Did You Know There Are Grave Consequences When You Fail to Forgive?

To be sincere in our forgiveness of others we should not even remember the incident. Sometimes forgiveness can be conditional, we shall tell somebody we have forgiven them, but maybe later we will bring it up to use it against them. This is not real forgiveness. Only when we do not think about the experience have we really forgiven others.

When we forgive others, we should not feel that we are just doing somebody else a favor; through forgiving others we are helping ourselves immensely. By remembering the misdeeds of others we live in the critical and judgmental mind. However through forgiveness we learn to appreciate the good qualities of others. Through forgiveness we become aware of our extended reality. If someone does something wrong a good attitude to take is. “I could quite easily have committed that sin myself”. Even if we wouldn’t have done this action, forgiving makes us even more humble.

HEALTHY love relationships are not possible without forgiveness! You cannot have a loving and rewarding relationship with anyone else, much less yourself, if you continue to hold on to things that happened in the past. Regardless of the situation, making peace with past love partners, your parents, children, your boss or anyone who you think may have "done you wrong" is the only way to improve your chances of a "healthy" relationship with yourself or anyone else for that matter!

Some people can easily forgive a sin against them, especially if it was committed only once, or the person did not know he or she was committing whatever offended you. Obviously, people under the influence of medicine, alcohol or drugs do some stupid things. Either way, that person who committed that act must be confronted. That party deserves to be confronted and also deserves the opportunity to defend the accusation. If he or she confesses and genuinely apologizes for the mistake, it is your responsibility to forgive them. Too often, we refuse to speak to friends, family, love ones and colleagues because we heard something from someone else about them that hurt or offended you.

That person maybe has no idea what other people told you about them! Maybe what you heard was exaggerated or even made up to endear them to you, or even done on purpose to drive a wedge between you.

Therefore, it is your responsibility to confront that person about the accusation. Every person deserves to know what they are accused of. If they deny it, no forgiveness is required on your part because a person cannot forgive something someone else denies happened. Thereby that person has to live with his or her lies.

We have all known someone who would never admit when they were wrong? No matter how insurmountable the evidence is against them, they will not confess to making a mistake. A follower of God cannot have this kind of mentality! One cannot become a child of God if they won’t admit sin. The apostle John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). God will not forgive the person who does not admit his need for forgiveness. He or she will die in their sin!
 

 However, if they confess their sin to you, it must be forgiven. If they commit that sin again, and ask for forgiveness again, Jesus tells us we must forgive them up to seven times seventy. Obviously, if that sin is so egregious (adultery, murder, rape, etc), you are not obligated to forgive nor to reestablish your relationship, which requires long-term trust building action.

More importantly, above and beyond you setting yourself free from the hate, resentment, sorrow, angst, bitterness, pain, self-pity and ill-feelings you have towards the person that injured you, you have to remember what God has stated about forginess. Most Christians believe that God will forgive all sins, except for “Blasphemy.”:

The blasphemy of the Spirit today, which is the same as the unpardonable sin, is the state of continued unbelief. There is no pardon for a person who dies in unbelief. Continual rejection of the Holy Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus Christ is the unpardonable blasphemy against Him. Remember what is stated in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Further on in the same chapter is the verse “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). The only condition wherein someone would have no forgiveness is if he is not among the “whoever believes in Him,” for it is he who “rejects the Son.”

However (and an extremely important Bible fact that many people forget, or purposely overlook) is what we are about to read:

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. “

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Matthew 18:35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Mark 11:26 “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. “

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Most Christians believe there is only one sin that God cannot forgive, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Some even play the Luke 23:34 card:

"On the cross Jesus Christ uttered an immortal utterance:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, Luke 23:34).”

But based on the previous group of scripture, we can see clearly where God cannot forgive if you don't forgive others for their sin, either!! If you choose not to forgive, it is a "knowable" act that you chose, therefore you cannot play the "forgive me (card) because I did know know what I was doing!"

Now you know what God has to say about forgiveness, and now you know what you should do! You have no excuse!

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To learn more about his books, “The End Times Passover” and “Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulations,” please click on Joe Ortiz