[0:00] Bibles, and go to Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4. We have talked over the last few weeks about loving one another, being kind one to another, minister one to another, members one of another.
[0:26] In order to do all those things and do them the way that they should be done, there's a very important one. Notice behind me, forgive one another. In Ephesians chapter 4, look with me beginning at verse 31.
[0:41] Ephesians 4, beginning at verse 31, it says, Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted.
[0:57] Forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. We have a tendency that when we hear things being preached on Sunday morning, we tend to think of other people, don't we?
[1:12] Oh, this would be a good message for so-and-so. This message this morning should be a good message for all of us. All of us need to stop and to think.
[1:24] Forgiving another person sometimes can be hard, can't it? And we need to be ready to forgive. You know, sometimes we live in a time where we just seem to be, in this day and age in particular, we seem to be taken up and just consumed with bitterness.
[1:43] People just are angry about everything. And the Bible says, forgive one another. Even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you.
[1:55] He says, forgive one another. To forgive is the idea to pardon, to show undeserved favor. They may not deserve it, but he says, show it anyway.
[2:07] Be ready to forgive. Someone has said, forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.
[2:20] Think about that one for a second. It's my, forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me. Do we get hurt sometimes? Yeah.
[2:31] We say, oh, if I can only get back at them, if I can only do. Do you feel the same way when you hurt someone? Oh, if they could only get back at me.
[2:42] I don't think that's the way we usually think. That's not the direction we usually go, is it? Today, we're going to talk about the importance of living a life that is reconciled.
[2:54] Reconciled to God, reconciled to others. Forgiveness has to be a key component of our life. If it's not, we are living on very dangerous grounds.
[3:05] Our lives are too short to live in constant bitterness, constant unresolved conflict. You know, think about what are the effects of having a heart that is unforgiving.
[3:25] It brings anger and bitterness, not only to us and the person we're angry with, but it brings that into other relationships as well. We carry it over.
[3:37] I'm angry at Steve, but I have no problem with Charlotte. Well, you know, that's kind of hard to say, seeing as they're married. You know, there's going to be some issues there.
[3:49] And we bring those things into other relationships and stuff, and it shouldn't be that way. We lose joy in the prison. I'm so wrapped up in what this person did, and I hate them so much, and I, oh, that we lose out on joy that we could have now.
[4:07] Depression, we talked about that a little bit Wednesday night. We talked about some depression in Elijah. Depression can come into our lives. Anxiety can come into our lives. We get so focused on what the issue is with this person that we lose out on having any meaning or purpose to our life.
[4:26] We're so focused on that, we forget to do what God has called us to do, which is to take his gospel. We lose out on being connected to others. We could have a rich, valuable relationship with people, but because of anger, because of bitterness, those things go.
[4:44] And when I talk about bitterness, I have talked to people who are carrying things around for 20, 30, and 40 years. You ask them about somebody or something, oh, you get to be ready.
[4:58] You're going to get a half hour about that person from 40 years ago. Don't go there. Don't let bitterness rule. Some people will carry on and carry bitterness until they go to the grave.
[5:14] There was an elderly woman who passed away, and she left a note. And she said in her note she didn't want any male pallbearers at her funeral. She said, they wouldn't take me out while I was living.
[5:28] I don't want them to take me out when I'm dead. But we need to find alternatives to the bondage of bitterness.
[5:40] We need to find something different than to carry those things around. We need to practice forgiveness. Why do we need to practice forgiveness? Number one, our need to receive forgiveness.
[5:51] We need to learn to receive forgiveness. Let's have a word of prayer, and then we'll continue on. Heavenly Father, this morning as we talk about forgiveness, we pray that you would help us to understand the importance of it.
[6:05] Lord, that we would apply it to our own lives. And we may be sitting here, like we said, thinking about other people, but Lord, may we apply it to our own lives. We need to be forgiving.
[6:16] We need to have the relationship with others like you have with us. Because of Jesus Christ, you have forgiven us. Because of Jesus Christ, you have taken away our sin.
[6:32] Because of Jesus Christ, we have an eternal life with you now through all eternity. Lord, because of forgiveness, we have salvation.
[6:44] Lord, help us this morning to look at ourselves and help us to understand the importance of forgiveness. We pray this in Jesus' name.
[6:55] Amen. We need to receive forgiveness ourselves. First of all, personally. Personally, I need to receive forgiveness. We have all done things at times.
