Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye (Colossians 3:13).
The human heart is one that is "desperately wicked and deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). One of the wicked fruits of the human heart is unforgiveness. The Bible has much to say about unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a sin that we as humans tend to find more forgiveable (what irony!). However, unforgiveness is a serious sin that God hates as much as he hates any other sin of the flesh, as much as he hates pride and covetousness. It is as vile as pride and covetousness, whether for the unsaved or saved.
The only difference in the way God treats the unsaved and saved with respect to unforgiveness is that He expects the saved to forgive and that the unsaved will not nor cannot, unless by God gives them the grace to do so. God, indeed does use the unsaved for good, and to doing so, He can do anything, including enabling the unsaved person to be forgiving, kind, seeking justice and compassionate.
Unforgiveness is a sin, whether for the unsaved or saved. God requires that all of us forgive because He has either forgiven a person, or is seeking to forgive a person, by granting him or her repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This testifies to how rich in mercy, kindness and grace God is. Such is the amazing, vast, wide love of God! The love of God knows no boundaries. Behold, the love of God is so great and vast beyond all measure!
It is because of God's love that He hates sin and the sinner, with a holy hatred, and also because of God's love that He seeks that all will be saved, having one's sins forgiven through Jesus Christ alone. It is because God is love that unforgiveness is a sin.
Many in the modern Church think that the world does not believe in unforgiveness at all. This is largely true, but not completely true. The world does indeed express shock of unforgiveness of others, depending on how it affects them, of course, out of their own self-interest. It forgives only for self-interested reasons, not godly reasons. It forgives only to seek justification of its own sins, or to twist the Moral Law of God which they know in their hearts (Romans 2:15). It loves to mercilessly use the Law of God which they know is absolute and eternal, against those who have wronged oneself, to justify its unforgiveness.
The Law of God is indeed made for the lawless: But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:8-10).
However, it is lawlessness itself for the wicked to declare the Law of God and insist that it be obeyed: "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?" (Psalm 50:16). This is precisely what the world does, despite it not acknowledging that it is the Law of God, calling it something else, such as "protection for victims", or so-called "human rights" as protection from true oppression, and bullying.
For the wicked to insist that the Moral Law of God be applied whenever another has bullied, hurt or oppressed, that person is lawlessness itself. Simply because a person is bullied, hurt or oppressed does not mean that a person is not wicked. There are many people who are victimised by others, but are very wicked themselves. Such is the case of many so-called victims in the modern world, who are the most demonic people in the world, thinking they are entitled to all wickedness done against those who have alleged "oppressed" them, or that they are justified in being evil. This is exactly what those wicked vile feminists and black liberationists think, both of whom seek earthly liberation, which is all lawlessness. There is no excuse for what they wicked vile groups do at all, whatsoever!
The wicked use the Law of God lawlessly to justify their own unforgiveness against others, and love to seek sympathy for others. They are like the harlots who solicit her victims, making them feel sympathy for her, but who only seeks to manipulate, intimidate and dominate her victims. Such is ways of all evil liberation groups! They seek only forgiveness for their evil, and think that any rebuke of their evils, is itself out of hatred and unforgiveness. Their own unforgiveness against other is not unforgiveness, but a quest for "justice" and "liberty". Such is not only hypocrisy but a perverted, vile sense of justice and liberty which is earthly, demonic and sensual (James 3:13-17). Such is worldly wisdom.
The forgiveness that Jesus gives is the only true forgiveness. Only in Christ can there be true forgiveness for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Christ is the Moral Lawgiver, and so all violations of His Moral Law can only be forgiven by Him.
Forgiveness is not to give up the "right" to be angry as many in the modern Church think. They is almost right, but yet not right. It is a very subtle lie. Firstly, there is no such thing as a "right" for any person to be angry at another at all, regardless of whether the person who he is angry at has sinned or not, because none of us humans have "rights". Secondly, it is not whether a person feels angry at the sin of another that has made one angry that determines whether it is sin. By no means! It is because the sin committed offends God.
Sin is only against God (John 14:6 Romans 3:4). It is not against any human being, no matter how hurtful, painful or oppressive it has been: Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest (Psalm 51:4). Only God can claim that sin is against Him because He is the Moral Lawgiver (Romans 3:4). For example, if a person has murdered another, that person has not sinned against the victim, but against God and God alone. If a person has committed violence against another, the he or she has sinned against God, and not the victim.
Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21-35:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
One thing that many people do not realise is that the wrong was defined by the king in the Parable, and that it is the king with all Moral authority to declare the unforgiving servant and the other servant guilty or innocent. Neither servant had any Moral authority to forgive sins at all. It is only the king who could. The servant was commanded by the king to forgive, not merely because he himself had been forgiven, but because demanding that servant repay all his debts owed to him is wrong itself.
The servant in demanding full repayment by enforcing the Law which did condemn, and demand the second servant to repay in full, was itself lawlessness, using the Law of God lawlessly. The Law of God is Law which stands forever more. However, to demand that another repay all the debts owed to oneself, and not solely because it offends God, is to use the Law of God lawlessly. There is such as thing as using the Law of God lawlessly. This manifests itself in unforgiveness. It is to treat sin as against oneself, and not against God. It is of the flesh which feeds on hated, bitterness and pride. The unforgiving servant demands that sin is against him, in demanding repayment of debts owed to him in full to himself, to satisfy his flesh which feeds on pride, hatred and bitterness.
While it is true that the second servant did owe debt to the first servant under the Law, it is owed to the king, who was the only one who can claim that the Law is Law because it is from him, and him alone. It is not because debt was owed to the first servant that makes it a sin, but rather because the debt was the repaid under the Law. The debt was not owed to the unforgiving servant because he demanded so, and therefore not owed to the unforgiving servant himself. Likewise, though sin may be committed against another, it is sin-debt owed, not to that person, but to God and God alone. This because God is the Moral Lawgiver, the only one who can claim that sin is sin because it is against Him and Him alone.
Unforgiveness thrives on wrath of the flesh, and pride of life. The spirit of unforgiveness blinds people into thinking that the person himself is owed something by others, leading them to demand their so-called "rights" to something lawful under the Law of God. While they are asking for may be "reasonable" or with cause, they have no "right" on their own part to demand the the Law of God gives them justice. God gives justice for all sins because He is love, because it is of His nature, not because the sin committed by others offends or hurts individual human beings. To think that God gives justice because sin committed by others offends or hurts individuals is to have a wrong perspective of God. It is to have a human-centred, human-fearing view of sin, as opposed to a God-centred, God-fearing view of sin.
The spirit of mammon feeds on the pride of life, and selfish ambition. Selfish ambition manifests itself in seeking to get what one wants, however one wants, whatever one wants may be, whether it is respect, love or kindness from others. Selfish ambition need not seek material things, but seek those of morality and the spiritual such as how others treat oneself. Selfish ambition feeds on covetousness which is the desire for things to satisfy the flesh. As long as one has such as desire, whatever the object of that desire may be, he is covetous. Covetousness feeds on the lust of the flesh and pride of life, which is a manifestation of one's covetousness and selfish ambitions.
Psalm 119:36 says: "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness". Some translations use the word 'selfish gain' instead of 'covetousness'. Covetousness is gain sought to be made to satisfy the flesh. The very desire itself for such gain is covetousness. As long as a person is not seeking to please God fully and completely, he is covetousness. A person is either not covetous or covetous. There is no middle ground.
A covetous person serves the spirit of mammon. A person who is not covetous serves God. Of course, a person who truly serves God can fall into covetousness and not realise it, and be covetous for a season. However, he must repent of it, or else he shows himself to be not of God, but of the devil because, if he is truly of God, he will repent of his covetousness.
Covetousness, envy and selfish ambition lead to unforgiveness, which is the desire to seek to gain from others to satisfy the flesh. Unforgiveness, in seeking to gain from others to satisfy onself, keeps record of wrongs. It cannot deny its fleshly desires, but believes that anyone who is a hindrance to satisfying such desires "owes" him something, because the person has failed to allow him to satisfy his flesh. Hatred of anyone or anything that poses such as hindrance is a manifestation of such unforgiveness.
The grounds of which such a person seeks to satisfy his flesh may indeed use the Law of God, and may demand that which is consistent with the Law of God, such as justice. However, because the flesh does not nor cannot obey God (Romans 8:7-8), such as desire itself is one which cannot seek after true justice or righteousness which are only of God and God alone.
The spirit of mammon works through unforgiveness by feeding on covetousness and selfish ambition. He blinds people into thinking that they can legitimately demand what is owed to them according to the Law of God, for themselves, that is, to satisfy the flesh. This manifests in keeping records of wrongs, and the ungodly indignation felt at what God deems to be sin, not because God hates the sin, but because it offends one's flesh. It manifests itself in wrath against those who do wrong, for self-seeking reasons, not because it offends God.
The human heart is one that is "desperately wicked and deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). One of the wicked fruits of the human heart is unforgiveness. The Bible has much to say about unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a sin that we as humans tend to find more forgiveable (what irony!). However, unforgiveness is a serious sin that God hates as much as he hates any other sin of the flesh, as much as he hates pride and covetousness. It is as vile as pride and covetousness, whether for the unsaved or saved.
The only difference in the way God treats the unsaved and saved with respect to unforgiveness is that He expects the saved to forgive and that the unsaved will not nor cannot, unless by God gives them the grace to do so. God, indeed does use the unsaved for good, and to doing so, He can do anything, including enabling the unsaved person to be forgiving, kind, seeking justice and compassionate.
Unforgiveness is a sin, whether for the unsaved or saved. God requires that all of us forgive because He has either forgiven a person, or is seeking to forgive a person, by granting him or her repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This testifies to how rich in mercy, kindness and grace God is. Such is the amazing, vast, wide love of God! The love of God knows no boundaries. Behold, the love of God is so great and vast beyond all measure!
It is because of God's love that He hates sin and the sinner, with a holy hatred, and also because of God's love that He seeks that all will be saved, having one's sins forgiven through Jesus Christ alone. It is because God is love that unforgiveness is a sin.
Many in the modern Church think that the world does not believe in unforgiveness at all. This is largely true, but not completely true. The world does indeed express shock of unforgiveness of others, depending on how it affects them, of course, out of their own self-interest. It forgives only for self-interested reasons, not godly reasons. It forgives only to seek justification of its own sins, or to twist the Moral Law of God which they know in their hearts (Romans 2:15). It loves to mercilessly use the Law of God which they know is absolute and eternal, against those who have wronged oneself, to justify its unforgiveness.
The Law of God is indeed made for the lawless: But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:8-10).
However, it is lawlessness itself for the wicked to declare the Law of God and insist that it be obeyed: "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?" (Psalm 50:16). This is precisely what the world does, despite it not acknowledging that it is the Law of God, calling it something else, such as "protection for victims", or so-called "human rights" as protection from true oppression, and bullying.
For the wicked to insist that the Moral Law of God be applied whenever another has bullied, hurt or oppressed, that person is lawlessness itself. Simply because a person is bullied, hurt or oppressed does not mean that a person is not wicked. There are many people who are victimised by others, but are very wicked themselves. Such is the case of many so-called victims in the modern world, who are the most demonic people in the world, thinking they are entitled to all wickedness done against those who have alleged "oppressed" them, or that they are justified in being evil. This is exactly what those wicked vile feminists and black liberationists think, both of whom seek earthly liberation, which is all lawlessness. There is no excuse for what they wicked vile groups do at all, whatsoever!
The wicked use the Law of God lawlessly to justify their own unforgiveness against others, and love to seek sympathy for others. They are like the harlots who solicit her victims, making them feel sympathy for her, but who only seeks to manipulate, intimidate and dominate her victims. Such is ways of all evil liberation groups! They seek only forgiveness for their evil, and think that any rebuke of their evils, is itself out of hatred and unforgiveness. Their own unforgiveness against other is not unforgiveness, but a quest for "justice" and "liberty". Such is not only hypocrisy but a perverted, vile sense of justice and liberty which is earthly, demonic and sensual (James 3:13-17). Such is worldly wisdom.
The forgiveness that Jesus gives is the only true forgiveness. Only in Christ can there be true forgiveness for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Christ is the Moral Lawgiver, and so all violations of His Moral Law can only be forgiven by Him.
Forgiveness is not to give up the "right" to be angry as many in the modern Church think. They is almost right, but yet not right. It is a very subtle lie. Firstly, there is no such thing as a "right" for any person to be angry at another at all, regardless of whether the person who he is angry at has sinned or not, because none of us humans have "rights". Secondly, it is not whether a person feels angry at the sin of another that has made one angry that determines whether it is sin. By no means! It is because the sin committed offends God.
Sin is only against God (John 14:6 Romans 3:4). It is not against any human being, no matter how hurtful, painful or oppressive it has been: Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest (Psalm 51:4). Only God can claim that sin is against Him because He is the Moral Lawgiver (Romans 3:4). For example, if a person has murdered another, that person has not sinned against the victim, but against God and God alone. If a person has committed violence against another, the he or she has sinned against God, and not the victim.
Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21-35:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
One thing that many people do not realise is that the wrong was defined by the king in the Parable, and that it is the king with all Moral authority to declare the unforgiving servant and the other servant guilty or innocent. Neither servant had any Moral authority to forgive sins at all. It is only the king who could. The servant was commanded by the king to forgive, not merely because he himself had been forgiven, but because demanding that servant repay all his debts owed to him is wrong itself.
The servant in demanding full repayment by enforcing the Law which did condemn, and demand the second servant to repay in full, was itself lawlessness, using the Law of God lawlessly. The Law of God is Law which stands forever more. However, to demand that another repay all the debts owed to oneself, and not solely because it offends God, is to use the Law of God lawlessly. There is such as thing as using the Law of God lawlessly. This manifests itself in unforgiveness. It is to treat sin as against oneself, and not against God. It is of the flesh which feeds on hated, bitterness and pride. The unforgiving servant demands that sin is against him, in demanding repayment of debts owed to him in full to himself, to satisfy his flesh which feeds on pride, hatred and bitterness.
While it is true that the second servant did owe debt to the first servant under the Law, it is owed to the king, who was the only one who can claim that the Law is Law because it is from him, and him alone. It is not because debt was owed to the first servant that makes it a sin, but rather because the debt was the repaid under the Law. The debt was not owed to the unforgiving servant because he demanded so, and therefore not owed to the unforgiving servant himself. Likewise, though sin may be committed against another, it is sin-debt owed, not to that person, but to God and God alone. This because God is the Moral Lawgiver, the only one who can claim that sin is sin because it is against Him and Him alone.
Unforgiveness thrives on wrath of the flesh, and pride of life. The spirit of unforgiveness blinds people into thinking that the person himself is owed something by others, leading them to demand their so-called "rights" to something lawful under the Law of God. While they are asking for may be "reasonable" or with cause, they have no "right" on their own part to demand the the Law of God gives them justice. God gives justice for all sins because He is love, because it is of His nature, not because the sin committed by others offends or hurts individual human beings. To think that God gives justice because sin committed by others offends or hurts individuals is to have a wrong perspective of God. It is to have a human-centred, human-fearing view of sin, as opposed to a God-centred, God-fearing view of sin.
The spirit of mammon feeds on the pride of life, and selfish ambition. Selfish ambition manifests itself in seeking to get what one wants, however one wants, whatever one wants may be, whether it is respect, love or kindness from others. Selfish ambition need not seek material things, but seek those of morality and the spiritual such as how others treat oneself. Selfish ambition feeds on covetousness which is the desire for things to satisfy the flesh. As long as one has such as desire, whatever the object of that desire may be, he is covetous. Covetousness feeds on the lust of the flesh and pride of life, which is a manifestation of one's covetousness and selfish ambitions.
Psalm 119:36 says: "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness". Some translations use the word 'selfish gain' instead of 'covetousness'. Covetousness is gain sought to be made to satisfy the flesh. The very desire itself for such gain is covetousness. As long as a person is not seeking to please God fully and completely, he is covetousness. A person is either not covetous or covetous. There is no middle ground.
A covetous person serves the spirit of mammon. A person who is not covetous serves God. Of course, a person who truly serves God can fall into covetousness and not realise it, and be covetous for a season. However, he must repent of it, or else he shows himself to be not of God, but of the devil because, if he is truly of God, he will repent of his covetousness.
Covetousness, envy and selfish ambition lead to unforgiveness, which is the desire to seek to gain from others to satisfy the flesh. Unforgiveness, in seeking to gain from others to satisfy onself, keeps record of wrongs. It cannot deny its fleshly desires, but believes that anyone who is a hindrance to satisfying such desires "owes" him something, because the person has failed to allow him to satisfy his flesh. Hatred of anyone or anything that poses such as hindrance is a manifestation of such unforgiveness.
The grounds of which such a person seeks to satisfy his flesh may indeed use the Law of God, and may demand that which is consistent with the Law of God, such as justice. However, because the flesh does not nor cannot obey God (Romans 8:7-8), such as desire itself is one which cannot seek after true justice or righteousness which are only of God and God alone.
The spirit of mammon works through unforgiveness by feeding on covetousness and selfish ambition. He blinds people into thinking that they can legitimately demand what is owed to them according to the Law of God, for themselves, that is, to satisfy the flesh. This manifests in keeping records of wrongs, and the ungodly indignation felt at what God deems to be sin, not because God hates the sin, but because it offends one's flesh. It manifests itself in wrath against those who do wrong, for self-seeking reasons, not because it offends God.
Comments
Post a Comment