… forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Summary: Today’s passage is for many the heart of the Gospel message: In Christ, we are forgiven for the things we have done to hurt others, offend God, and that ultimately wound our own souls.
Why do any of us come to Jesus? I can’t speak for the whole world or all people who have ever known the Lord, but speaking for me, it’s because Jesus is real and because he is willing to forgive.
Without Jesus, death is a very scary prospect. Not only are we going to be dead, but there is this thing called hell where bad dead people go. Hell is more horrible than any of us can imagine. How are we supposed to enjoy life if we know that at the end of the road, we simply end up rotting in the ground or suffering in hell?
Jesus forgives us if we ask him and if we admit we are wrong (repent). Finding something to confess that was wrong isn’t hard. Everyone has done something they feel was wrong. Some of us are just less embarrassed about it than others.
As we watch our current political system unravel, it is not hard to see people in the news who have done horrifically bad things but act as if there is nothing wrong. Even when the law catches up to them, they stare into the news camera looking as innocent as a kitten, and complain about being mistreated.
There is a certain callousness that builds up when we rationalize bad behavior. It becomes harder and harder to admit that we are wrong. Yet no matter how bad we have been, when we do come to the edge of the abyss and look down into hell, when fear of death overtakes us as we cry out, “God help me!” He does. God forgives us in Christ.
Once that happens, there is one more sin that we have to be careful of.
If we don’t forgive others as God has forgiven us, it will not go well with us. Jesus tells the story of a person in just this situation (Matthew 18: 21-35). A man is forgiven a mountain of debt and then refuses to forgive someone who owes him a tiny bit of money. The injustice of the man does not go unnoticed, and he ends up having his forgiveness revoked.
Paul’s complete thought reads, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
God doesn’t want us to forgive people out of fear, although that might be the starting place for some of us. He wants us to forgive others for the same reasons he forgives us; because he is kind and compassionate.
Application: Forgive others as God forgives you.
Food for Thought: Why does Paul say “in Christ God forgave you” rather than simply saying “God forgave you”?
Why does Paul say “in Christ God forgave you” rather than simply saying “God forgave you”?
I think once one chooses their own will over God’s Will, everything decision that follows is tainted. I mean that all the way back to the Garden of Eden to today. There is no backing out of it. you can’t “unknow” what you “know.”
Genesis 3:22 ESV Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
So what now? If God gave Adam a “mulligan” on that first sin, there would still be more sin. Even worse, if Adam and Eve lived forever, imagine the level of sin that would have ensued. The only way God could have prevented that would be to take away Adam’s free will, in essence, destroy His own creation. That would be like saying God made a mistake, that His Will is not perfect. Even the concept of Hell means God doesn’t destroy His own creation.
This is where it gets really mind-blowing to me. God could have said “ok, you made your choice, bye-bye.” But God is love, He loves us. So much so that He sent Christ to atone for our sin, so that we have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him, instead of without Him.
John 3:16 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Christ came and lived on Earth without sin, and then gave His sinless life for our sinful life. If we believe that, then we can choose to accept Jesus as Lord of our life, and turn away from sin. That means giving our will to Jesus, and believing that He will bring us back into the Will of God. When we stand before God to give an account of our life, we have no hope in ourselves.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Only because Jesus covered our sin can God forgive that sin, and allow us to spend eternity with Him. “In Christ God forgave you.”
Chris,
Among all of your excellent words today is this gem:
“Even the concept of Hell means God doesn’t destroy His own creation.”
That is a fascinating thought. Thank you!
07-28-2023, Why does Paul say “in Christ God forgave you” rather than simply saying “God forgave you”?
We must always live, fully aware of our place, knowing only the forgiveness of Jesus Christ is truly forever powerful, John 3:16, it is only by the power of Christ in each of us that we live in obedience to God, and only by the power of Christ we can actually forgive others.
Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5
Ron,
Thank you for pointing us to our need to recognize Christ in all that we do, say and think!
Why does Paul say “in Christ God forgave you” rather than simply saying “God forgave you”?
Because God is just.
Atn,
And God’s justice demands that he acknowledge his Son.
Thank you!
It is in Christ that the work of the cross is applied. Without the cross there is no hope for any of us. It is Christ’s work for us that gives us access to God and the forgiveness that we need. Colossians 2: 13 – 14 says it better than I can.
Thank you, Rich!
Colossians 2:13-14 is an excellent passage.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.“