A wronged believer might seek to carry out Jesus’ commands, but he will not get very far. The structure of most churches will not allow him to do what Jesus said. Even if he tried it, he would be thwarted by the system itself and …
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The Matthew chapter 18 procedure
This is Jesus speaking of how a dispute should be dealt with, as between two genuine Christians, not between two unbelievers, or even a Christian and an unbeliever. So, the first problem, before we even get to examining the problems caused by unbiblical church structure, …
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What about disputes with fellow Christians?
What we have been looking at has mainly been about disputes with unbelievers. But what if the wrongdoer is a Christian, or claims to be? Apostle Paul tells us not to bring law suits against fellow Christians but, instead, to seek to resolve matters via …
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Handing things over to be judged by God because there are no human courts or institutions which we can go to
Sometimes there is no human court that we can go to. The wrong done to us may not even be a crime. Thus it may be something that the police cannot help us with. If so, we may need to just hand the situation over …
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When and how does God judge and punish?
One day Jesus will judge all of us, either at the Judgment Seat of Christ or at the Great White Throne. However, He will also judge wrongdoers in various other preliminary ways, long before those final Judgments occur. God uses human governments to judge wrongdoers …
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Ask God to help you to see your own faults too, and even how you may possibly have contributed to the wrong that was done to you
Another very helpful thing to do is to ask God to reveal to us what our own faults and sins are. All of us tend to under-estimate our own sinfulness. We don’t realise the degree to which, and the ways in which, we have, ourselves, …
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Forgiveness is primarily something we do rather than something we feel
Many people struggle and get confused because they don’t realise, or they keep forgetting, that forgiveness is primarily something we do, not something we feel. To a very large extent, feelings follow actions. Thus, merely by the physical act of speaking the words of forgiveness …
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Pray directly for the wrongdoer himself. In doing so, you are showing grace towards them and you will therefore receive God’s grace in return. Plus it will soften your own heart.
Another very helpful approach, which can help to get you to the place where you become capable of forgiving, or even to be ‘willing to be willing’ to do so, is just to begin to pray in general terms for the overall benefit of the …
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How to forgive people in practical terms – some advice on what to do and how to go about it
21Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew …
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Forgiveness is not done for the benefit of the wrongdoer. Therefore, it does not require their repentance before we can forgive them (though it does help a lot)
We must remember this crucial point, which may help some people who are struggling to forgive. It is that we do not forgive people for their sake, so that they can benefit. It is done, primarily, for our own benefit. So, it is not something …
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