BIBLE MEDITATION: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, you’re heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15
ENCOURAGING WORD:
I have a very important question to ask everybody! Are you holding a grudge against someone for doing something against you? Many people are wandering around the world in uncertainty about where they will spend eternity. The Bible verse above is one that should be taken extremely serious because it will have eternal consequences. When I think of the following Bible verse in Matthew 7:13-14 where it says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it’ I have to ask myself, what could be the reason why so many do not find the way. Along with the verse above, the other verse that I think about is in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10; “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Now, we need to understand that we are all sinners, no one is without sin. What this verse above is saying is this, if you choose one of these sins above as a life style, then you will suffer the consequences if you do not repent and turn away from it. In my younger days I did live with a couple of these life styles. I can say right up front that I am not happy with how I conducted my life before I knew Jesus. I have since repented and turned from those evil ways. I was also someone who would never forgive some that wronged me. My way of thinking was, “I’ll just get even." This happen to be the way that I lived my life, until God banged me upside the head and showed me that I needed to change my way of thinking because I was on my way to hell!
With these two verses above, if God is a God of His Word, and I have no doubt that He is, then if you live a life style of any one of these sins mentioned above and you do not repent, “you will not see the Kingdom of God.” I do not think God could put it any clearer. The sins of fornication, (sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other) this alone probably hits most people right between the eyes, adultery, (sex between a married person and someone who is not that person's wife or husband) and unforgiveness have to be the hardest sins to overcome and probably the ones that we are all most guilty of. I can be honest in telling you that you alone cannot have victory over these sins. They are almost as natural as breathing, but not quite! The only way to gain victory is by giving your life over to The Holy Spirit and ask Him to help you. Right about now, I can feel the anger that is being poured out on me for bringing these things to your attention, but know this, it is not me that you should be angry with, it is God who set up the laws, not me. Until I read the Bible, I had no idea of how much danger my salvation was in. These are most likely the most common sins that I believe are behind the meaning of “few will be that find the way” I also need to explain this, nobody will go to hell for being a sinner, like I said, we are all sinners. If you do not enter the kingdom of heaven it will be because you did not accept the only propitiation made for your sins and that is, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and by being born-again into the Holy Spirit! Once you make that true commitment and your conversion is true, then the door will be open to all your sins and then repentance is required. If you say that you have made that commitment and then continue with a sinful life style, the conversion was in by words only and not in the heart! We read in Acts 3:19; “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” We are all sinners, but those that accept Jesus Christ into their lives have been justified and it is as if they never sinned.
Back to Matthew 6:15 in clearly states, “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” I believe this is a verse that we are all guilty of at one time or another in our lives. Again, if this verse means what it says, and again, I believe it does, then if you are harboring a grudge against someone and will not forgive them, then our Father which is in heaven will not forgive you and what is the cost, you will die in your sins and sinful man cannot enter the kingdom of God. It cannot be any clearer.
ACTION POINT
So, first of all, you have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life. Then repent of your sinful ways and give your life over to Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to move in your life and guide you through His Word. In doing so, you will find yourself doing things that you never thought you would do. Your life will change and you will see all the errors of your ways and you will feel moved to do what is right! Ephesians 4:32; “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” If Jesus can forgive us for all we have done, then I’m sure that there is nothing that someone could do to us that cannot be forgiven. Every sin that we commit, Jesus has already paid for, for those that have accepted the free gift of grace that was offered up to us, because of His death on the cross and His resurrection some two thousand years ago. If He can forgive us for every sin that we commit every day, shouldn’t we be able to forgive those that do us harm. Do this, in your heart, tell God that you forgive whoever it may be for what they did to you and then if you get the chance, look that person up and tell them that that you have forgiven them. I cannot promise you that they will feel any better, but I can promise you that you will feel better. It will be a load off your shoulders that you never felt could be removed. Trust in the Lord our God, Jesus Christ! “Written To the glory of God, Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!
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