[7:09] We have all done things where we have messed up. We have made mistakes. We have sinned. And we have done things that are wrong. Sometimes we have done the things, but we hold on to the fact that we've been wronged.
[7:27] Verse 31 says, look, put away all bitterness. Bitterness. Every bit of it. All of it. We should not have it so it's still in our lives where it can hurt us.
[7:43] Sometimes we kind of have it there, but we try to hide the bitterness. But we still have it there in our lives. And he says, no, don't do that. He says, get rid of all of it.
[7:53] Put away all bitterness. You know, bitterness can have a stronghold in our life. And when we have that bitterness there, where is Satan going to go every time he wants to attack us?
[8:08] Satan wants to get you off track. He wants to get you. You're thinking, how can I serve God? How can I do this better? How can I do that better for him? And Satan's going to go, bing. What about that?
[8:19] What about that? Remember that? And he's just going to keep poking. You ever have a kid who sits there next to you? And they just keep poking you?
[8:33] Satan's going to do the same thing. Hey, what about this? What about this? We need to get rid of the bitterness out of our lives. Because if it comes to a stronghold in our life, it is going to be Satan's place to go to every time.
[8:47] Christian counselor Jay Adams says, anger may be handled wrongly in either one of two ways. Blowing up or clamming up.
[8:58] You ever meet somebody, some people, you say something to them and a volcano erupts. I'm the opposite. You can ask my wife and my daughter.
[9:10] If I get upset, I clam up. I don't want to be a poof, so I just internalize it all. I just kind of keep it in and just become quiet.
[9:21] Either way is wrong. We need to get rid of the bitterness. We don't need forgiveness just for the hidden sins, but we also need forgiveness for hateful sins.
[9:32] Sometimes we just let things go that shouldn't. And we don't want to do that. Sometimes we say hurtful words. Notice what he says there in verse 31.
[9:43] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking. What is he talking about when he says all those words? Wrath. The idea behind that word is passion, heat, or fierce rage.
[9:59] He says let all bitterness be put away and anger. Anger. The rage sometimes. You ever get mad at somebody and just, ugh. That bear comes out of you.
[10:11] That growl. He says, nope. Get rid of that. Then he says anger. He uses the word anger. Anger is blowing up. Violent emotion.
[10:23] It goes beyond the growl to the claws come out. We need to be so very careful. He says that all bitterness and wrath and anger.
[10:37] Benjamin Franklin said, anger is never without reason, but seldom with a good one. Do you understand what he's saying there? Sometimes, you know, we're going to get angry sometimes because of a reason.
[10:52] There's going to be, but he says it's usually not a good one. It's usually something we shouldn't be allowing to come into our lives. Something that should not be there. Clamor.
[11:03] Clamor we understand real well today. Do you know what we do? We do. Let me explain it this way. It means loud, noisy, complaining.
[11:15] Loud, noisy, complaining. You ever be around people and there's two or three or four or five people arguing and they're all trying to talk over top of each other and they're all just going at it and you can't understand what anybody's saying because they're all just talking over each other.
[11:34] Or the way we understand it even better today. Put up a post on social media. Say, the sky is blue. There's going to be somebody who's going to disagree with you.
[11:47] You know where there is. There's going to be somebody out there who's just going to say, no, it's not. It's Azure. No, it's not. It's kind of gray today. Of course, they're in another state somewhere, you know, but hey, there are always going to be people who want to argue with you.
[12:02] There are always going to be people who want to, you know, come against you. He says, put that all away. I don't go on social media. I go on social media, but I don't make comments on social media.
[12:15] I found it just so unproductive to go on there and make comments because there's always going to be people who want to argue with you. So why give them the chance? Then he says evil speaking.
[12:27] Evil speaking. Slander. When people slander. When people come against you. When people say things that aren't true. When people say things that maybe don't need to be said.
[12:41] He says, look, all of these different things, bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking that will be put away from you. All those things should be gone.
[12:55] One woman was summoned for jury duty. And she went to the judge and she said, Your Honor, I can't serve on a jury because I don't believe in capital punishment.
[13:06] The judge says, well, this is not a capital case. This is a case where a husband emptied out his wife's savings account of $14,000 and went on a three-day trip to Atlantic City with his girlfriend.
[13:23] She goes, oh, well, you know, I can probably be on the jury. I can probably serve. But I may be wrong about that capital punishment thing.
[13:33] We need to make sure that we have our attitudes where they need to be. We need to make sure that we personally are keeping ourselves in check.
