Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. We'll continue
our study in the book of Colossians. Tonight's message is called Forbearing
and Forgiving. Forbearing and Forgiving. We'll be reading Colossians 3
verses 12, and we'll be going down to 15, but our context for
tonight will be in verse 13, or our verse for tonight. Put on therefore as the elect
of God, holy and beloved vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. Any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness,
and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also
ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. So last week
we looked at verse 12, where we consider that those who are
the elect of God should put on vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering with the people around us, and
especially with those who are of the household of faith. Now
we who are the Lord's sheep, we struggle every day, don't
we? Every day with the old man, our old nature, wars against
the spirit of God within us. And the old man struggles for
supremacy, and as I said last week, we must crucify him daily.
We must, we must. Because it rears its head all
the time, and it doesn't take long. I know for me, I remember
that one that one section, that one night that I had read, somebody
had posted, and he talked about, well, Lord, so far I haven't
got angry with anybody, and I haven't done this, but, and he went on
the whole list, he said, but I haven't got out of bed yet.
So, we know, we know how we are, don't we? We know our flesh,
we know our flesh. And we know that God's people
do not sin that grace may abound, we do not practice sin, it's
not our lifestyle, and we hate it in ourselves more than we
hate it in others. And we cry out with the Apostle
Paul, we cry out this, don't we? By the grace of God. I am
what I am. That's that's what we are. So
last week we looked at how God's grace is conforming grace and
that that his people are being conformed to the image of the
sun. Tonight we'll be looking at verse 13. Let's just get right
at it. It says forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. So let us consider
this, forbearing and forgiving are meekness and longsuffering
in exercise. Forbearing and forgiving are
meekness and longsuffering in exercise. So, in being forbearing
with one another, and being forgiving with one another, we are putting
into action that which we are exhorted to do in verse 12. To put on as the elect of God,
because the new man, these are fruits of the fruits of the new
man. We looked at that. We're being conformed to the
image of Christ. Beloved, we are we are. The elect
of God, we who are the elect of God, holy and beloved, we
are to put on bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, long suffering. So when we are forbearing and
forgiving, we're exercising these things which God has worked in
us. In us, it's not natural for us to be like this, but it's
God who's worked this in us. And one commentator said this
about being forbearing. A man may forbear and bite his
lips till the blood come rather than speak unkindly, but forgiveness
is an entire wiping of enmity and irritation out of the heart. We're to keep short accounts.
We're to keep short accounts. And another commentator said
this about forbearing. One is said to forbear who, though
attacked and wounded either by words or deeds, does not immediately
rise up to inflict revenge. See how we battle with the flesh?
Because when someone attacks us or reviles us, what's the
natural thing for our flesh to do, right? To lash out back at
them. It's natural. But this is why I say we war
with the new man within us, don't we? The flesh wars with the new
man. This new spirit within us battles
this flesh because the spirit within us, we don't want to do
that. We want to be forbearing with people. We want to be long-suffering
with people. We want to have humbleness of
mind. But oh, the flesh. So, One who is said to forbear,
though attacked and wounded either by words or deeds, does not immediately
rise up to inflict revenge, but endeavors to overcome his enemies
with mildness. With mildness, meekness, quiet
strength. The one who is forbearing with
people overcomes himself and his old corrupt nature. And our old nature always has
a desire for revenge, and that always leads to strife. It always
leads to strife. It always leads to division.
It always leads to wrath. Now among the proud to have forbearance
is looked at as weakness. Among the proud to not lash out
and to have forbearance is looked at as weakness. One commentator
said this, he mentioned that among the wise it is the best
and most glorious way to unity. Unity. because it seeks no revenge. Proverbs 16, 32 says this, he
that is slow to anger, turn there if you would, this old verse
we look at, this is a marvelous verse. Proverbs 16, verse 32,
and again, studying this, got it right between the eyes again.
It's just, you know, it's, I know what I am now. A sinner
saved by the grace of God in Christ. And really, when you
think about this, and we're going to look at this a little bit
later, Paul, through bringing these things up, what's the one
thing that all these things do? They bring unity. They bring unity. They stop division.
They stop strife. It builds unity in the body.
So Paul's, and think of it in the context of what we're studying,
right? False teachers have come in,
and they are assaulting from, we looked at the three-pronged
attack, different ways. And Paul's telling them, he's
focusing them upon Christ and him alone. And there's unity
in Christ. And we see even in this verse
that he brings Christ up, even as Christ forgave you, so also
do you. We'll look at that later on,
though. Look at this in Proverbs 16, 32. He that is slow to anger
is better than the mighty. He that ruleth his spirit than
he that taketh the city. He that is slow to anger is better
than the mighty. He that ruleth the spirit, and
he that taketh the city. Proverbs 16, 32. Oh Lord, give
me grace to be like that. Give me grace to be like that.
