ARTICLES
So, Why Haven't You Forgiven? -- Part 2
by Jeanniene Lee
The Bible has much to say about the subject of forgiveness. As Christians, our eternal security is directly linked to forgiveness. Without God's mercy and forgiveness extended to man, we are without hope. Thank God we are not without hope because God's mercy and forgiveness are new every morning and are ever available to us because of the shedding of Jesus' blood (Hebrews 9:22).

Lamentations 3:21-23
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the LORD'S MERCIES that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They [His mercies and compassions] are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Now, beloved, as a Christian it is very important to understand that throughout our daily lives as we live upon this earth, we will continue to need God's forgiveness on a daily basis.

Just as we will continue to need God to forgive us for our sins on a daily basis, we are commanded by the Word of God to extend this same forgiveness to others who sin against us daily (Matthew 18:21-35).

Our continuing to have access to God's mercy and compassion is contingent upon us extending that mercy and compassion to others. Jesus Himself made this very clear in Matthew 6:14-15. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Further, in the Lord's prayer of Matthew 6:9-15 it is clearly stated by Jesus that continuing to receive forgiveness from the heavenly Father is conditional. It is based upon us Christians being forgiving. Verse 12 of Matthew 6 further confirms this . . . "And forgive us our debts, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors" (The Amplified Bible).

As you recall from Part I of "So, Why Haven't You Forgiven?," as we discussed the law of forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35 we discovered that operating in unforgiveness is very, very serious. It will not only "block you" from receiving forgiveness from God, it will ultimately, if not dealt with, lead to separation from God.

Beloved, unforgiveness affects your fellowship with God, and when fellowship with God is stifled, the flow of God's life into your life is cut off! Where there is no life, death is present. Death is from the devil and separates us from God!

Jesus came that we might have life and that we might have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows in every area of our lives and relationships); but on the contrary, the thief (the devil) came to steal, kill and to destroy in every area of your life and in all your relationships (John 10:10, The Amplified Bible).

The devil came to rob you of life and give you death instead. The moment, the exact second, you open the door to unforgiveness, you have activated "the force of satan" in your life which ultimately leads to death.

UNFORGIVENESS PUTS YOU, as the one holding unforgiveness in your heart toward someone else, IN PRISON! A spiritual prison! Jesus made it quite clear in the law of forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35, note verse 34) that when you don't forgive, you open the door to spiritual bondage and imprisonment in your life. You open the door to "the tormentors" (the devil and his demonic hosts) to harass and torture you in every area of your life!

Beloved, it's like you taking the key to a jail cell and unlocking it yourself, stepping inside, shutting yourself in and handing the key back outside the cell to the devil. You step into a spiritual prison! When a person is in prison, they can not get to others on the outside, and those on the outside can not get to them.

Operating in unforgiveness as a Christian is VERY, VERY DANGEROUS! If you want to continue to experience God's mercy, compassion and forgiveness, you must extend mercy to others. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). If you don't forgive, you will "block the mercy" of God from flowing to you. God's mercy is always available to us, but there are things we can do to BLOCK the flow of God's mercy into our lives. A main contributor to blocking the flow of God's mercy is OPERATING IN UNFORGIVENESS.

We live in a society where too often people say they're going to do something and don't keep their word. Too often people do not mean what they say and a person's word is not taken seriously. This begins in childhood.

Even children have grown to not trust the words of their own parents. This distrust by children in their parents is contributed by the fact that many of today's parents have not followed through and kept their word.

Many parents today have lied to their children and have contributed to their children not trusting them. A main area where children have discovered their parents are not keepers of their word is in the area of discipline. They learn this at a very early age and remember it in adulthood.

Oftentimes children hear their parents say "if you do that one more time, I'm going to get you" and then the child does it repeatedly and the parent doesn't get them but goes on to say "I told you, if you do that one more time I'm going to get you. Do it again, and I'll get you."

The child has already seen that the parent has not kept their word and in essence have lied because the child did what they were told not to do "one more time" repeatedly and the parent did not follow through on their word with disciplinary action. The child discovered the parent's words were nothing more than a threat which in actuality was really a lie.

Unfortunately, when a child encounters a relationship with their earthly parent which involves lies it contributes to their distrust of parental authority. Further, as a child grows into an adult, this distrust in the words of parental authority from childhood will contribute to their distrust in the words of their heavenly Father-God.

Whatever a child encounters in their relationship with their earthly parents, it will ultimately contribute to the relationship they will have with their heavenly parent-Father God, whether good or bad.

In most cases, you talk to people who have a very strong, trusting relationship with their heavenly Father-God, you will also discover that a strong, trusting relationship with their earthly parents, usually with the father, strongly influenced this.

On the contrary, if a child grows up in a home and learns that every time their parents say they're going to do something they don't, they learn to not trust their parents' words. Ultimately, this will influence the degree of trust they have in God. If they do not take the necessary time to renew their mind by putting the Word of God in their heart in this area, it will affect their faith in God and in His Word because trust is linked to faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

Unlike man. God always keeps His Word. As a matter of fact. God NEVER LIES. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). If God says something, you can count on Him to do just what He has said. He has never and will never repent because of not keeping His word.

We cannot view God and what He says boldly in His Word the way we view the other authorities or relationships in our lives. When God says something He means just what He said. He will keep His Word every single time. He is faithful when we are not. He walks at a level of truth and integrity that literally transcends our culture and society.

On the subject of forgiveness, when Jesus said, "But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15), He meant just that.

God's Word reveals God's stand on the subject of unforgiveness. Beloved, it is always God's desire to show us His mercy and forgive us, but once we become a Christian we must also show mercy and extend forgiveness to others if we want to continue to receive mercy and forgiveness from God. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Notice in this verse that those giving mercy will also receive mercy. On the contrary, those not giving mercy, will not receive mercy.