[13:47] Not allowing ourselves to go the direction where we have bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking. We need to make sure we are able to receive ourselves forgiveness spiritually.
[14:02] Spiritually. See, more than just personal forgiveness, we need spiritual forgiveness. We need to be reconciled not only to one another, but we need to be reconciled to God.
[14:17] We are born in sin. And because of that, we have a separation between us and God. Our sins, not just the ones listed here, but all of our sins, all of our things that we do that break God's law, that go against his commandments, go against his word, has separated us from God.
[14:36] I mentioned in Sunday school, put up a wall between us and God. Romans 3. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and are short of the glory of God.
[14:47] Every one of us has sinned. What I love about the way that verse is worded, for all. You can change that word all. For Steve Hersey has sinned and comes short of the glory of God.
[15:02] For Bonnie Hersey has sinned and comes short of the glory of God. Stick your name in there. For I have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We all need to have forgiveness.
[15:15] We all need to have a reconciliation with God. Romans 5.10 says, For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
[15:31] Being reconciled. What does that word mean, reconciled? It means to be called back into union or friendship. There is a break between us and God because of sin. We need to be reconciled to him, called back to him, so that we can have a relationship with him once again.
[15:51] We're reconciled to God when we acknowledge our sin and ask him to forgive us. If you've already trusted Christ as your Savior, then thank him for the reconciliation that you have.
[16:04] If you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, do it. Ask him to forgive you of your sin so that you can have that friendship. You can have that connection with him again.
[16:16] 2 Corinthians 5.19-20 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.
[16:32] God, through Christ, has given us the ability to be reconciled to him. Verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.
[16:49] We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. What do we do? We become reconciled to God. We become friends with God again. We have a relationship with God again, where we can talk to him and spend time with him and have him come into our lives and change us and mold us and shape us into what he wants us to be.
[17:05] But then, he gives us a job. And think about the job that you get. We are ambassadors. Ambassadors for Christ.
[17:17] Ambassadors are pretty important people. Ambassadors represent their country to another country. We are ambassadors for Christ. We represent heaven to earth.
[17:29] We're God's representatives here on earth. And he says, look, God didn't say that you were beseeched you by us.
[17:39] They had an important role to play in bringing people to Christ. That's what we do. As ambassadors, we bring people to Christ. Introduce them to Christ so that they can have a relationship with him.
[17:54] So we need to receive forgiveness so we can do what God wants us to do. Secondly, we need to give forgiveness.
[18:06] We need to give forgiveness. We all want to receive forgiveness, but we're not always willing to give forgiveness.
[18:17] There's a woman. She got bitten by a rabid dog. And it wasn't looking good.
[18:28] It was looking like she may not survive. And the doctor told her she needed to put her final affairs in order. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and she started writing.
[18:40] And she wrote and she wrote and she wrote and she wrote and she wrote. Doctor finally, that's a long will that you've got there. Will, nothing. These are all the people I'm going to bite. And sometimes we live like that, don't we?
[18:54] Sometimes we live. How can we strike? How can we hit? How can we? And we need to make sure that we have an attitude of forgiveness.
[19:06] Why is it so important for us to forgive? First of all, because God calls us to forgive. God calls us to forgive. There in verse 32. He says, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
[19:21] What does it mean to forgive? To give grace to? To pardon? We give grace to the people. We pardon them. He tells us, look, trust him to be the judge.
[19:36] Trust him to do what is right. Romans chapter 12. We were there last week talking about being members of one another. Romans chapter 12, verses 19 to 21. Daily beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.
[19:51] For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Not our job. Not what we're supposed to do.
[20:04] God says, that's my job. You leave it with me. You let me take care of it. You let me handle it. Verse 20. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him.
[20:16] If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, he shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
[20:27] You want to take care of somebody? Somebody's done you wrong. Somebody's hurt you. He says, go out and do good for them. Go out and take care of them. He's overcome evil with good.
[20:43] Vengeance belongs to God. You know, he can settle the score much better than we can. He can take care of things. He can handle things. He knows how to handle. He knows what to do.
[20:55] He knows what's best for the situation. See, when we learn to forgive, it sets us on a path of liberty. I did not sleep well last night, so my words are coming up funny today.
[21:07] He sets us on a path to liberty. See, when you forgive someone, you're actually forgiving two people. One of them is yourself.
