Walking the Talk

Bearing with one another and forgiving one another . . . Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. —Colossians 3:13

The apostle Paul was quite direct with those who wouldn’t accept the good news as complete and fully adequate, those who insisted on tagging on their own requirements. We have been forgiven in Christ, and that is enough.

But if trying to forgive ourselves is an attempt to add to the gospel, unforgiveness of others is a sure way to detract from it. Think of it this way: we are forgiven sinners, having received God’s grace. And so, we go into our world telling lost sinners that they need what we have. But these people know us. They work next to us. They live on our street. They hear us. They hear the way we talk about that in-law, that man who messed up our kitchen flooring.

So our message about the gospel rings a little hollow. It’s hard for God’s grace and mercy to be all that believable when we—the very ones who claim to be forgiven by Him—refuse to forgive others.

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Choosing Forgiveness: Your Journey to Freedom ©2022 Revived Hearts Foundation

Scripture taken from The CSB