One Another: FORGIVE (Pt.2)
Pastor Reggie Hill
Scripture
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV
15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Big Idea
We can’t talk about forgiveness without acknowledging the forgiveness that God has extended to us. God has forgiven us all for our sins, but he doesn’t stop there He goes on to pursue reconciliation. We as humans tend to forgive people for their wrongdoings and then establish boundaries to make sure they can never do us wrong again, but God goes one step further to restore our relationship with us as well. If we’re to follow God’s example then, forgiveness wouldn’t be complete without an effort toward reconciliation.
Questions
Have everyone read and refer to 1 Corinthians 5:15-21 throughout the conversation.
How do you know when forgiveness is complete?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we “do not know anyone from a worldly perspective.”
What does it mean to see others from a worldly perspective?
What does it mean to see others from a heavenly perspective?
Consider verse 18. Merriam-Webster defines reconcile as “to restore to friendship or harmony.”
Why do you think Paul chose to use “reconcile” here?
Do you see reconciliation as a ministry? Who is being reconciled in this ministry?
How has God shown forgiveness and reconciliation to you?
Do you think there are things that are unforgivable?
Verse 21 recaps Jesus taking on our sin. How can we do the same for someone who’s wronged us?
How do you forgive people who don’t know they’ve wronged you?
God’s ultimate goal was to give us the opportunity to become righteous. We can’t do this with our sin hanging on to us—or us hanging on to our sin.
What does it look like to “become righteousness”?
Call To Action
How will you thank God for his forgiveness this week?
How will you forgive someone this week?
