How do you explain this statement being made while people were angrily, purposefully stoning Stephen to death???
Ac 7:60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
How do you explain that, seriously?!
How was he able to say that??
That’s the power of the filling of the Spirit, alive and active in a person who’s just like you and me, a sinner saved by grace.
My friends, as recipients of God’s grace, we are called to PASS ON the love and grace that He’s shown to us… especially under times of pressure.
We all know it’s not always easy to have this forgiving attitude…
… but the same undeserved kindness we received from God MUST be passed on!!
GLORY!! : Grace and forgiveness are imperative to bringing glory to God in our lives!
Along with spreading the Gospel, this is what we’re left on earth to do, and that’s not an overstatement!
Speaking of this point on the board, let’s see what our Lord said about this:
Lk 17:3-4 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
This from the Lord’s own mouth; I think it might be wise for us to be humble, and obey Him regarding forgiveness!
And look what we’re commanded to “put on”, like a garment:
Col 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Again;
GLORY!! : Grace and forgiveness are imperative to bringing glory to God in our lives!
We only have one life, and one lifetime, on earth to bring glory to God with.
We only get one shot at this… Think about that, NOW, BEFORE you meet Him face to face.
Make the most of the grace God has shown you.
And one way we do that is by transcending the situation and rising above the fact that we’ve just been sinned against,…
… and as difficult as it might be, nothing is worse than what Jesus went through on the way to, and on, the Cross.
Passing on His Forgiveness: Even though we deserve final judgment, we believers have been forgiven of our sins, COMPLETELY, and once for all!! Col 2:13-14. How can we then hold back forgiveness from others???
If that doesn’t help you step back and pray when you’re attacked by others, I’m not sure what will.
And this following verse has been a surprise major point of emphasis (to me, but not to the Spirit) :
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
This truth helps us TRANSCEND the attacks against us.
What if you end up in heaven and the Lord reveals to you that someone who hurt you on earth was actually possessed by a demon??
– Doesn’t that change your attitude toward them… maybe from one of bitterness to one of compassion??
This doesn’t mean demons are always involved; it could just be the sinful nature of your friend being selfish, or even afraid, in the moment, leading them to sin against you.
But regardless, demons are alive and active right now, and have power to influence people, for now.
So, holding onto the perspective of Eph 6:12 is very helpful in rising above these situations.
When someone sins against you, consider that the KoD might be influencing them…. that will help you have a compassionate, forgiving attitude towards them.
As we got situated, we visited the verse that inspired this series:
Pr 19:11 NKJV The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
Again, this verse says it’s to your glory if you overlook a transgression!
Interesting, isn’t it???
But, we’re really talking about…
The Glory of His Grace: When you choose to overlook the sin of another person, that’s Christ’s light shining like a visible glow from within you. The example you exhibit by overlooking someone else’s transgression is like a gleaming ornament (“glory” in Pr 19:11); a light in the darkness of this world. You are then living in the Light of Christ. Pr 19:11, Mt 5:14-16
Choosing to overlook someone’s sin is one of the main ways we reveal, or unveil, the love of Christ in our lives.
And this is GLORIOUS in God’s eyes 🙂
Mt 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Again, this is directly related to the point on the board:
The Glory of His Grace: When you choose to overlook the sin of another person, that’s Christ’s light shining like a visible glow from within you. The example you exhibit by overlooking someone else’s transgression is like a gleaming ornament (“glory” in Pr 19:11); a light in the darkness of this world. You are then living in the Light of Christ. Pr 19:11, Mt 5:14-16
Now, we can’t go on until we visit a couple other passages about the glory of God’s grace!!
This is a big phrase, and glory and grace are intimately connected in the Bible.
Eph 1:4c-7 In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
The glory of God’s grace, the riches of His grace, is found in His forgiveness of guilty people!
God’s glory is not only found in His might and power, but in His grace and forgiveness.
That’s what God’s Word reveals to us!
And that’s why we worship and praise His Name, isn’t it??! 🙂
And that’s why we humbly listen to His Word, and also sing to Him with all our heart after service!
What a glorious, loving, compassionate God we have 🙂
And on this topic of glory and grace, we must see the Lord’s response to Moses about seeing His glory 🙂
Ex 33:18-19 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
If YOU ask God to show you His glory, He just might reveal His grace to you, personally 🙂
Now, back to our main passage (hopefully, this means more to you now):
Pr 19:11 NKJV The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
We’re talking about living with an overriding heart of forgiveness…
… even a willingness to overlook someone’s sins and faults, despite being wronged and hurt and offended.
As I shared on Thursday… It’s funny, whenever the Spirit has you teach something like this, He often puts us to the test. 🙂
And I knew it was coming; just didn’t know exactly how.
This very week He tested me, to see if I was willing to overlook someone’s sin and offense towards me!
They sinned against me, even lied to my face, but I had to step back and realize…
… it came from a moment of weakness… I know they’re going through a difficult time right now.
And even though I was angry at first, THANK GOD I bit my tongue for a day and went to God in prayer that night, BEFORE responding to this person.
And you know what?? God is faithful. 🙂
He does it differently every time we pray, but He showed me His grace …
… even immediately through a phone call, and also a certain scripture that He even inserted into this lesson,…
… He basically told me that I was to be gracious! (“I’ve shown YOU grace, haven’t I??? So, be gracious!”)
But here’s the thing, if we don’t stop and pray, we might not see or pay attention to His answer.
And that helped me regain my poise and pass the test to overlook their transgression.
Maybe that’s why the first half of Pr 19:11 (still on the board) is so important, as well.
Just sharing, for your encouragement.
It’s not easy, but as we struggle, it’s worthy of our prayer and seeking God on how to handle it, to His glory… before we react out of emotions.
