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Your Faith Level Is Your Forgiveness Level

February 17, 2008

Scripture:

Luke 17:1-5 - Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him trough whom they do come!.  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.  And the apostles said, “Lord, Increase our faith.”

Synopsis:

It is impossible to live in today’s world and not be offended by the words and actions of others.  Being offended is part of the fallen nature of mankind and a permanent fixture in the human experience that is unavoidable.  The bitterness and hatred that grows from the seed of offense has historically sparked destruction of all kinds and is at the root of every evil act.  The only remedy for the destructive nature of being offended is the creative and healing power of forgiveness.  God sent his Son Jesus into time and to the earth to die for our sins.  This undeserved act of mercy, better known as “grace,” set the pattern and the principle of forgiveness and released the creative power of faith.  It takes faith to forgive and forgiveness increases faith, but it takes both to overcome being offended.

The writer of the book of Hebrews states clearly in the eleventh chapter and sixth verse that without faith it is impossible to please God.  This makes living by faith the central premise upon which a Christian’s belief system is built.  Those who try to walk the path of a believer without faith, risk falling into the snare of legalism where there is no hope of receiving mercy or experience grace.  Not being able to measure up to God’s standard of holiness then makes them prime candidates for being offended, which leads to bitterness and ends in destruction.  Conversely, joy and the creative power of God is release in the hearts and minds of those who live by faith.

Our imaginations are activated by what we hear, and the Bible says in Romans the tenth chapter and seventeenth verse, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  So our imaginations are unlimited if we have faith in God’s word.  The only thing that can stop the creative power of our imagination activated by faith in God’s word is the bitterness that comes as the result of being offended by the words and actions of others.  The heart set free of bitterness and hatred through the voluntary act of forgiveness, is free to imagine and believe God for anything.