He who forbears conquers the very cruelty and hatred of his
enemies. Conquers the very hatred and
cruelty of his enemies, just as water can subdue fire. So forbearing one another is
a characteristic of God's elect. It's a characteristic of the
new man that has been created in Christ Jesus in us. And we
are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Forbearing in the Greek
means this, to put up with, to bear with. So we're to put up
with one another, even when we rub each other the wrong way
sometimes. to bear with one another, to forbear, to suffer. Because
we know that different personalities, not every personality is going
to unite, but we unite in Christ, don't we? We put up, we forbear. It says to forbear and suffer. And we can see that that is meekness
and long-suffering in action, in action. So let us think about this, beloved.
Some of the brethren in Colossia had been influenced by the false
teachers, and maybe by other brethren. And we know that in
1 Corinthians, that the issue there was people following different
preachers. Saying, I'm of this guy, and
I'm of that guy. And it still happens today, beloved.
It ought not to, but it still does. We need to look to Christ
and Him alone. Nowhere else but Christ. We preachers
are just men, saved by the grace of God in Christ. We have the
honor and the blessing of preaching the gospel, but, oh, follow Christ. Follow Christ. Follow Him. So, there had been schisms in
Corinth. Since Paul's bringing up unity,
there must have been some division from the false teachers, obviously.
So Paul is here showing the importance of unity within the body, not
trying to cast any of our brothers and sisters in the bad light,
but to have unity in Christ and him alone for bearing one another
and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any. Even as Christ forgave you, so
also also do you. So we don't go out to try to
offend our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we're not to seek
others who will agree with us against a brother or sister by
either a gossiping tongue or a listening ear. We're not to
do that. We are to esteem others better
than ourselves. And think of this, if someone
offends us in word or deed, and when that happens, sometimes
we feel the need to tell someone else instead of going to Christ.
We should go to the Lord. Like I said, I got this right
between the eyes. Right? We should, shouldn't we?
We should go to the Lord. Because if we go to our Lord,
think of this, and I haven't heard of it happening here, but
if something happened and someone was going to go to someone else
and try to gossip about something or find a listening ear, right?
Is that for bearing with one another? No, no, no. So we go to the Lord, we go to
our great God and King. And the love of God and Christ
is, think of this too, when we stop and consider how much Christ
has forgiven us, right? When we stop, figure out how
much Christ has forgiven us, we should be forbearing and forgiving
with one another, we should be. But it goes against the flesh,
we battle this flesh, don't we? We battle this flesh. in our
old nature, and we're born again of the Holy
Spirit of God. So we should not be unforgiving with our brethren.
We should be quick to forgive, quick to let things go. Verse
13 goes on to say, in forgiving one another, if any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye. Now we know that as long as we're
in the flesh, we're gonna have misunderstandings, unpleasantness,
even sometimes injustices. And we feel, when we feel that
our rights are being violated, or somebody's done something
wrong, or somebody said something wrong, but what is it to be our
attitude? What is it to be our attitude
in that situation? It's twofold. And it's right
here. Where to be forbearing, and where
to be forgiving. Where to be forbearing. Now,
to forbear, as we looked at, is to control our emotions, surrendering
our rights for the time being, and patient hope that God will
reveal his purpose and his will, And we have looked at being forbearing
one another, and now we're looking at forgiving one another. Do
you know what the goal of forgiveness is? I read this today, I heard I
heard a brother preach this, and I had to put this in. You
know, the goal of forgiveness is reconciliation. Reconciliation. Which will lead to restoration.
which will, reconciliation leads to restoration. Think of us in
Christ. We're reconciled to God by Christ and we've been restored.
We're born again to the Holy Spirit of God. It's amazing. So think of this in light of
our forgiveness. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians
5. Think of this in light of our
forgiveness in Christ. Do you know that the gospel,
do you know that the gospel is the ministry of reconciliation?
It's the ministry of reconciliation. So forgiveness should always
lead to reconciliation. Which will lead to restoration.
That's why I said last week when we don't kick people when they're
down, religion kicks people when they're down, right? Just just
kicks them. We don't do that in grace. No. No. Reconciliation and restoration. Because we're all a bunch of
sinners, aren't we? Saved by the grace of God in Christ. Look
at this. This is marvelous here. I know
oftentimes 21 is read, but we're just going to read 17 to 19.
