Lesson 1 of 6: What Do I Forgive?

What Do I Forgive?

Pastor David: Hello. Today, we begin a six-part series on forgiveness. To begin with, what do I forgive? The six questions of forgiveness. What do I forgive? Number two, who do I forgive? Number three, when do I forgive? Number four, where do I forgive? Number five, why do I forgive? And number six, how do I forgive? So today, we're going to start with lesson one: what do I forgive? Well, before we begin answering that question, why is there forgiveness? In Romans chapter 5, verses 12 through 21, Jesus lays out the entire course of why forgiveness is needed. Why Jesus died on that cross for you and me, and for everyone so that we could have forgiveness. It starts in Romans 5:12, where in the King James Version it reads, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" So, in Romans 5:12, he's talking about Adam and the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden, disobeying God and eating fruit from the tree God said not to eat from. So, by one man, sin entered into the world, and, according to Romans 5:12, death entered because of that sin. So sin entered, and death entered the world because of that sin. And verse 13, for until the law, sin was in the world. But sin is not imputed when there is no law. This is why in Matthew 5:17, Jesus said he didn't come to condemn the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. Because law was needed because death was reigning because of the sin of Adam and Eve. So in verse 14, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Who is the figure of him that was to come. So, according to Romans 5:14, you don't have to be as disobedient and blatantly sinful as Adam and Eve were when they directly disobeyed God when he said, don't eat of that tree. It says that sin nevertheless reigned from Adam to Moses, and it caused death to reign. So, as a result, God brought the law in. So it started with Adam and Eve sinning that ushered in death because of their sin. So then, through Moses, God ushered in the law. We refer to the first five books of the Bible, typically as the law of Moses, and then go to Romans 5:21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life. By Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus, came to fulfill the law, to fulfill the prophets, to finally answer perfectly, as no other person could, the solution and the perfect Sacrifice for the sin that started with Adam and Eve. This is why we ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus and the sacrifice he made for you and I on that cross is the reason we can ask God for forgiveness. And it's also the reason we have to ask everything that we pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. John 14:6 says, no one comes to the Father but through Jesus. And that's why Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for you and I, and the reason we can even ask for forgiveness. So, if you haven't today, please ask God to forgive you of all your sins. And remember, always ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. So, lesson one. What do I forgive? Well, in Romans 3,23, the word is clear. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So sin is death, forgiveness is life. It's not just life; it's eternal life when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So, the answer for lesson one. What do I forgive? Forgive everyone for everything that has happened to you. Sometimes people do things, and they're intentional. Sometimes, they're not. You may have been offended and felt wronged by someone. You may have been the recipient of something that was just blatantly wrong. It doesn't matter. So, what do you forgive? You forgive everything and do so quickly, and always in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen. Amen.