RESTORATION THROUGH FORGIVENESS

By Danna Shirley
Lesson taught in Bible study in 1994 at Hario Chapel, Japan

GOD’S FORGIVENESS TO US:

"The human capacity to forget God’s gracious gift of forgiveness and allow smallness of soul to breed unforgiveness is soberingly warned against. Jesus teaches how the spirit of unforgiveness exacts its toll on our bodies, minds, and emotions." (footnote in my Bible)

Ps 86:5 “ready to forgive…abundant in mercy”

Ps 103:10-12 “…great is His mercy”

Is 1:18 “your sins…shall be as white as snow”

Is 43:25 “blots out transgressions”

Jer 31:34 “I will forgive iniquity…and remember no more”

Col 1:13 “He has delivered us…and conveyed us into the Kingdom of His Son”

Col 2:13-14 “you…He has made alive…forgiven all trespasses…nailed to the cross”

Heb 8:12 “merciful…lawless deeds I will remember no more”

WHY WE SHOULD FORGIVE:

Prov 19:11 “his glory is to overlook a transgression”

Prov 24:17-18 “do not rejoice when your enemy falls…the Lord is displeased”

Prov 25:21-22 “if your enemy is hungry, give him bread…water…the Lord will reward you”

Mt 5:7 “blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy”

Mt 5:44-45 “love your enemies, bless, do good, and pray…to be sons of your Father in heaven”

Mt 6:14-15 “forgive men their trespasses, your Father will forgive you”

Mt 18:21-22 “how often shall I forgive…seventy times seven”

Mk 11:25-26 “whenever you pray…forgive, that your Father may also forgive you”

Mk 12:31 “love your neighbor as yourself”

Lk 6:37 “judge not…condemn not…forgive”

Lk 17:1-4 “woe to him through whom offenses come…rebuke him…forgive him”

Jn 20:23 “forgive sins, they are forgiven…retain sins, they are retained”

Rom 12:14, 17, 19 “bless those who persecute you…repay no one evil for evil…do not avenge”

Eph 4:32 “be kind…tenderhearted…forgiving”

Col 3:13 “bear with one another…forgive one another”

Heb 4:12-13 “the Word is a discerner of the thoughts/intents of the heart…nothing is hidden”

Heb 12:14-15 “pursue peace…lest any root of bitterness spring up and defile many”

1 Pet 3:8-9 “have compassion, love as brothers, be tender/courteous, not return evil or reviling”

1 Jn 4:11 “love one another”

1 Jn 4:21 “he who loves God must love his brother also” 

“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor 2:10-11 NIV)

And what are his schemes?
Tempting mankind to sin/disobey (Gen 3:4-5; Acts 5:3; 2 Cor 12:7)
Slandering/accusing the saints (Job 1:9-11; Rev 12:10)
Inflicting disease (Job 2:7)
Opposing the righteous (Zec 3:1)
Sowing tares among the good seed (Mt 13:38-39)
Ruining soul and body (Lk 9:42, Lk 13:16; Heb 2:14-15)
Kill, steal, destroy (Jn 10:10)
Lying (Jn 8:44; 2 Thes 2:9-10)
Preying upon mankind (1 Peter 5:8)
Blinding the minds of unbelievers (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor 4:3-4)
Battling the saints (Eph 6:12; 1 Thes 2:18)

“Forgiveness is a decision I make to obey God and to walk, as a lifestyle, in a higher realm by not allowing someone else’s actions or attitudes to dictate my actions or attitudes.” –Doug Easterday

Through forgiveness God can work in your life and God can work in the other person’s life, but not if you have placed a wall of unforgiveness around you both! –unknown

THE FRUIT OF UNFORGIVENESS:

“. . . for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal 6:7)

So, if a man sows:

bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice (Eph 4:29-32)

criticism/judgment (Rom 2:1-3)

depression/ (Prov 12:25)

discouragement (Heb 12:3-4)

envy/jealousy (Gal 5:19-21)

fear (2 Tim 1:7)

gossip (Gal 5:15)

guilt/condemnation (Rom 8:1-2)

offense (Mt 18:7)

strife/discord (Prov 6:14, 19)

he will reap these things back into his own life . . . sometimes to the point of manifesting a physical illness!

Unforgiveness binds circumstances to an undesirable level of perpetual problems . . . for yourself and the person you can’t forgive. Where “two of you agree on earth” (Mt 18:19) can also bind that person to you in a negative way. You cut your own throat and stop up the flow of God’s blessings to yourself.

