Your Foundation in Christ (Victory Series Book #3): Live By the Power of the Spirit by Neil T. Anderson Page B

forgiven you.” But you don ’ t know how they have hurt me ! As long as we hold on to our bitterness, they are still hurting us. Forgiveness sets us free from our past and stops the pain. We don’t heal in order to forgive; we forgive in order to heal.
    Forgiveness is not forgetting. God says, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12). That doesn’t mean God forgets; it means He will not use our past sins against us in the future. He will remove them as far from us as the east is from the west (see Psalm 103:12). We know that we haven’t forgiven others if we continuously bring up their past and use it against them. Forgetting may be a long-term by-product of forgiving, but it is not the means by which we forgive. Nor are we tolerating sin when we forgive others. God forgives, but He never tolerates sin. We have the right to set up scriptural boundaries to stop future abuse.
    Jesus forgave us by taking upon Himself the consequences of our sin. To forgive others as Christ has forgiven us means that we are agreeing to live with the consequences of their sin. That may not seem fair, but we will have to do it anyway. Everybody is living with the consequences of somebody else’s sin. We are all living with the consequence of Adam’s sin. The only real choice is whether we will do so in the bondage of bitterness or in the freedom of forgiveness.
    As long as we refuse to forgive, we are emotionally chained to past events and the people who hurt us. The purpose of forgiveness is to set the captive free and then realize we have been the captives. It is for our own benefit that we forgive others.
    But where is the justice? The cross is what makes forgiveness morally correct. Christ died once for all our sins. We will never have perfect justice in this lifetime, which is why there is a coming final judgment. The old nature wants revenge, but God said, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). But why should we let them off the hook? That is precisely why we should forgive—because we are still hooked to them. If we let them off our hook, are they off God’s hook? What is to be gained in forgiving others is freedom from our past. We have to believe that God will exact justice in the final judgment.
    Forgiving others doesn’t mean we refuse to testify in civil courts for the sake of social justice. Nor does it mean we avoid confronting a brother or sister who is living in sin. Forgiving others makes our heart right before God and allows us to experience our freedom in Christ. Only then can we righteously testify in court and confront others.
    Why don’t we naturally want to forgive others?
        
    What does God mean when He says He will remember our sins no more? How does that apply to how we live with others?
        
    What kind of boundaries do we need to set up to stop further abuse?
        
    You may not like living with the consequences of another person’s sin, but what are your alternatives?
        
    Can you have an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father if you refuse to forgive others as He has forgiven you? Why or why not?
        

    Patience means practicing forgiveness. To give patience is a far greater gift than to give money. The one who gives money to one who asks of him does indeed do a fine and admirable deed, but such a gift touches only the body. Spiritual gifts touch the soul with redemption. Hence, one who forgives does good both to his own soul and to that of the one who received forgiveness.
    John Chrysostom (AD 347–407)

5 Forgiving From the Heart
    Matthew 18:21–35
    Key Point
    You have to acknowledge your true feelings if you want to forgive from your heart.
    Key Verse
    If you, L ORD , kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve