 2:7-14. Furthermore, at this stage of his existence, God gave man rules and regulations (commandments) that should guide him in the Garden City of Eden. Gen. 2:16-17. At that time also, God saw that man (Adam) was growing and maturing and began to feel lonely because the company of animals and birds could not provide that unique, peculiar ad special companionship only derivable from a like-being of his type, another human being. God met that need by giving Adam his wife and to show his fullness of joy. Adam exclaimed "This is the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." Gen. 2:18-23.
All along, we could see the caring manner of our God towards man whom He made and the spiritual need of the same man was not left out either. God's regular visit to the garden of Eden was purposeful, for as much as He spoke to man, and interacted with him by that means, God supplied and maintained the spiritual needs of man. Deut. 8:3. At this stage of man's existence, man walked in obedience to his Maker, then God derived maximum pleasure in man whom He created. At the same time, man enjoyed God's steady supply of all his needs, His presence, protection and defence. It was an atmosphere of love and peace.
b. PERIODS DURING THE FALL OF MAN
To treat this heading properly, one important question must be asked and the answer to it will help in assessing the period after the fall. The question is, what was the cause of the fall of man?
Answer: It was the act of disobedience. Man was earlier told by Gods what to do in the garden, the fruits to eat and one particular tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, never, should he taste nor touch the fruit thereof. Man was deceived by Satan and he disobeyed God by eating that forbidden fruit. The moment he ate the forbidden fruit, he sinned against God, that is to say, Adam offended God. A count was recorded against Adam and what God said earlier came to pass, that the day he would eat of that tree, he would die. It happened so and Adam died immediately but spiritually and became naked physically. Furthermore, as a result of his disobedience, his sin and offence against God, he was driven out of the wonderful city of Eden and was placed under a curse, both himself and the wife. They lost their wonderful accommodation, lost their peace with God, lost God's protection and became both physically and spiritually naked and exposed. Gen. 3:9-24. They became rebels and acquired another nature to sin and were automatically proned to evils. Roman. 3:23. God was angry with them because it is written, "God is angry with the wicked every day" Psalm 7:11. sufferings and hardships of untold nature started as a result of the calamity of sin. Finally, God regretted for making man. Gen. 6:5-7.
c. GOD'S LOVE MANIFESTED - RECONCILIATION PERIOD
After the fall of man, followed by God's reactions and anger, then sprang forth the FORGIVENESS out of God's bowels of mercies and love. It has earlier been said that the heart of mercy is the heart that loves and the heart that loves is the heart that forgives. Therefore, God, in His mercies and love, forgave man and the reconciliation process was initiated by God Himself. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, it was stated "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:18-21, Eph. 1:7. In the old testament, this attribute of God also manifested as can be seen in Psalm 78:36-39. "Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouth, and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned He His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath. For He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
2. MAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN
a. Man sins against Man
The life of man on the earth has been marked or characterized with numerical increase because God pronounced fruitfulness upon man at creation. Gen. 1:27-28. As a result of this, the population growth has been on the progressive trend among men. Increase in population had given rise to increase in activities among people and with much activities and interactions, there abound offences divisions, grievances and misunder-standings. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matt. 18:7, "Woe unto the world because of offences, for it must needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh". When misunderstanding comes, it will lead to grievances, offences and divisions if not handled with care and the fear of God. Misunderstanding a person or situation can lead to envy and jealousy which in turn can breed further evils such as murder, suicide, theft and other forms of crime.
The case of Cain, who became jealous of his brother Abel and later rose up and killed him is a good example. Gen 4:4-9. So, out of jealousy he sinned against his brother and committed murder.
Another example in the scripture was the case of envy and supplanting between two brothers who were born twins. The younger one envied the birthright of his brother and thereafter planned to supplant him. Jacob supplanted Esau and took his birthright and carried all his blessing. Gen. 25:29-34; 27:6-30.
Besides, cases of man sinning against fellow man abound in the scriptures and in our contemporary society. For example, in the household of Jacob also known as Israel, ten brothers teamed up to plan against their younger brother called Joseph. They feared that Joseph might become more blessed than them and turn out to be their ruler in the future. They, therefore, resorted to eliminate his life entirely but God intervened and stopped their hands, then they only succeeded in subjecting him to slavery in another man's land by selling him to the Midianites merchantmen. Gen. 37:11-28.
In the gospel of Matthew, Judas Iscariot betrayed his Master Jesus Christ by selling Him to the Jews. Matt. 26:14-15, 47-50.
