2 Corinthians 2:10-11 NLT “When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, [11] so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
The passage above refers to a man who Paul was telling the church to welcome back with open arms. Why? If you read 1 Corinthians chapter 5 you will find this man had to be excommunicated from the church. Why? Because he was having sex with his father’s wife. Yes. If you have time raed 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Some time had passed since the man had been put out of the church and the Holy Spirit was directing them through apostle Paul to now forgive him:😊
2 Corinthians 2:7-8 NLT “Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. [8] So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.”
WOW!😊 What a loving God we serve! He does not want any to be lost.😊
Psalm 103:10-14 NLT “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. [11] For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. [12] He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. [13] The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. [14] For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.”
Sadly, there are some professing Christians who are really hard on others. Some have separated themselves or put others out of their churches over things God never commanded. (Jude 1:19) They do not have the Father’s forgiving spirit.😓 They have been outsmarted by Satan! And many of them don’t even know it.
Did you notice in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 the Holy Spirit said forgiving the man who had committed the sin with his father’s wife was necessary, “So that Satan will not outsmart us? For we are familiar with his evil schemes?”🤔 Yes, when we are unwilling to forgive we have been duped by the Devil. Unforgiveness is one of Satan’s schemes. It goes directly against the heart of God.
Matthew 6:14-15 HCSB “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”
It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Then why is it so hard for some to forgive others wrongdoing even after being told by God they risk losing everything if they don’t forgive others? Satan has outsmarted them.😓 The deceitfulness of sin is wickedly powerful.
Some professing believers refuse to reconcile, or forgive, and think they have a good relationship with God!😳 It’s as if Matthew 6:14-15 doesn’t apply to them. Even in the face of this scripture and others like it they will justify why they hold a grudge. They have been blinded by the Devil. How sad.😓
Yes, when we are unwilling to forgive we have been duped by the Devil. Unforgiveness is one of Satan’s schemes.
Another reason I believe it’s very hard for some to forgive others is they are not conscious of their own sin.🤔 What I mean is they do not realize just how much we all have individually sinned against God. When we truly acknowledge how much we have sinned against God the sins and faults of others against us becomes very small. Jesus put it this way:
Matthew 18:21-35 LEB “Then Peter came up to him and said, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven! “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. And when he began to settle them, someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. And because he did not have enough to repay it, the master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and his children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. Then the slave threw himself to the ground and began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ So the master of that slave, because he had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and began to implore him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ But he did not want to, but rather he went and threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! SHOULD YOU NOT ALSO HAVE SHOWN MERCY TO YOUR FELLOW SLAVE AS I ALSO SHOWED MERCY TO YOU?’ And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers until he would repay everything that was owed. So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
Can we afford not to be forgiving?😳 Is harboring bitter resentment towards others worth throwing it all away?😳 Should we not show mercy to others the same way God has shown mercy to us? (Colossians 3:13) If Satan has outwitted us through unforgiveness be honest to God about it and repent, please. He WILL forgive us.😊 Carrying a grudge is not worth throwing away our eternal soul.
James 2:13 NLT “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.”
Please share this with a friend😊
Like The Bereans 