Reading Time: 5:00
This week the Lord got through to me and I heard his voice. It’s a shame when we hide from him, neglect him, and fear his presence, when all he wants to do is encourage us. I’m going to try to keep this short, but there is so much you can share when God speaks to you.
When Paul was speaking to the Corinthian church about forgiving a repentant, immoral brother, he added an interesting statement to his call to forgive. He said this:
“10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there
was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
2nd Corinthians 2:11,12 NIV
Forgiveness is a tall order, but it is a constant requirement of the church. Especially in light of what Paul says in verse 11—“in order that Satan might not outwit us.” This implies that one of the intents of our enemy is to outwit us and get us to leverage God against us by us acting against each other. This is seen mainly in unforgiveness towards others.
This is what Jesus explains in the book of Matthew. He relates the story of a king who brought his servants in to settle their accounts of stewardship. One servant ended up owing a great deal and therefore begged for forgiveness. His master outright forgave his debt and released him. However that same servant then turned around and punished another person who only owed him just a small amount. Yet, he refused to forgive it and demanded justice.
In light of this the king called the steward back in and confronted him with his unforgiveness and threw him in jail to be tortured. It is quite a pointed analogy. However, Jesus brings it home when he concludes this passage with:
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you
unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:35 NIV
As Paul stated above, “For we are not unaware of his schemes.” However, I feel a lot of believers are unaware of why they have been taken captive by the devil and live in torment. They harbor so much unforgiveness in their hearts it freezes their compassion and obsesses their minds. They feel justified in despising others and talking ill of others because a wrong was done to them. Jesus directly compares the wrong done to us and the wrong done to him and we fall short every time.
God is so grieved that we would harbor unforgiveness that he warns us sternly that the treatment of the unforgiving steward would be the same thing God would do to us if we did not forgive everyone their “trespasses.” (KJV)
Digging a little deeper we find that what Paul was telling the Corinthians was taken from Psalm 89:
“The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him.”
Psalm 89:22 ESV
Herein lies the great promise of God. This is a Maskil of Ethan about the covenant God made to King David. In it Ethan greatly magnifies the Lord, but he also declares what God will do for his anointed ones who walk in his ways.
This brings me to the encouragement God wanted to convey to me. He said I was a forgiving person and he noticed I had suffered wrong without retaliation or retribution. I really didn’t think that much about it until he told me my commitment to forgiveness was exactly why I didn’t think that much about it! Amazing.
Paul had told the Corinthians in his first letter that instead of seeking justice or exacting vengeance, we ought to just bear up under the wrong things people do to us. Why? Because it is Satan’s tactic to try to get us to defend and justify ourselves. When we do we become self-defeated and will not give it up and forgive, because restitution is owed to us. Just like the unforgiving steward in Jesus’ story.
Paul drives this home by saying:
“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you
means you have been completely defeated already.
Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”
1st Corinthians 6:7 NIV
The toughest part for most is this: “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” But consider the alternative—total defeat.
It was very nice for the Lord to compliment me in this way. However, I have always felt that in my life, letting people off the hook is more about my freedom than theirs. I never want to be bound in unforgiveness and tormented by the enemy. If I keep this in mind (and you do too), then the devil will never outwit me nor will the wicked have occasion to humble me. However, being humbled is another story and several more pages, and I already promised I’d try to keep it short.
Pastor Brian Jenkins
Calvary Assemblies of God