Real Christianity development, Author at Real Christianity

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’ …

An example illustrating basic forgiveness, but then adding further elements on top of that

It may assist our understanding of how forgiveness works in its narrower and broader senses, to present a simple illustration. Imagine that you have loaned your lawnmower to your next door neighbor. However, you then discover that he has misused it, either carelessly or deliberately, …

There are also other words which mean similar things as forgiveness. They may even include forgiveness as a component element within them. But they still have their own, separate and distinct definitions

As we saw, people often confuse words like reconciliation with forgiveness, as if they were the same thing. There are other words as well which have their own separate and distinct definitions. Yet they are frequently assumed to be the same as forgiveness, or at …

What forgiveness does not mean, and does not involve:

Contrary to what millions of people assume, forgiveness does not mean, or involve, any of the following: a) telling yourself that no real wrong was ever done to you by person X or that you are over-reacting, being over-sensitive or even imagining things b) saying …

Why is forgiveness preached on so rarely?

Probably the main reason why so few Christians understand forgiveness correctly is that there is so little teaching on it. It is either taught poorly by church leaders, who don’t know what it really means, or it is not taught at all. The latter is …

Some common errors and areas of confusion about what forgiveness is and how, and why, we are to do it

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor …

A closer look at what forgiveness consists of

To forgive another person, in the narrowest sense of the word, requires us to recognise and accept the following things: a) that a wrong has been done to you and, perhaps, that harm has been caused. b) that it has been done by person X (or group …