THE FRUIT OF FORGIVENESS:

“ . . . for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal 6:7)

So, if a man sows:

forgiveness, amnesty, clemency, grace, mercy, pardon, reconciliation, restoration, renewal, revival, harmony, unity, peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control

he will reap these things back into his own life . . . and walk in health, happiness, and blessings.

(1 Peter 3:9)

STEPS TO FORGIVING:

1.  Tell God how you feel about the hurt. Be specific (write it down if necessary). God already knows, He just wants you to know. Sometimes we are not honest with ourselves; we can even deceive ourselves (1 Cor 3:18).

2.  Give yourself a reason to forgive; i.e., to obey God’s Word, to restore a relationship, to bring family members back together, for peace of mind and health, etc.

3.  Face the hurt! Examine your actions, words, attitude, and feelings. Did you say or do anything to contribute to the situation? Was your attitude wrong?

4.  Confess your unforgiveness as sin and ask God to forgive the wrong on both sides (1 John 1:8-10).

5.  Speak to your unforgiving heart (2 Cor 10:4-5; Phil 4:8).

6.  By faith in God and trusting Him to perform it through you . . . FORGIVE!

7.  Don’t keep reliving, dwelling on, or reinforcing the hurt. Forget what is behind and press on toward your life ahead (Phil 3:13-14).

8.  Begin to love and pray for the person (Mt 5:44).

9.  Form a habit of forgiveness.

Pray and ask God to show you if you have a root of bitterness in your garden. Begin to identify the weeds and start using your weed killer—FORGIVENESS!

I brought all these things to the Bible study as a visual lesson:

UNFORGIVENESS                                       FORGIVENESS

Rotten, stinking tomato                                    Beautiful, luscious tomato

Thorny bush                                                     Rose

Barbed wire                                                      Ribbon

Moldy bread                                                     Fresh baked yeast roll

Rock—cold, heavy (your burden)                    Cotton ball—light (Jesus’ burden) 

Large plastic ladle (hard to swallow)               Silver spoon (easily goes down)
Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (toxic, lethal)             Potpourri (perfumed fragrance)

                                 On which side will you live?

SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

By Danna Shirley

I found myself having to answer a few questions about my faith a few years back (2000) so I did some research through my denomination. This is what I learned through a brochure put out by the Assemblies of God General Christian Doctrine:

The Christian religious world divides basically into two schools of thought concerning the spiritual destiny of people. One is Calvinism, named after John Calvin (early 16^th century). The other is Arminianism, traced back to James Arminius (late 16^th century). The theological debate is thus centuries old.

Calvinism teaches:

1.     The total depravity of man

2.    God’s unconditional election (or predestination) of certain ones to be saved and certain ones to be lost

3.    Christ died only for the elect, not for every person

4.    God’s saving grace toward the elect cannot be resisted

5.    Once a person is saved, he can never lose his salvation

Arminianism teaches:

1.     Though born a sinner, mankind is given a spark of divine grace that enables him to respond positively to God

2.    God does not arbitrarily consign some people to eternal damnation; their willful rejection of God’s salvation makes them responsible

3.    Christ died for every person, even though some refuse to accept the provision for their salvation

4.    No person is forced against his or her will to become a Christian

5.    One’s salvation can be lost through willful disobedience

The Assemblies of God lean toward Arminianism, though it accepts scriptural truth found in both positions. “Eternal security” according to Calvinists, means “once saved, always saved” (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35, 39). The A/G also stands on these wonderful truths knowing we need not fear that something external will overpower us and take away our salvation. Only our willful choices can do that.

However, because we are creatures with free wills, we must be vigilantly on guard because the enemy of our soul, the devil, “Prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

We believe that carelessness can lead to apathy, apathy to neglect, and neglect to a conscious decision to sin. We often refer to this spiritual decline as backsliding. We believe one who backslides is in danger of losing his salvation IF the individual persists in rejecting the Spirit’s call to repentance and restoration.

Certainly there are also true Christians who believe and teach Calvinism; there are also true Christians who believe and teach that men and women have free will. Unfortunately, both sides have spent more time arguing doctrinal terminology and interpretations of theology than reaching out to a lost world. The irony of the disagreement is that Calvinists, who believe in predestination, are sometimes more active in witnessing and evangelizing than Arminians who believe that man has a free will and should be encouraged to accept Christ as Savior. God, of course, looks on the heart and the actions rather than on the eloquence with which one defends a position.

