No Records

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:5

Subject: Forgiveness

Date: January 3, 1999

It [Love] keeps no records of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:5

Introduction: On Christmas Eve 1998, President Clinton participated in a longstanding tradition of offering Presidential Pardons. This year he pardoned 33 individuals. One of those pardons was for Kevin Teker. Kevin Teker knows the importance of having no records. In 1989 Tucker was disturbed by the of a friend and he set off some es. He later confessed to the crime and served probation. In straightening out his life, Teker had a dream of serving as a pilot for the Washington State Civil Air Patrol so he could fly on search and rescue missions. However, because Teker had a criminal record he would not have been able to pass the necessary background checks for the civil job. The Presidential Pardon will erase his past record and clear the way for him to become a search and rescue pilot. [Source: Associated Press 8:45am ET December 25, 1998 Reported on Fox News. ]

Though we may not have the power the President has to grant a pardon to someone with a stroke of a pen, as sure as we need forgiveness ourselves, there our people in our life who need our forgiveness. In his famous love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 Paul said in verse 5, that love keeps no records of wrongs. The New Revised Standard Version translates 1 Corinthians 13:5 as love is not “resentful”. When we keep a record of wrongs and are resentful a bitterness builds up within us that can destroy us if not dealt with. But the great news is that God is just as willing to help us forgive others as he is to forgive us.

Why is forgiving others so important...

1. FORGIVING OTHERS IS ESSENTIAL IN KEEPING OUR FAMILIES TOGETHER. Joseph’s story is a wonderful illustration of forgiveness. Jacob’s family was broken up because of bitterness and unforgiveness turning into rage. Sound familiar? It was no secret that Joseph was his father’s favorite son, but his dreams of his brother’s bowing down to Joseph were just to much for them. So Joseph’s own brothers had sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:28). However in His providence, God placed Joseph in a leadership position in Egypt. Joseph meets his family again when they come to him for help during a severe famine in the land. It took Joseph being willing to forgive to reunite the family again and spare them from starvation. Because of that forgiveness, Jacob and all of his family moved to Egypt where they would have plenty of food during the famine. Still Joseph’s brothers were afraid that after their father Jacob died, Joseph would harm them. So, Joseph reassured them that he had forgiven them (Genesis 50:15-21) .

We really need forgiveness in our families today. But how come we find it so hard to forgive our own family? I think it’s because when our family wrongs us the hurt seems twice as bad. There are hundreds of each year in our country, but the ones that make it into the front page are the ones where the child kills his parents or the mother kills her babies. If we are going to have families that are a witness to the world of God’s love, we must have the power of forgiveness. I’m not talking about trying to forget without forgiveness. If our family has wronged us they need genuine forgiveness. Is there someone in your family you need to forgive? Think about it. A mother, a father, an aunt, an uncle, a brother, a sister, a wife, a husband? Only you know if you need to forgive.

2. FORGIVING OTHERS IS ESSENTIAL IN KEEPING OUR COUNTRY TOGETHER. David had several opportunities to kill Saul. It was no secret that Saul was trying to kill David. Still David forgave Saul and promised to protect his household. Listen to what David said to those who punished Saul’s family (2 Samuel 4:9-12). . Although he was already king over Judah, David didn’t become King over all Israel until he had followed through with his promise to protect Saul’s family. Could it be that this act of forgiveness toward Saul’s family was necessary to keep the support of Saul’s followers and unite Israel under David’s leadership?

We are all concerned that the nature of the President’s problems are opening an unfortunate chapter in public discourse that is not good for children to hear. While our children need to learn about right and wrong and consequences for actions, I also want to challenge you to use the whole situation about President Clinton to teach about the opportunity for forgiveness. Above all else Spirit-filled Christians are people who know God can forgive anyone of any wrong.

3. FORGIVING OTHERS IS ESSENTIAL IN KEEPING GOD’S WORD. Scripture says that our capacity to forgive should be unlimited by the amount of times we are required to forgive. Luke 17:3-4 says, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying ‘I repent’, you shall forgive him.” In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter came to Jesus and said, “Lord, how long shall my brother sin against me, and I 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.” Can you imagine forgiving someone seven times in one day. Or, 490 times in a lifetime. It almost seems beyond what we would experience with most people, but don’t be concerned with the numbers. That’s not the major issue here. We shouldn’t be keeping records on other people after we forgive them. The heart of what these verses are saying is that there’s absolutely no limit to God’s forgiveness and there shouldn’t be any limit to ours either.

To accomplish this kind of forgiveness, we must remember to forget. Illustration: Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. She acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came Barton’s reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.” PRM+ Illus. #2515 [Source Luis Palau, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, Multunomah, 1985.] http://www.bible.org/illus/illus/illu0233.htm

Illustration: A odist minister, William Sangster, was addressing Christmas cards and one of his friends saw a card he was sending out and said, “Don’t you remember how he slighted you?” To that Sangster responded, “Oh yes, I remember, but I have remembered to forget.” PRM+ Illus. #2513 [Source: Our Daily Bread Dec. 8, 1998]

Perhaps that’s the best we can hope for in this life. Not necessarily a total loss of memory of the wrongs that have been committed against us but the God given ability to remember to forget.

4. FORGIVING OTHERS IS ESSENTIAL IN KEEPING OUR HEART IN THE CENTER OF GOD’S FORGIVENESS. We are in a battle today for our hearts. God wants us to have a forgiving heart. The question is are we going to forgive or are we going to forfeit God’s best for our lives. General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, “I never forgive and I never forget.” To which Wesley replied, “Then, Sir, I hope you never sin.” I like the bumper sticker that says, “Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven”. Though I’ve never seen it I’d really like to have a bumper sticker that says, “I can forgive you for anything except tailgaiting me.”

It will be easier to keep no records of wrongs against us if we remember how much God has forgiven us. Some say that most preachers tackle subjects that they are fairly confident they have followed because they’ve had some recent experience. That may be true because in recent months I have depended upon God and others to forgive me of some unbelievable things. Praise the Lord that he will erase our records against us. In fact, I do not think it is possible for us to truely forgive others unless God has forgiven us. Perhaps, you are saying I can’t forgive __________, fill in the blank. You are right. You can’t forgive ________. But God can forgive them through you.

When we receive God’s forgiveness and let the Spirit comes into our lives, He tenders our hearts to keep no records of wrongs. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Mark 10:25 says, “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” Jesus taught his disciples in the Lord’s prayer to pray, “And forgive us our sins--just as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” (Luke 11:4) Jesus wouldn’t have said that if it weren’t possible for us to forgive others. The life of Jesus Christ and Joseph and David--they are all examples of the power of forgiveness.

I don’t know where you are today with your relationship with God or with other people in your life. I do know that love requires forgiveness (“love keeps no records of wrongs”- 1 Corinthians 13:5). One thing our world needs is more love and forgiveness. If we as Christians can not forgive then nothing we do here makes any sense, because we are a forgiven people. Let’s take forgiveness with us into the new year.

CLOSING PRAYER: Jesus, when you were on the cross, you prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Sometimes I knew not what I was doing and other times I did know what I was doing, when I sinned against you. Today, I ask you to forgive me from the sinful habits, selfish attitudes, and wrong decisions of the past. As I start 1999, I ask you to heal my family, my country, and my own spiritual life through the power of forgiveness.