Look at this. Therefore, if any man be in Christ. So we know that means to be born
again of the Holy Spirit of God. He is a new creature. All things
are passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. and all the things of God, who hath reconciled us to himself,
how? By Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of reconciliation.
The gospel is the ministry of reconciliation, beloved. To wit,
that God was in Christ, what? Reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. So to forgive is actually to
put the misunderstanding out of mind and restore a state of
love and fellowship. And to not bring it up again. Forgiveness means forgetting,
and it's forgiving. Forgiving is not when one says,
yes, I forgive that person, but I'll never forget what they said
or did. That's not forgiveness. That's not forgiveness. This is not forgiven in the way
our text speaks of. If someone says, yes, I'll forgive
that person, but I'll never forget what they did. That's not forgiveness. Think of this. Forgiveness is
God saying, I'll remember your sins and iniquities no more. No more. And I'm so thankful that God
is not like us. As a dear sister once said, wrote
me in an email, said, I am thankful for infinite, forgiven, forget
grace that doesn't depend upon me. There it is. Infinite, forgiven, forget grace
that doesn't depend upon me. That's it. That's it. And it's wonderful. And that's how we should be with
others, keeping short accounts, especially with those of the
household of faith. Of all the people upon the earth
who should be forgiving, the people of God should be seeing
how much we've been forgiven in Christ. Let's go back to our
text, it says, for bearing one another and forgiving one another,
any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you,
so also do ye. So forgiveness is not keeping
any record, but. We humans are good at keeping
records. Pulling things up from the past.
And using it against one another, but but we believers in Christ
are are not to be like that. We're not to keep accounts. We're
not to keep accounts were to keep short accounts were to be. What happens when we harbor what
happens when we harbor unforgiveness? Turn if you would to Hebrews
chapter 12. When we harbor unforgiveness, do you know what happens? It
grows up like a plant. It grows up like a tree in the
heart. And unless the axe is laid to that tree of bitterness,
it'll get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. I know. I
know. It happens. And then we pray,
Lord, please take the axe to them trees. Please look at Hebrews
chapter 12 verses 14 to 16. Look at this. Follow peace with
all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
Look at diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God,
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many
be defiled. So so usually when this root
springs up, other folks are getting getting defiled. And it says, lest there be any
fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright. So the root of bitterness here
spoken of in Hebrews 12, 15 is a root that lies hidden in a
man's heart. Lies hidden. And it's apt to
spring up in an unexpected manner. And in time it bears bitter fruit
of contention, Malice, pride, covetousness, it'll divide friends,
it'll divide churches, it'll divide families, it'll even divide
believers. You guys experienced some of
that in the last few years, didn't you? We don't want to remember
it, but there was some of that, unfortunately. But we as believers must say,
I'll set a watch upon my heart. I'll set a watch upon my tongue,
upon my mind, lest Satan get an advantage and many be affected.
And that's what happens. It's usually not just one. It
spreads like wildfire. And in every situation with saved
brethren or with unsaved people, we can either, think of this,
think of this. This is something that I learned
a long time ago and it helped me so much. In every situation
in life, When something comes up with
folks, we can either get better or bitter. Someone told me that
years ago in Canada, and it stuck with me. I can either get better
or bitter in a circumstance. I can either forgive or harbor
unforgiveness. My goodness. In the flesh, we'll
harbor unforgiveness, but the new man wants to forgive. The
new nature. Praise God. By God's strength,
we forgive folks. So Lord, give us strength and
grace to be forgiving. Which leads to the latter part
of our verse. Look at this. Even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye. For bearing one another and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye. So think on this, beloved. This is the way the Lord treats
us. He's long suffering. He's long suffering with us.
He's patient with us, forgiving our sins and remembering them
no more. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
103, 12, and then we're going to go through a few places in
scripture. To look at. This point of how the Lord forgives
us, look at this Psalm 103, verse 12. As far as the East is from the
West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. East will never meet West. If
you go East, you'll never meet West. If you go West, you'll
never meet East. Isn't that amazing? Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
43, verse 25. Isaiah 43, verse 25. Oh, what forgiveness we have
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Isaiah 43, verse 25. I, even I, am he that blotteth
out thy transgressions. For mine own sake. Look at this,
beloved. Oh, may this make your heart
sing and will not remember thy sins. That's forgiveness. Turn, if
you would, to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31. Oh, my. What great forgiveness we have
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jeremiah 31, verses 33 to 34. But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and
write it in their hearts. Will be their God and they shall
be my people And look at Jeremiah 31 34 And they shall teach no
more every And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor
and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall
all know me From the least of them unto the greatest of them
saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and Oh, look at
this. Let this sink in, beloved, for
I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin
no more. God has done that for us in Christ. What forgiveness? Turn, if you
would, to Hebrews chapter eight. Hebrews chapter eight. Now, there's many more passages
in the Old Testament we could look at, too, about him forgiven
and not remembering our sins. But I just picked a few there
for us. And then look at Hebrews eight, though. Look at this. Hebrews eight, verses 11 to 13,
and they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man,
his brother saying, no, the Lord for all should know me. See,
we're taught by the Holy Spirit. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit from the least to the greatest, for I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness. We don't get what we deserve.
