A healthy church is not one where offenses never take place but rather one in which offenses are dealt with Biblically. As we began to examine in our last study, Jesus Christ himself gave us very clear instruction as to how to deal with offenses in the church. The end goal of this process is that sin be forsaken, offenders be forgiven and relationships be reconciled. This is the ideal and is quite possible if both the offended party and the offender are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. If this is … [Read more...]
Membership Matters – Exercising Forgiveness, Part 1
The church is a community of men and women who have been saved by the sovereign grace of God. Each of us is progressing in our spiritual growth and slowly becoming more and more like Jesus Christ through the working of his Holy Spirit. This is what we call sanctification. Although salvation happens in an instant, sanctification is a process which continues throughout our entire lives. The fact that sanctification is a process is an important thing to remember. It means that we are all “works … [Read more...]
Attitudes of the Heart – Forgiveness
As we come to the end of our studies on the attitudes of the heart, what we quickly realize is that each and everyone of these attitudes is, in some measure, simply a reflection of the character of Jesus Christ. Each of these is a byproduct of the Spirit of Christ working in us, making us more and more like Him (Rom 8:9; Col 1:27; Gal 4:19). This study’s attitude of forgiveness is no different. It is a remarkable attribute of Jesus Christ who came into this world to forgive sinners (Acts 5:31; 1 … [Read more...]