[21:20] It puts you on a path to liberty. A path where I can have the right relationship with God that I'm supposed to have. You remember Peter? Peter came to Jesus one day, and he asked him, Master, you know, this idea of forgiveness.
[21:38] What if I forgive seven times? See, a Jewish tradition was three times. You forgive someone three times, and you've hit your limit. He said, what if I forgive them seven times?
[21:49] Matthew chapter 18, a chapter that's forgotten a lot lately. Matthew chapter 18, look at verse 21 to 22. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
[22:04] Till seven times? Jesus said unto him, I say unto thee, not unto thee, till seven times, but until 70 times seven. What do you mean by 70 times seven?
[22:17] He says infinitely. He said, quit keeping score and just forgive. Wow.
[22:28] Quit keeping score and just forgive. We need to forgive because God calls us to forgive. Secondly, because forgiveness brings healing.
[22:39] Forgiveness brings healing. If we're not going to forgive because it's commanded, then do it for your own good. Forgiveness heals us from past hurts.
[22:53] It frees us from having, be able to have the relationship with people we need to have. It frees us from having that bondage of bitterness always there in our life. Think about Joseph.
[23:06] Joseph, sold by his brothers into slavery. Put in a pit. That caravan comes along. They sell him off into slavery. Goes to Egypt. Winds up being sold again where he goes into Potiphar's house.
[23:17] From Potiphar's house, he winds up in prison. He just, all kinds of things went wrong. But then, he winds up second to Pharaoh in all of Egypt.
[23:29] God's grace was upon Joseph. Joseph didn't do anything to get back at his brothers. He couldn't. But he left in God's hands. And look where he wound up.
[23:40] In Genesis 50, verses 16 and 17, it says, And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, Stop there for a second.
[23:57] How is Joseph supposed to verify this? Jacob's dead. But he told us, They're trying to cover themselves. Now look at verse 17. So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, The trespass of thy brethren and their sin, For they did unto thee evil.
[24:18] And now we pray thee, Forgive the trespass of the servants of God, The God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. Stop there.
[24:30] Did you notice? So shall ye say unto Joseph. This is supposedly Jacob talking, right? So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, The trespass of thy brethren and their sin.
[24:44] For they did evil unto thee. And now, What's the next word? We. We pray thee.
[24:56] Now brothers, Jacob said this, Jacob said this, Jacob said this. Now we, Oops, wait a minute. We're really the ones who want the forgiveness. What was Joseph's reaction when they said, We want forgiveness.
[25:12] Look at verse 20. Genesis 50 verse 20. But as for you, Ye thought evil against me. But God meant it unto good, To bring to pass as it is this day, To save much people alive.
[25:24] You meant evil to me. But I'm going to leave in God's hands. And God meant it for good. God meant it to do a work.
[25:35] That was going to save a whole lot of people. Including you guys. See, Joseph chose to forgive. He brought unity and healing to his family.
[25:46] He could have held the grudge. He could have had bitterness. But he didn't. He left it in God's hands. What are the benefits Of doing that?
[25:57] When you leave it to God And let him take care of it. Healthier relationships. Improved mental health. Less anxiety. Stress. Hostility.
[26:07] Lower blood pressure. Fewer symptoms. Of depression. Stronger immune system. Heart health. Better self-esteem. But we can't forgive in our own strength.
[26:20] Can we? We have to do it in God's strength. Which brings us to a third thing there. We forgive because God enables us to forgive. God enables us.
[26:32] Notice in verse 32 there of Ephesians 4 again. Forgiving one another. Even as God for Christ's sake Hath forgiven you. God forgives us on the merit of Jesus' blood Shed on the cross.
[26:49] He can forgive us because Jesus took our place. Because Jesus took our punishment. Because Jesus gave of himself. He wants us to be Christ-like in our attitudes.
[27:02] He wants us to be Christ-like in the way we handle the situations in our life. Martin Lloyd-Jones who was a pastor in England.
[27:12] Commentator. He wrote this. He says whenever I see myself before God. And realize something of what my blessed Lord has done for me at Calvary.
[27:24] I am ready to forgive anybody anything. I cannot withhold it. I do not even want to withhold it. When I look at what Jesus did at Calvary for me.
[27:37] For my sins to be forgiven. For me to be cleansed. For me to have a home in heaven. For me to be able to walk with God. How can I help but forgive others?
[27:50] I know what I'm like. I know what I've done. And God could forgive me. How can I withhold from anybody else? 1 John chapter 2 verse 12 says.
