Real Christianity development, Author at Real Christianity

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 …

If appropriate, Jesus will punish those who have harmed us. It is not necessarily wrong for us to take comfort from that fact

When we forgive a wrongdoer it does not mean that he will never be judged. It is simply that they won’t be judged by us. Jesus will actually judge unrepentant, unsaved people with a severity which is far greater than anything we could do to them: 35 ‘Vengeance is …

We are never to take vengeance by or for ourselves – we are to leave that to God

Forgiving others, even at its narrowest definition, also means that we must not do anything to take vengeance. We must never seek to ‘get even’ with people, or to ‘pay them back’ for what they did to us. We are to “leave room for the …

Try to see other people as God sees them

A good technique, when irritated by people, and where we want to avoid the problem escalating or continuing, is to try to see people the way God sees them. God isn’t irritated by people’s accents, opinions or mannerisms or by their peculiar ways. He looks at …

‘Forbearance’ – the duty to tolerate each other and to put up with each other’s sins, faults and irritating ways

Forbearance is another concept which is closely linked to forgiveness but is still separate and distinct. Sometimes we become alienated from others, or do not get on with them, not necessarily because they have wronged us or harmed us, but simply because we do not like …