This is supported throughout the Bible and Jesus personally addressed this issue during His earthly ministry. In several passages, particularly relating to when we are praying to God (Matthew 6:8-15; Luke 11:1-4; Mark 11:22-26), Jesus made it quite clear that forgiveness was a "condition" not only to our prayers being answered but also was a condition to us receiving forgiveness from the heavenly Father.

What I mean by "condition" is that it's the basis upon which something is done or granted. For example, your salvation is conditional. It is contingent upon you doing something... that something is that you must believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and that God raised Him from the dead and secondly you must confess that with your mouth (Romans 10:9-10). If you do that, you will be saved, but if you don't do that you will not be saved; therefore, your actions of believing and confessing are the "conditions" which open the door for you to receive salvation (Romans 10:13).

Receiving forgiveness from God is directly linked to us extending forgiveness to others. Jesus makes this quite clear in Mark 11. "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), IN ORDER THAT your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings" (verses 25-26, The Amplified Bible).

The devil does not want you to truly understand the seriousness of unforgiveness. Matter of fact, the devil doesn't want you to forgive those who have hurt and offended you. He wants you to hold onto the offense and operate in unforgiveness. Why? Because He knows that when you refuse to forgive it will ultimately lead to separation from God. And when you are separated from God, THE DEVIL GOT YOU!  Don't be deceived.

Remember, Jesus came that we might have life and that we might have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows in every area of our lives and relationships); but, on the contrary, the thief (the devil) came to steal, kill and to destroy and this means in every area of our lives and in all our relationships!

Satan's ultimate goal is to keep mankind from entering into a relationship with God. If he can not keep you from entering into a relationship with God and you do, satan's second goal is to keep you from living the abundant life Jesus purchased for you. Satan strives to drive you from that relationship with God and ultimately back into separation from God.

Through operating in unforgiveness, you are playing right into satan's plan of death and destruction for you. Remember, there are only two ways of doing things - God's way or the devil's way. There are only two kingdoms - "the kingdom of God" and "the kingdom of satan."

The "kingdom of God" is God's way of doing things and being right in doing them that way; and, the "kingdom of satan" is the way that seems to be right. It's satan's way of doing things and "thinking that they are the right way" when indeed they are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Proverbs 14:12
12 There is A WAY which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are THE WAYS OF DEATH.

To operate in unforgiveness is a choice. To not forgive someone is a choice. To be unforgiving is a choice. Beloved, operating in unforqiveness as a Christian is deadly!

If left unhandled and not dealt with, unforgiveness can ultimately lead to separation from God. Separation from peaceful communion and fellowship with God while upon this earth, and eternal separation from God after you die.

Yes, you heard me right, eternal separation from God after you die. Operating in unforgiveness is a very serious matter, and the Word of God makes it quite clear that unforgiveness towards others, makes it IMPOSSIBLE for God to forgive us. Unforgiveness is more serious than you think!

Remember, it's the forgiveness of God extended to us which gives us access into a relationship and into fellowship with God in the first place. Further, it's the forgiveness of God extended to us which gives us the hope of eternal life-spending eternity with Him after physical death occurs.

John Bevere shares in his book "The Bait of Satan" [beloved, I strongly encourage you to read this book] an unusual testimony of a minister in the Philippines who had resisted the call of God on his life for several years because of his business success. Eventually his disobedience caught up with him.

He died on the operating table and found himself outside the gates of heaven. Jesus was standing there and dealt with him about his disobedience. The man pleaded with the Lord that if He would extend his life, he would serve Him. The Lord consented.

Before sending his spirit back to his body, the Lord showed him a vision of hell. He saw his wife's mother burning in the flames of hell.

He was amazed. She had said the "sinner's prayer," confessed to being a Christian and had attended church. "Why is she in hell?" he asked the Lord.

The Lord told him that she had REFUSED TO FORGIVE a relative and THEREFORE COULD NOT BE FORGIVEN.

Mary K. Baxter in her book "A Divine Revelation of Hell" also shares that when Jesus allowed her to visit hell, she saw many in hell that were there because they refused to forgive. Jesus told her to warn people of the reality of hell. Dear reader, this book will change your life. I exhort you to read "A Divine Revelation of Hell" by Mark K. Baxter.  Your life will be eternally changed and your eyes will be opened about the "reality of hell!"

Do you want God to forgive you in the same way that you have forgiven others? Well, this is exactly the way that He is going to forgive you. 

It is never right, no matter what has happened, to operate in unforgiveness.

When you think about the great debt (the magnitude of your sin) which God has forgiven you of, surely you can forgive those who owe you a small debt (have committed sin against you).

So, beloved, why haven't you forgiven? Don't delay another moment, you've held onto that offense long enough. Forgive today! Pray this prayer!

"Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I understand the seriousness of unforgiveness. I choose today to forgive so that you can forgive me. I choose today to forgive _________ (call out the name of that one who has offended you) for __________ (name the particular offense) in the name of Jesus. I now ask that you forgive me for holding that person because of that situation. Cleanse my heart of unforgiveness. Father, help me through the power of the Holy Spirit to continue to extend forgiveness to others so that you can continue to forgive me. I thank you now that my sins are forgiven because I have forgiven others of their sins against me. I thank you for your mercy today in Jesus name. Amen."

Beloved, the anointing of God has destroyed that yoke of bondage and have set you free today. Step out of that prison cell and demand those keys back from the devil. Walk in your freedom and keep it by daily
showing mercy to others no matter what. It's worth where you will spend eternity!