Thoughts on Unforgiveness: Part 2 of 8

The question that I started with was, “To what means do we/can we serve God when we hold on to the sin of unforgiveness in our heart?”

In the light of all that Christ has done for us, what is it that holds us back from forgiving? Christ has opened the door for all men to receive the gift of Salvation. Christ has forgiven all of our sin by making Himself to be sin for us. What is it that keeps the Christian from forgiving others? Perhaps the answer lies in II Peter 2:9-10, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.” Self willed or should we just simply say selfish will? Either way we say it, we are wrong if we believe that God will over look our sin or perhaps turn a blind eye to it because we belong to Christ.

Perhaps it is one of the saddest parts of the doctrine of Eternal Security. We know we are saved and secure in Christ so we selfishly remove ourselves from the guilt of the sin of unforgiveness. We, in a prideful way, say that our sins are covered by the blood of Christ and in essence we are self-covering them with eternal forgiveness. In doing so, we overlook the fact that we are disobedient to Christ by deceiving ourselves in thinking that Christ will somehow let us get away with this sin. In the process of our self-righteousness we are self deceived. Someone once said the worst form of deception is self-deception and I do agree. Many Christians walk around self deceived believing that all is right with the world and in their relationship with God. Not aware, or worse yet, not willing to accept the fact that their selfishness has led them far from God. It has boxed them into a world framed by their own deception. David in Psalm 58:3 said, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Sadly, the one we lie to the most ends up being ourselves.

Scripture says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18; why is that? When you regard something you show or hold it with feeling of respect and/or affection, to esteem or place value or worth upon it. So if we regard iniquity (sin) in our life God says that He will not hear or listen intently to us. If you regard something long enough, whether it is right or wrong, you will soon elevate it high enough that it will cause you a problem later on in life. James 4:17 tells us, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” God has to be first in our lives. He has to be on the throne in our heart. That throne is a single seat and so many believers try to stack things on God’s lap thinking that all is right not realizing that their selfish desires has forced God off that throne. He will never settle for second place.

If we hold unforgiveness against somebody we prevent God from forgiving our sins. It says in Matthew 6:15, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” We find here that our selfishness and sin of unforgiveness ties the hands of God from working on our behalf. God cannot and will not violate His Word. So if we do not forgive others He will not extend forgiveness to us. Jesus said in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” The sin of unforgiveness causes us to violate His commandments. The love that we say we have for Jesus is secondary to the love we hold for our self. Every relationship offers opportunities for forgiveness, if we fail or ignore these opportunities the relationship will not survive. All other relationships will suffer including the one you have with God.

To be continued: