Real Christianity development, Author at Real Christianity

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 …

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 …

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 …

Dealing practically with the fresh violation you feel when you see that the wrongdoer is brass-faced and feels no shame

The same principles apply as with the original wrongdoing. So, along with the difficulties that come from the original wrong, you have the extra ordeal of facing the wrongdoer and seeing him, large as life. Perhaps he is even attending the same church as you, …

What if the wrongdoer is unrepentant and unconcerned?

For many of us, this is the hardest thing to bear – seeing the wrongdoer walking around, carefree and not even showing any concern, let alone repentance, for what He has done. He may even taunt us about it and laugh about the harm he …

Illegitimately judging other people brings God’s judgment upon ourselves

There is another good reason to forgive others. It is that when we judge other people (in the wrong sense of that word) we bring God’s judgment upon ourselves. Moreover, He has said that He will use the same standards, or criteria, to judge us …

What is the difference between ‘anger’ and ‘rage’?

We have seen above how so many important biblical words and concepts are seriously misunderstood. We shall now look at two more, i.e. ‘anger’ and ‘rage’. The first, anger, is not necessarily sinful. Indeed, it can be entirely justified and even righteous, depending on the …

The harm that unforgiveness and bitterness can do

There are many harmful consequences that follow if we will not forgive others. One major problem is the ongoing emotional effect that it has on us. If the many wrongs done to us are not forgiven and handed over to Jesus to judge (and punish …

Why does God make our forgiving others a pre-condition to Him forgiving us?

I believe that God has two main reasons for requiring us to forgive others, i.e. at least in the narrow, basic sense, before He will forgive us. They are as follows: a) For us to judge and punish people ourselves is to usurp the role …

One reason why forgiveness is so badly misunderstood is that demons work hard to make sure that we misunderstand it. Their focus on this area shows how important it is

As you consider the issue now, does it occur to you that it is odd that we are so prone to misunderstanding words like forgiveness, but understand other words very easily? For example, have you ever met anybody who does not understand words like ‘refrigerator’ …