forgiveness – Three Minute Bible

March 4, 2025March 5, 2025

Colossians 3:13b – The Big Ask

Picture of a man with his arms crossed scowling at the person next to them.

… and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Summary: When the Bible talks about forgiveness, it touches a nerve people can relate to.

Suddenly, although it should not come as a surprise, we turn the corner of Paul’s thinking and come face to face with the Big Ask.

Paul has been instructing us about God’s love for us as his chosen people. God wants us to clothe ourselves with qualities that reflect God’s love; compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

December 31, 2024January 1, 2025

Colossians 2:14b – Fixing a Boo-Boo

… which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Cross with small notes (representing sins) nailed to it.

Summary: The concept of having our sins nailed to the cross is hard to understand. Looked at through the lens of the Old Testament, it begins to make more sense.

Paul is working very hard to explain Jesus to us. He begins with Jesus is the “fullness of the Deity … in bodily form” (v 9). Theologians have a lot of fancy words to describe what this means, but they know less than Paul did because Paul had actually met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).

Notice Paul’s careful wording: “For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives …” Jesus describes it this way: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). We are not supposed to understand how this works. Instead, we are expected to believe Jesus and Paul and take them at their word.

So, God himself becomes man in the form of Jesus. What then?

December 13, 2024December 13, 2024

Colossians 2:7c – What Paul Sees

[continue to live your lives in him]… and overflowing with thankfulness.

Summary: Understanding why Christians should be thankful requires understanding the fundamentals of what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul expects us to be thankful.

This is a theme that comes up often in his writing. In this instance, he connects our life in Christ to thankfulness.

Why?

Why should we be thankful?

November 4, 2024November 4, 2024

Colossians 1:22b – His Plan Was Jesus

… to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation …

Summary: Understanding what believing in Jesus means for us after death is life-changing.

August 28, 2024August 28, 2024

Galatians 6:12b – Circumcision of the Heart

… circumcised.

Summary: Circumcision is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. In the beginning, it was a symbol of a covenant. In the end, circumcision was a point of contention. Instead of a symbol of something good, it had become a legalistic requirement for something bad.

October 5, 2023October 5, 2023

Ephesians 6:9c – I’ll Take the Same

… and there is no favoritism with him.

Summary: What kind of God do we serve, anyway? Does he ever show favoritism? As it turns out, the answer is, “No.”

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023

Ephesians 4:32b – Avoiding Hell

… 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.

June 26, 2023June 26, 2023

Ephesians 4:13a – Forgive Like Jesus

… until we all reach unity in the faith …

Summary: Looking at the question of unity causes us to ask, “What causes disunity?” The answer could include a million things, but today we look at the need to forgive.

February 11, 2023February 11, 2023

Ephesians 1:7c – The Pardon

… in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.

Summary: Paul has a detailed way of conveying his thoughts. Sometimes his meanings can be lost in the words. It is worth stopping to ponder what Paul is saying and think about the story behind the words.

February 10, 2023February 11, 2023

Ephesians 1:7b – The Big Death

… through his blood, the forgiveness of sins …

Summary: Blood holds a unique place in Scripture and life. We cannot live without it. In the salvation narrative, blood is both the price of salvation and the symbol of salvation.