Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. —Matthew 18:21-22
“When I recite the Apostles’ Creed I am declaring myself part of that countless multitude throughout the centuries who have found their identity in the same gospel and the same community of believers of which I am now a part—a multitude that includes martyrs, saints, missionaries, and great theologians, but where in the final analysis all are nothing but redeemed sinners, just as I am.” —Professor Justo Gonzalez
Last Week: I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints…
The church is a called out
The holy catholic church is God’s church made up of people from
Saints are
This Week: I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
It is hard to forgive someone who has caused us
Each of us inevitably causes
If we cannot give and receive forgiveness, we will be
In Need of Forgiveness
The church wrestled with the forgiveness of sins in the aftermath of Roman
In the New Testament, the word for sin can be translated “
Every one of us misses the mark in our relationships and
“If only there were people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” —Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
We all stand in need of God’s
A God of Forgiveness
The Bible reveals God’s fundamental character as merciful and
Through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s forgiveness is offered to
No matter how great our sin, God’s forgiveness is
Forgive One Another
Believing in the forgiveness of sins also means we believe in the necessity of forgiving
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Our forgiveness
Not only do we need to forgive, but we also need to
Nuts and Bolts of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is choosing not to hold the wrong another person does
“Unstick the deed from the doer. This is what forgiveness does.” —Miroslav Volf
When we confuse who we are with what we’ve done, it leads to
“Guilt = I did something bad. Shame = I am bad.” —Brené Brown
Forgiveness acknowledges that a
Forgiveness is not erasing
When we struggle with shame and unworthiness, we try to make ourselves feel better by judging
“When I am forgiven by the one I have injured, I accept both that I have damaged the relationship, and that change is possible.” – Rowan Williams
Forgiveness requires risk and vulnerability, but it sets both the forgiver and the forgiven
“The person who asks forgiveness has renounced the privilege of being right or safe; she has acknowledged that she is hungry for healing, for the bread of acceptance and restoration to relationship. [slide break] But equally the person who forgives has renounced the safety of being locked into the position of the offended victim; she has decided to take the risk of creating afresh a relationship known to be capable of involving hurt.” – Rowan Williams
When we forgive one another, we
“A willingness to forgive is clearly the mark of a humanity touched by God—free from anxiety about identity and safety, free to reach out into what is other, as God does in Jesus Christ.” – Rowan Williams
Action Step
Ask God’s forgiveness for something you’ve been
Release someone you haven’t yet