'Forgiveness' Tagged Posts
Does Love Cover a Multitude of Mistakes?
Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:8: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” Key to understanding this text is the word “covered.” What does it mean that “love covers a multitude of sins?” It can’t mean that love overlooks sins. That would be in violation of other passages like Luke 17:3 and Matthew 18:15 on confronting sins. It can’t mean that love excuses sins. That would be in violation of other passages…
Are My Future Sins Forgiven?
In last week’s sermon, I argued from 1 John 1:9 that the resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything, including giving believers a new cycle of sin, confession, and forgiveness. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, Christians depart the cycle of repeated sin with no confession and forgiveness. They receive a new cycle of sin, confession, and forgiveness. But a question arises from 1 John 1:9, which states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us…
Bearing Burdens
Bill Withers, writer of the famous song ‘Lean on Me,’ died Monday March 30th at the age of 81. I had just referenced a specific lyric of this song (we all need somebody to lean on) the day before in a sermon on bearing one another’s burdens from Galatians 6:2-5. In this passage, Christians are called to bear the burdens of others because they have a biblical view about self. To bear the burdens of others, a Christian must look…
What Is Forgiveness?
Because we live in a fallen world, sinning against others and being sinned against, we are in constant need of forgiveness. Yet, we often misunderstand what forgiveness truly is. We think that forgiveness is a feeling, so we don’t forgive because we don’t “feel” very forgiving. We think that forgiveness involves excusing someone’s sin, so we say things like, “What you did wasn’t that bad; I’ve done it before, too”. We think that forgiveness means forgetting, so we don’t forgive…
Three Common Misconceptions about Forgiveness
Because we are sinners, both sinning and being sinned against, we cannot live life without forgiveness. Forgiveness is part and parcel of life. Yet as much as forgiveness should be a part of everyday life, forgiveness often seems nebulous. We often misunderstand what forgiveness truly is. We have three common misconceptions about forgiveness. 1. Forgiveness is a feeling We often confuse forgiveness with feelings. “I don’t feel very forgiving.” Have you ever felt like you didn’t want to forgive someone…