and their sins and their iniquities. Will I remember? No more. And that he sayeth, the new covenant
he hath made, the first old, now that which decayeth and waxes
old is ready to vanish away. We are forgiven in Christ Jesus
in him alone. And then he says in Isaiah, I'll
read this. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgressions. Blotted them out. And as a cloud, thy sins return
unto me, for I have redeemed thee." Isaiah 44, 22. Why are our sins forgiven? Because
he's redeemed us. God himself. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the God-man. We fell in Adam, dead in trespasses
and sins. And Jesus Christ, the God-man.
God incarnate in the flesh has redeemed our souls with his own
precious blood. And that's how God can say, I'll
remember their sins and iniquities no more. No more. They've been bought and paid
for. We're bought and paid for. Our sins are paid for. My, what
a great God we have. So when we When we harbor ill
feelings toward the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters in
Christ, sometimes even seeking revenge, we have turned our eye
of faith away from Christ and we're guilty of looking to the
old man, looking to the old man that we're supposed to crucify
daily. When we put on the new man, think of this, too. When
we put on the new man, we're born again to the Holy Spirit
of God, right? Think of this. The faults of others won't seem
as offensive as our own faults. as we'll be reflecting on how
much God has forgiven us. My goodness, how much have I
been forgiven? All my trespasses and sins. And
if you're a believer, all your trespasses and sins. Oh my. And this will cause us to love
and to forgive one another. And let us consider our position
as God's elect. We're holy and beloved in Christ.
holy and beloved in Christ. God's election of you has illustrated
in Christ all these graces, and we exhibit them being born again
of the Holy Spirit of God. We're being conformed to the
image of the Son. When we consider the grace of God in Christ shown
to us and forgiven all our sins, again, we should be quick to
forgive others. It should be a small thing for us to do in
light of how much we've been forgiven. So now I'd like us
to look quickly at the qualities which Paul brings forth that
mark the new man, how they are, they are epitomized in Christ
and Christ. He's the epitome of all these
things. He's wonderful. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter nine, Matthew chapter nine. We here see our Lord's heart
of compassion and His kindness. Matthew 9, verses 35 and 36. Oh, He had a heart of compassion
and kindness. Look at this. And Jesus went
about, verse 35, Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching
in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every sickness and every disease among the people But
when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion on
them Because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep
having no shepherd turn over if you would over to Matthew
14 few pages over verse 14 Matthew 14 14. Oh our Lord's
compassion And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and
was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.
And then turn, if you would, to Matthew 15, verse 32. Matthew 15, verse 32. And Jesus called His disciples
unto Him. and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they
continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and
I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. He
had compassion on the multitude. And in Matthew 20, verse 34. Matthew 20, verse 34. So Jesus had compassion on them
and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight. And
they followed him. Now, our Lord's meekness and
lowliness is also exemplified in scripture. Turn, if you would,
to Matthew 11. Matthew 11. And put your finger
in John 13. Matthew 11, verse 29, says this,
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly
in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." And I'll read Philippians 2.8
which says, And being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Our Lord was meek and lowly. And turn this to John 13. John 13, we'll just read a little
portion of this. Verses three to six, when our
Lord was washing the feet of the disciples. John 13, verses
four to six. Oh, what lowliness this shows
us, what meekness this shows us of our Savior. Think of this
as God of the universe. This is God incarnate in the
flesh. Look at this. John 13, verse four to six. He rises up
from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and
girded himself. After that, he pours water into
a basin and began to wash the disciples feet. This is the God
of the universe. He's washing the feet of his
disciples. and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter,
and Peter saith unto him, Lord, doest thou wash my feet? Now
the washing of feet was the lowest, lowest servitude work you could
do. The washing of feet, it was usually
done by the least in the house. And here's our master. washing the feet of his disciples.