[28:02] I write unto you little children. Because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake. I write unto you because. Your sins are forgiven you for his namesake.
[28:13] Excuse me just a second. To World War II. There was a gentleman in the war by the name of Luis Zamperini.
[28:25] Anybody ever heard that name? Luis Zamperini. Ah. A couple of you have. Good. He suffered brutally. At the hands of the Japanese. He was captured.
[28:37] And sent to a prisoner of war camp. When he returned to the United States after the war. He was consumed with the idea of how he was going to get back.
[28:48] At the Japanese. How he could. Find revenge. For what had happened to him. In that camp. Especially. A camp commander by the name of Matsuhiro Watanabe.
[29:04] He came back to the United States. He got married. But quickly turned to alcoholism. And. He did that. Because of the inner pain. The memories.
[29:15] The nightmares. That he had from that time. At the prison camp. And soon his marriage began to fall apart. A few years later. His wife went to. The Billy Graham crusade.
[29:27] In Los Angeles. And while there. She came to know Jesus as her savior. The next night. She asked him to go with her. He went.
[29:38] Then he went a second night. The second night. He surrendered his life. To Christ. And when he did that. He chose.
[29:50] To forgive his captors. And all his nightmares. Nightmares. Nightmares. Disappeared. No more nightmares. About what had happened to him. The next year.
[30:01] October 1950. He was at Sagamo prison. Outside of Tokyo. A lot of the prisoners. Who were. There were war criminals.
[30:13] During the war. And he went to that prison. And he told them. His testimony. About how he wanted. Revenge on them. And about how God.
[30:24] Had saved him. And changed his heart. And changed his life. And two men got saved. That night. While he was there. Move forward. 1998.
[30:35] It's four days. Before his 81st birthday. He runs a leg. Of the Olympic torch relay. For the Nagano. Japan Olympics.
[30:48] Winter Olympics. Not far from the prison camp. Where he had been. Held. He attempted to meet.
[30:59] Matsusuri Watanapi. To ask forgiveness. I don't know if he ever did. Did you. Did you ever meet him? Can't remember. Okay. But he was ready.
[31:11] To forgive the man. For what he had done. Is there someone. In your life. You need to forgive today. Is there someone. In your life. That.
[31:22] Through the power. Of love. The forgiveness. Of Jesus. Can set you free. From the bitterness. That you face. So our need.
[31:33] To receive forgiveness. Our need. To give forgiveness. For forgiveness. What is the way. We obtain forgiveness. How do we get it? Some people. Don't feel worthy. Of forgiveness.
[31:44] They think. What they have done. Is too bad. As you know. Bonnie and I. Deal with people. People in jail. People in jail. Jared does every day. We have a chance. To talk with them. Meet with them.
[31:58] We need to have forgiveness. First of all. From God. How do we get forgiveness. From God. From God. Verse 32 again. What does he say? We get our forgiveness. For Christ's sake.
[32:09] Because of what Christ. Did for us. We can get forgiveness. This is sin. Psalm 86.5. Says this. For thou Lord. Art good. And ready to forgive.
[32:21] And plenteous. In mercy. Unto all them. That call upon thee. God says. I am ready. To forgive. The psalmist says. He is ready.
[32:31] To forgive. He's ready. To show mercy. To anyone. Who will call upon his name. Like I said. Some people think. Their sin is too great. It is not. God can forgive.
[32:45] God. Can take away the sin. Of anyone. Who will come to him. Trusting him. In their heart.
[32:56] In their life. Trusting that God's work. Is sufficient. To take care of everything. We come. So that we can get forgiveness. From God.
[33:07] How do we do that? Through Christ. Through Christ. Again. He says. In verse 32. For Christ's sake. We receive forgiveness. Through Christ.
[33:23] Isaiah. 59. 2. He says. But your iniquities. Have separated. Between you. And your God. And your sins. Have hid his face. From you. That he will not hear.
[33:34] Your sin. Have hid his face. From you. That wall. I talked about. Been put up there. But Jesus Christ. Can break through that wall. Coming to Jesus. Asking him.
[33:45] For forgiveness. Allowing him. To come into your life. Will break that wall down. Why do we need it? Romans 5. 12. Wherefore. Is by one man. Sin in it of the world.
[33:56] And death by sin. And so death. Passed upon all men. For all have sinned. All have sinned. And come short of the glory of God. All of us have sinned. And come short of the glory of God. Our sins separate us from God.