The Assembly of God’s Concerns:

Although the A/G adheres basically to the Arminian position on the spiritual security of the believer, there are extremes and potential abuses which must be avoided. The Christian life is not a roller coaster of Sunday salvation and Monday through Saturday backsliding. On the other hand, no Christian, no matter how spiritual, can claim perfection and sinlessness (1 John 1:8-2:1).

Therefore as Christians, we must continually come to God and sincerely ask His forgiveness for living below the potential He makes possible through the gift of His Holy Spirit.

The truth of God’s marvelous and free grace has sadly led some to imagine and indulge in a cheap grace, a grace that covers all sins with no need to live a holy life. Such an attitude is an insult to the great price Christ paid to purchase our salvation. Though we may fail and fall and sin, the heart of the true believer always regrets, repents, asks forgiveness, and seeks never to sin that way again.

To carelessly participate in sin expecting to gain forgiveness later is itself an act of backsliding that will lead ultimately to losing one’s salvation. We therefore reject any “once saved, always saved” doctrine that excuses sinful lifestyles. Once saved can mean forever saved IF one continues in faith, growing in sanctification and holiness day by day. God will not arbitrarily usurp mankind’s free will. Our sovereign God does not overrule free will just to prove He is sovereign.

*****END*****

For me, several conditions would have to fall into place for someone to truly lose their salvation. First and foremost the person would have to be a believer and have their name written in the Book of Life. There are several scriptures that say a name can be blotted out of the Book of Life.

Moses:          

“Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book             which You have written.” (Exodus 32:32)   

                               

God:              

“And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.” (Exodus 32:33)

David:           

“Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” (Psalm 69:28)           

                               

Jesus Christ: 

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life.” (Revelation 3:5)

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and the things which are written in this book.”  (Revelation 22:18-19)

I feel some people think they are a child of God because they know about God or attend church; but that doesn’t mean they’ve accepted Jesus into their heart and made Him their Lord and Savior.

I also feel a true believer would have to totally forsake God and live a depraved lifestyle with no regrets, remorse, conscience, or desire to live for God again. I don’t feel it is an easy thing to lose one’s salvation but someone could work at it aggressively.

Sins listed in the Bible:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV):  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like…those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV): sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers…will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5 (NIV): no immoral, impure, greedy person, idolater…has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

Revelation 21:8 (NIV): cowardly, unbelieving, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, idolaters, all liars…will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur, the second death.

Revelation 22:14-15 (NIV): those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, everyone who loves and practices falsehood…are outside the gates.

I would say all of the above scriptures are meant to put “the fear of God” into us for a good reason! Why? Because the Lord doesn’t want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

By Danna Shirley

Msg given at Charismatic Service April 1995 at Hario Chapel, Japan.

LIGHT:

An element of light, a luminous body, to cause to burn, to make bright, candlelight, to glisten, daylight, to shine or make manifest, flame or fire, to beam, to radiate brilliance, transparent or well illuminated, to shine upon to become visible…

In Gen 1:3-4 “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light...and God divided the LIGHT from the darkness.” And aren’t we glad???

In the Physical Sense: LIGHT is bright, warm, shiny, and sparkly. LIGHT enables us to see and to be warmed by the sun. When it is in the form of fire, it enables us to cook and to heat our homes.

In the Spiritual Sense:  JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD...He illuminates darkness, He brings the truth to light, He makes us transparent, He shows us our sins...sins of commission and/or omission.

OLD TESTAMENT

Psalm 18:28  “For YOU will LIGHT my lamp; the Lord my God will ENLIGHTEN my darkness.”  

Our sins are our darkness...as God enlightens us to them, He gives us a transparency, enabling to us to see them, [conviction] and therefore, deal with them. God doesn’t want us to be deceived about our sins.

Psalm 27:7  “The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation...”  

If it wasn’t for the Lord illuminating our eyes to be able to see our sins, and therefore our need for Him, we wouldn’t have been brought to the place of salvation.

Psalm 119:105  “Your word is a LAMP to my feet and a LIGHT to my path.”

After becoming His children, He continues to LIGHT our way...enabling us to walk the walk we are called to walk. Calling our attention when we slip back over into the darkness.

Prov 6:23  For the commandment is a LAMP, and the law a LIGHT; reproofs of instruction are the way of LIFE.”

As God chastises us...instructs us regarding our sins or errors, He brings us back into the way of LIFE.