Again, as Pastor’s blog shared; Your Emotions are not Your Life.
Now let’s take a minute to examine that God’s love doesn’t hold grudges;
His love isn’t resentful, but rather chooses to overlook an offense…
First of all, remember God IS love, in 1Jn 4…
1 Co 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
I’m convinced if we read this passage over and over, it will change our lives.
But today, we have an emphasis on vs. 5… “love…. is not irritable or resentful”.
When was the last time you were irritable?!! LOL
Resentful??? – it’s laughable, isn’t it??? (we all get caught up and spun up, especially when we’re caught off guard)
Resentful? Irritable?
The flesh loves being those things, to puff itself up or to protect itself from pain. But LOVE… does not take into account a wrong suffered, – 1Co 13:5 NASU
Isn’t that great?? – A very similar thought to “overlooking a transgression”;
We can choose to not even take it into account! (and not keeping ungodly lists of others failures in our heads)
How?? – LOVE! – Choose to LOVE!
Love does NOT take into account a wrong suffered…
… that’s the love of Christ… that’s the love that He had towards you and me.
And that’s why this following passage should always snap us back into spiritual shape!…
… and even deliver us in the moment of testing!
Col 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Speaking of “canceling the record of debt”, on Sunday, God led us into an analogy about paying fines for our sins.
We’re finally going to see the parable that uses money to illustrate our debt to God.
But, as we will see, this analogy really points to an infinite, unpayable debt that every person is under.
And we’ll see that this glorious forgiveness He granted us makes the offenses we need to forgive infinitely small.
And that’s the encouragement!!
And THAT’S what makes it easy for us to forgive others; that divine perspective that only His Word can give us. 🙂
Before we get to the parable…
… we talked about the price that had to be paid, since God’s Justice demands a payment for sins.
1 Co 6:20 For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Someone had to pay a heavy price, beyond calculation even, for our sins…
… it was our dear, precious Jesus; the only One who truly didn’t deserve it took our punishment…
… so He’s telling us to be appreciative, and to make the most of the gift He’s given us.
Remember this?
1 Pe 1:18-19 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (perfect)
Again, this is all to help us carry around the right perspective, as we face circumstances that require us to live in God’s transcendent love.
God wants the miracle of forgiveness to come forth in OUR lives.
But it must be done in the Spirit, and from the heart.
What’s going on in your soul?
The challenge has been this:
Grateful??? : If you really appreciate His great love and forgiveness towards you… then why do you hold grudges towards those who have hurt you? Why don’t you just let them go??? Mt 18:21-35
This is a matter of the heart, my friends. We must all examine our hearts before the Lord on this.
You might say it’s easier said than done, but not if you really appreciate His forgiveness of your many, many sins.
Why are you resentful and bitter towards your neighbor who offended you, instead of being forgiving and choosing to even overlook their offense in the love of Christ??
And this whole discussion might be painful right now, but I hope you’ll see it will be good and healing for you.
Are you ready???
Are you like the ungrateful servant in the parable??? (UGH)
Do you remember our dear Pastor brought this up a few months ago, and starkly stated we are ALL the ungrateful servant to some degree?! 😮
Let’s break the ice in our hearts a little further, shall we?
If you have a cold heart to some degree, of which we’re all guilty, honestly…
… do you think we should try to warm it up a bit, for our own benefit and to the glory of God??…
… AND, so that your God and Father is not angry with you?! (that’s right, that’s what the Lord said!)
Mt 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (just 1 talent = 60 million denarii, and a denarii is one day’s wage, so we’re talking about 60 million days of work/wages!! … x ten thousand!!! – do you see how this is truly an UNPAYABLE debt??). 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. (What amazing generosity, right?! What if someone owed you $600 billion, would you forgive the WHOLE debt???)
28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii (about 100 days of work/wages), and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?‘ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
First of all, do you see how all that God has forgiven us of is INFINITELY MORE than any person on earth could owe you?? (so said Jesus, right?)
Second of all, God the Father has a certain righteous anger towards us when we are unforgiving towards others. 😮
Now, we all have some of this cold heart in us, from the flesh of course (if you don’t think so, just wait until He really tests you and see how you respond)…
… and I’m here to tell you only God’s love can conquer that cold heart for you, IF you turn to Him for the help.
Only God’s love has the power to overcome, and “love never fails” – 1Co 13:8
Oh! To Overlook a Transgression!
“God is love”, 1Jn 4:8,16, and His love is able to transcend it all… including strife, worry, resentment, anger, personality differences, disagreements, wrongs, misunderstandings, insults, persecutions, thefts, mocking, slander, etc….. His love is able to transcend it all, even in us and through us, and we must choose to lean on it/Him!!! Pr 10:12, 1Co 13:4-8, 1Pe 4:8
Through His love, even we are able (dunamai) to overlook the transgressions of others!
His love gives us power and strength that we don’t have on our own.
Pr 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.
Again:
Oh! To Overlook a Transgression!
God is love, and love is able to transcend it all… including strife, worry, resentment, anger, personality differences, disagreements, wrongs, misunderstandings, insults, persecutions, thefts, mocking, slander, etc….. His love is able to transcend it all, even in us and through us!!! Pr 10:12, 1Co 13:4-8, 1Pe 4:8
And my friends, this next verse is a good NT parallel to our main verse in Pr 19:11…
1 Pe 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Let’s close with one more scripture that conveys HOW love covers a multitude of sins, and HOW love can help us overlook a transgression:
Gal 6:1-2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
We are to humbly and lovingly do this whenever we can for one another.
This is our calling as children of God. And as followers of Christ we follow his example.
Here’s one of the shortest but most powerful verses in the Bible:
1 Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
Let that affect your soul, soften your heart even.
We are here for God’s purpose and God’s glory, not our own.