Also, Ahab who was one time a King in Israel, coveted the landed property of his subject by name Naboth. Then all efforts failed for him to get the land from Naboth, he allowed his wife Jezebel to plan on how to kill the owner and acquired it by force. The family of Ahab sinned against the family of Naboth. 1 King 21:1-15
b. Forgiveness As a Command from God
Forgiveness has earlier been clarified to be an attribute of God Almighty; therefore, forgiveness is not optional but compulsory and a command.
It is incumbent upon all the obedient children of God to practice and uphold the spirit of forgiveness among themselves. Then said Jesus to His disciples, it is impossible but that offences will come, but woe unto him through whom they come; it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves; if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shall forgive him. Luke 17:1-4
Our Lord Jesus Christ further taught the people that forgiveness is a condition that must be met before prayers can be answered. "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses". Mark 11:25-26; Rom. 12:21.
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Eph. 4:32.
"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Col. 3:12-13.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17, Rom. 2:13.
3. EXAMPLES OF SOME BIBLE CHARACTERS THAT FORGAVE
Some people in the past, obeyed the spirit of God and forgave those who trespassed against them, irrespective of the magnitude of the offence. Examples are as listed below:
a. Moses forgave Aaron and Miriam when they spoke evil against him because of the Ethiopian woman whom he married. Num. 12:1-15.
b. Joseph forgave his brothers who hated him and planned to kill him but ended up selling him to become a slave in a foreign land. Gen. 37:12-28; 45:1-15; 50:18-21.
c. David forgave Saul. King Saul hated David and was determined to kill him without any just cause. He was envious, jealous and afraid that David was going to take over the throne after him, therefore, he decided to eliminate him. But David had opportunities to pay him back in his own coin, he forgave him and spared King Saul's life. I Sam. 24:9-12.
d. Stephen forgave his persecutors
The persecutors of Stephen were enraged by his lengthy speech as he addressed the Sanhedrin concerning the history of their fore-fathers and how they had behaved like them, in being stiff-necked and had resisted the Holy Ghost and eventually murdered the Just One. They rushed at him with bitterness of heart and had him stoned to death. But while he was dying, he told God to forgive them for what they had done. Acts 7:50-60.
e. Jesus forgave His persecutors
The Jews persecuted our Lord Jesus and urged Pilate to condemn Him to death. They preferred the release of a notable criminal called Barabbas to that of Jesus and thereby, was condemned. But while on the cross, He said "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" Luke 23:13-25; 33-38.
4. BLESSING THAT FOLLOW FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness attracts both physical and spiritual blessings as can be seen from the references and examples listed below.
a. Our sins are forgiven by God when we forgive other people. Matt. 6:14, for it is written "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32:1.
b. Cordial relationship with God is maintained because we keep God's words and do His commandment. John 14:21-23.
c. Protection from God
When we obey God's command and learn to forgive those that sinned against us, God's presence abides with us and no harm can befall us. Prov. 28:18, 13:13, Psalm 91:1-10.
d. Prayers are answered
When we forgive others, it makes our prayers to be answered, our alms and offerings are equally accepted before God. Psalm 50:15-17, Matt. 5:21-24.
5. REFUSAL TO FORGIVE AND IT'S REPERCUSSIONS
Refusal to forgive others is very detrimental to the soul as well as to the physical human body. When one refuses to forgive his or her offender, he or she is not at peace with the person. Any time both of them meet physically or he thinks about the person, he loses his peace and gets angry, becomes disturbed immediately. This state of mind will affect his relationship with his God and if he prays at that time to God, his prayer will not be answered. Mark 11:25-26. Unforgiveness is unrighteousness before God and no unrighteous person shall inherit the Kingdom of God. I Cor. 6:9.
Furthermore, refusal to forgive will deposit perpetual bitterness and hatred in one's spirit which the bible condemns. For it is written, "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. I John 3:13-15.
Scientifically and medically, it is a known fact that living in anger, helps the ejection of the bile from the duct into the blood stream during circulation which is harmful to human health. It is capable of shortening one's life span. It is also certified that anger is a product of unforgiveness and is an indirect killer since it aids high blood pressure, rash and wrong decisions that can lead to murder, suicide and other criminal acts. The anger or wrath of man does not work out the righteousness of God, therefore anything or situation that will lead you to bitterness and anger, fight it and avoid it.
Learn and practice forgiveness, then be at peace with all men, without which, coupled with holiness, no man shall see the LORD. James 1:20, Heb. 12:14.
BIBLE STUDY
ON
FORGIVENESS
Prepared By:
REV. ARC. A. O. IWERIEBOR
GENERAL OVERSEER,
The Bride Of Jesus Ministry Inc.
Boji-Boji Agbor, Delta State
Phone: 0803-703-5998
E-mail: thebrideofjesusagbor@hotmail.com
thebrideofjesusagbor@yahoo.com
website: http://www.thebrideofjesus.faithweb.com/