NEW TESTAMENT

James 1:17  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of LIGHTS, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

God wants His children to live in the LIGHT, He wants to give us good gifts. Not only is God not responsible for human sin, He is the source of all good...He is unchangeable. This scripture tells us that He is the Father of LIGHTS...

Matthew 5:14-16  “You are the LIGHT of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they LIGHT a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives LIGHT to all who are in the  house.  Let YOUR LIGHT so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

This is our directive from the Lord. Let our LIGHT so shine that men may see Christ in us and glorify God.

Matthew 6:22-23  “The LAMP of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of LIGHT. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the LIGHT that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

How many of us have heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words!” Sometimes we don’t have to say a word...our “LIGHT” is our countenance [expression, appearance]. It comes through our face, our attitude, our eye. Are we full of LIGHT or is our darkness “great”?

John 1:1-4, 9  “...IN HIM WAS LIFE, AND THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN.” (vs 4) THAT WAS THE TRUE LIGHT WHICH GIVES LIGHT TO EVERY MAN COMING INTO THE WORLD.” (vs 9)

Christ is the TRUE LIGHT...it is His LIGHT in us that shines through us. Without Him we are in darkness and we cannot bring anyone else out of that darkness either. That is why we must SHINE before men to bring them out of darkness.

John 3:19-21  “And this is the condemnation, that the LIGHT has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than LIGHT, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the LIGHT and does not come to the LIGHT, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the LIGHT, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

How many of us recall our lives before Christ? The darkness that we lived in...not even knowing that we were in darkness.  It took a lot to get me to that first church service. And of course, we look around to see who is seeing us...feeling “exposed” before them.  And what about now? We still sin and don’t want our deeds exposed. How nice it is to know that we can remain in the LIGHT!

John 8:12  “I am the LIGHT of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the LIGHT of life.”

Following Christ! This is our daily walk. Sometimes we stumble, sometimes we fall, sometimes we really fall—but thank God, by His grace, we can be forgiven and come back into the LIGHT . . .  and LIFE!

2 Cor 4:3-6  “But even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the LIGHT of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded LIGHT to shine out of darkness, Who has shone in our hearts to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:8-14  “For you were once darkness, but now you are LIGHT in the Lord. Walk as children of LIGHT.  (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is LIGHT. Therefore He says, ‘Awake, you who sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will give you LIGHT.’”

That also goes for our sins being exposed and made manifest by the LIGHT of Jesus Christ. Christ wants us to awaken from the deadness of sin and allow Christ’s LIGHT to shine in us.

1 Peter 2:9  “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous LIGHT.” 

This verse is a directive to proclaim the praises of God who called us out of darkness and into His LIGHT.

1 John 1:5-7  “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you that God is LIGHT and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the LIGHT as He is in the LIGHT, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Footnote on 1 John 2:9-11:  Love is characteristic of LIGHT, and hate is a characteristic of darkness. Those two are mortal enemies. Therefore, a person reveals the genuineness of his relationship with God by his relationship with others.

DARKNESS:

#4653-scotia (skot-ee-ah) means darkness, gloom, evil, sin, obscurity, night ignorance, moral depravity. The NT especially uses the word in a metaphorical sense of ignorance of divine truth, man’s sinful nature, total absence of LIGHT, and a lack of spiritual perception. LIGHT equals happiness. “Scotia” equals unhappiness. “Scotia” as spiritual darkness basically describes everything earthly or demonic that is at enmity with God.

Eph 5:1-7  Lists the sins or darkness:

fornication=encompasses all acts of sexual immorality,

uncleanness or covetousness=identifies the insatiability of human; carnality--never able to get enough

filthiness=shameful, obscene

foolish talking nor coarse jesting=scoffer, snearer

idolator=putting anyone or anything before God

Gal 5:19-21: sins of darkness:

adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries

James 5:7-9 Lists sins or darkness:

impatience, grumbling

Mt 15:18-19:

evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies

Proverbs 6:16-19:

proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, swift feet that run to mischief, a false witness speaking lies, and one who sows discord among the brethren

Other sins:

pride, unforgiveness, anger, impatience, resentment, bitterness, back-biting, judgment, criticism, rebellion, stubbornness, disobedient, disrespectful, gossip, hate

Sins of omission:

lack of prayer life, lack of confessing our sins, lack of just doing good (1 Peter 2:15)

Our spiritual warfare is not always bringing down strongholds.  It is just being able to maintain our walk.