Here before us we have the eternal king of glory who rose from his
seat of honor, laid aside his robe, wrapped himself in a large
towel, and began to wash tenderly and carefully the dusty feet
of each disciple. This task, one commentator said
this, this task was never performed by superiors, but by inferiors
to superiors. as a servant to his master. And
that's why we find Peter objecting to this. What condescension of our savior. That's our God. That's our savior. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
17, here we see Christ's long suffering or forbearance in Scripture,
Matthew 17. His long-suffering or forbearance. Verses 14-18, And when they were
come to the multitude, they came to him a certain man, kneeling
down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he
is a lunatic, and is sore vexed. For oftentimes he falls into
the fire, and often to the water. And I brought him to thy disciples,
and they could not cure him. And here's our Lord's long-suffering
and forbearance. Then Jesus answered and said,
O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer with you? Bring him hither to me.
And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him, and
the child was cured from that very hour. Turn, if you would,
to John chapter 14. John chapter 14, and here we
note God's long-suffering with his people. John 14, verses 8
to 10. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it suffices us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how
sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that
I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me, he doeth the works. And then turn over to 1 Peter.
1 Peter, in light of our Lord's long-suffering. And then we'll look at our Lord's
forgiven spirit. 1 Peter 2, verses 21 to 24. This is in light of
the Lord's long-suffering. 1 Peter 2, 21 to 24. For even here unto where you
called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, he was sinless.
He was perfect, spotless. What a savior. Neither was guile
found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled
not again. Oh, the things that they said
to him. the things that they said of him, he never reviled. When he suffered, he threatened
not. Do you remember he could have
called legions of angels. But committed himself to him
that judges righteously. Who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should
live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. Now let's
look at Christ's forgiving spirit. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9. And this brings such comfort.
Oh my. Such comfort for the believer
in Christ. Matthew chapter 9. And he entered into a ship, verse
1, and passed over and came unto his own city. Behold, they bought
to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on the bed and seeing their
faith unto the sick of the palsy. He said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven. And in
turn, if you would, the Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter seven. And then put your finger in Luke
23, and that'll be all of you going to different scriptures. Look at this. Luke chapter 7,
verses 44 to 50. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house. Thou gavest me no water for my
feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears. and wiped them
with the hairs of her head. Thou givest me no kiss, but this
woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed
my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto her, say
unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven. How much are they forgiven? As
far as the east is from the west, beloved. For she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. If you've been
forgiven a lot, oh, you, your love lacked this woman. And he said unto her, thy sins
are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with
him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins
also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go
in peace. Oh, my. Is that not what he says
to every believer? Thy sins are forgiven. Go in
peace. My. It's wonderful, beloved. So if we find it hard to forgive
others, let's look at Luke 23 verse 34. Look at this. Look
at this. Just look at this and let this
verse just sink into our hearts. Here's the cry of the great mediator.
The cry of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our High
Priest, here's our Advocate dying on the cross for my sins, for
the sins of His people, for your sins if you're a believer. And
look at this in Luke 23, 34, Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do. And they parted as ramblings
and cast lots. Beloved, we must have a mediator
between God and man. And the only mediator between
God and man is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the man of God's
choosing. He's the man of God's choosing.
He's the perfect spotless one. He is without sin. And he shed
his blood to pay for our sins. And he paid it all. He paid everything
God demanded. He paid. So is it any wonder
then? Let's turn back to our text.
Is it any wonder that Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
penned these words about those who are in Christ? Is it any
wonder after what we looked at? That Paul penned these words,
put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved boughs
of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering
for bearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye. And above all these things put
on charity, which is love, which is the bond of perfectness. So
may we leave here rejoicing tonight in the knowledge of the forgiving
forgiveness and long suffering of God towards us in Christ.
Right. that forgive and forget grace.
It's beautiful. It's wonderful. Our sins are
paid for, they're bought, they're purchased. And God remembers
them no more. And our salvation is not based
upon our doing, it's based upon what Christ has done. And we
just rejoice. We just marvel. Beloved, we have
obtained mercy. We have obtained mercy. and that mercy is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. So let us be merciful, forbearing
and forgiven to one another and to others as God gives us grace
and strength to do so. Let's go to Lord in prayer. Gracious
Heavenly Father. Oh, what great forgiveness we
have received. Through you, Lord Jesus, through
the sacrifice of yourself Dying on the cross as our mediator,
dying as our substitute before God's justice and law, bearing
it all, paying it in full, and crying it is finished. Lord,
may we who believe marvel, marvel that we are redeemed, marvel
in what it cost. Marvel that you God himself became
a man and left the glories and splendors of heaven to purchase
our eternal souls We love you and praise you in Jesus name.
Amen