| “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.-” |
| —Ephesians 4:32 |
In my last blog post, I wrote about the importance of accountability relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to lovingly, tenderly, and very carefully help each other deal with the sin in our lives that will interfere with our Christian Spiritual Formation—spiritual growth.
Once we have held each other accountable, the next step is to extend forgiveness in the same loving, tender, and careful way that we engaged each other with accountability. Note what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians, as recorded in Ephesians 4:32:
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
As part of our on-going relationship with each other, we who belong to Christ need to quickly, compassionately, and lovingly forgive the sins that someone commits against us. Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins. In the eyes of God, we are forgiven. Thus, we need to release each other from any grudge we may want to hold. We need to show true Christ-like compassion by forgiving each other for the sins we commit against each other.
Now it is important to understand that we may have a forgiving heart—that is, we are willing in our hearts to forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ. But, forgiveness does not become fully effective until the one who has sinned confesses the sin, repents of the sin, and makes restitution for the sin. Only then can complete restoration take place. Nevertheless, in our hearts we must have a ready willingness to forgive. We dare not hold a grudge against a brother or sister in Christ.
As we begin another new day, God has laid out a pathway before us that requires us to examine our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do we hold any grudges? If so, we must release those grudges to God and ask Him to give us hearts that are willing to forgive.
If we have sinned against a brother or sister in Christ, we must go to that one, confess our sin, repent of our sin, make restitution for our sin—if at all possible—and seek the forgiveness of our fellow believer that will lead to restoration.
If we do this, we will build proper relationships within the Kingdom of God. We will become far more effective in our testimony about the love that God has given us in Jesus. We will experience renewed spiritual growth and see our Christian Spiritual Formation returned to a solid foundation.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, August 7, 2018