[34:08] God is just. He cannot just turn his back. On our sin. But Jesus Christ. Going to the cross. Shedding his blood. Rising from the dead.
[34:21] Ascending back into heaven. Jesus Christ has the power. To break through all that. He can do that for us. If we allow him to. Ephesians 1. 7. In whom we have redemption.
[34:32] Through his blood. The forgiveness of sins. According to the riches of his grace. Jesus Christ's blood. Shed on the cross for us. Gives us the opportunity. To have forgiveness of sins.
[34:44] According to the riches of his grace. How much grace does God have? God has so much grace. Ready to forgive us of anything. 1 Peter chapter 1. Verses 18 and 19.
[34:55] For as much as you know. You were not redeemed with corruptible things. As silver and gold. From your vain conversation. Received by the tradition of your fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ.
[35:06] As a lamb without blemish. And without spot. He says the precious blood of Christ. Why does he emphasize that? A lamb without blemish. And without spot. In the Old Testament.
[35:16] Hebrew tradition. The lambs that were brought for sacrifice. For the forgiveness of sins. Had to be without blemish. And without spot. He says Jesus Christ. Is that sacrifice for you? Jesus Christ gave his life.
[35:28] For you. You can have forgiveness of sin. We don't have to labor under the feeling of guilt anymore. Because Jesus took our sins to the cross.
[35:42] You remember when Jesus was up on the cross? First thing he said when he was up there. Luke 23, 34. Then said Jesus. Father forgive them. For they know not what they do.
[35:53] He says forgive them. So what should our attitude be? Forgive them. Jesus had that attitude toward us.
[36:05] Excuse me. Jesus took our payment. On himself. And when Jesus took our payment on himself. He gave the payment for our sin.
[36:17] But not only did he do that. He gave us his righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5, 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us. Who knew no sin.
[36:27] That we might be made the righteousness of God in him. For he, God, made him, Jesus, to be sin for us. Jesus who knew no sin. That we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus.
[36:40] We have been made the righteousness of God. We have his righteousness. When we come to Jesus. We get his righteousness. Our sin is no longer a barrier anymore.
[36:55] No pastor. No church. No religion. Can ever offer us forgiveness. It only comes from Jesus Christ. He offers us forgiveness.
[37:07] So. Let's wrap this up. We're talking about forgiveness today. Forgiveness in human relationships. How greater need for forgiveness do we have.
[37:22] Than that God forgive us. And God says. I will forgive you. I will take away those sins. Remember those two thieves on the cross. One chose to be bitter and reject.
[37:33] One chose to believe. And receive. The forgiveness. And Jesus said today. You will be with me in paradise. Perhaps you're here this morning.
[37:45] You've never asked Jesus to come into your life. Trust him today. Talk with me afterwards. I'll take God's word. And I'll show you how you can know. One hundred percent.
[37:57] That you are on your way to heaven. One hundred percent. That Jesus will walk with you. Every day for the rest of your life. That he will be with you. All the time. I mentioned before.
[38:12] For all have sinned. All of us have sinned. Romans 3.23. Romans 6.23 says this. For the wages of sin is death. So all have sinned. And the wages of sin is death. It's not sounding too good.
[38:24] But notice the last part of that verse. But the gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. And he says look. You come to me. You trust me.
[38:35] You give your sin over to me. You allow me to come into your life. And change it. And clean it. And make it what it ought to be. And Romans 10.13 says. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
[38:47] Shall be saved. He said I will come. I will do it. I will take care of it. Just trust me. Greatest gift in the world.
[38:58] Is getting forgiveness. From God. For sin. The greatest gift you can give. Is forgiveness. When we know.
[39:10] The gift that God has given to us. And we know. How to give that gift to others. Psalm 32.1. Blessed is he. Whose transgression is forgiven.
[39:20] Children. Whose sin. Is covered. If we can receive. From. Forgiveness. From God. We can give. Forgiveness.
[39:32] To others. You don't want to live a life. With bitterness. And wrath. And anger. And clamor. And evil speaking. He says. Learn how to forgive. One another.
[39:42] You want to love one another. Be kind to one another. Minister to one another. Be members one of another. Do all those different things. Learn how to forgive. One another.
[39:53] Forgive. One another. How do we do that? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Song says.
[40:06] Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it. White as snow. 355 in your hero. 355 in your hymn book.
[40:17] 355. 355. Thank you.