Forgive and FORGET? (Part 2)

I know I have to forgive people who hurt me, but does that mean I have to trust them again, and does that mean I automatically forget the offense?"

If you missed last week's post, go here.

A lot of people allow the inequities and hurts of life to become their defining moments.  They make a cognitive choice not to forgive.  In short, they assign negative emotions to what happened and anger rules their lives.  Remember, anger is a choice.

Obviously, Joseph remembered his brothers' harsh treatment years prior; however, he chose not to rehearse the details  and to lay aside the emotional residue of his offense.  In that respect, he was able to forgive and forget!  When we place such matters in God's hand, it is possible to forgive those who sin against us.  Forgiveness causes our memories to fade and our souls to heal.  In a very real sense, we do forget.  God heals our soul as we release our pain to Him in prayer.  The Spirit of God heals both our mind and emotions.

How do we know when we've truly forgiven someone?  When the offense comes to mind, if indeed it does, and it no longer hurts.  The sting is gone!  Prayer is therapeutic, and as we release those who hurt us, the Holy Spirit gives us a new interpretation of the situation and eliminates the pain.  Remember, Joseph had thirteen years to process his pain!  You can bet that his initial decision to forgive still held pain!  Eventually, total forgiveness erases any negative memories and anger dissipates.  Our Pentecostal forefathers called this "praying through."  This is just one of the beautiful and practical aspects of sanctification.

Now let's turn to a more theological discussion.  To fully experience they dynamics of forgiveness and forgetting, we need to understand the act of justification.  Justification is God's judicial act of declaring believing sinners to be righteous and acceptable in His sight.  It is a legal term.  Justification is possible because Christ has borne the sinner's sin on the cross, and "has been made unto him righteousness" (1 Corinthians 1:30).  Romans 3:24 says, "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  Justification springs from the fountain of God's grace.  "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4-5).

It is operative as the result of the redemptive and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, Who has settled all the claims of the Law.  Justification is on the basis of faith and not by human merit or works.  In this marvelous operation of God, the Holy Judge of the universe judicially declares righteous the one who believes in Jesus.  Romans 8:31-34 says, "What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.  How will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God's elect?  God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."

A justified believer emerges from God's great court room with a consciousness that Another, his Substitute, has borne his guilt, and that he stands without accusation before the bar of God.  The believer is justified in Christ and "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

So, if God for Christ's sake forgives us, we can forgive others.  And if God looks upon us "just as if we never sinned," then we can look upon those who sin against us in the same manner.  It's all by His grace and empowerment.  The prophet Micah was outspoken and fearless in denouncing the iniquities of Judah.  However, he ended his prophecy with these wonderful words:  "Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession?  He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in His unchanging love   He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot.  Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (7:18-19).  Even God's anger does not keep score.  He casts all confessed and repented of sin into His "sea of forgetfulness" to be remembered against us no more.

Yes, I definitely believe that in the biblical sense we can forgive and forget, with the Holy Spirit being our helper and strength! 

Where Did the Devil Originally Come From?

Good question!

First, let's establish the fact that there is a real devil who hates God, hates people, especially God's people and whose intent on this earth is "to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10).

He is the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2).  He is a "liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).  He is an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  He is "the god of this world" (1 John 5:19).  In short, he is real, but he was defeated by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.  His final consummation or end will not occur until after the thousand-year reign of Christ, when he is released from his prison to once again deceive the nations.  Then, he will be "thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where (he) the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.  They (he) will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

Where did he originate?  The best answer and perhaps the passage that gives us the greatest insight as to the devil's origin is found in Isaiah 14:12-15:

"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!  You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven:  I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High, But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit..."

Many Bible scholars believe that these verses not only refer to the king of Babylon, but also contain a veiled reference to Satan.  In Luke 10:18, Jesus is talking to His disciples and makes this very poignant, interesting statement:  "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."  His statement strongly implies that Satan was decisively and suddenly hurled out of heaven, and we believe he made his after-abode on the earth.

Another passage that we dare not overlook in the answering of this question is found in Ezekiel 28:11-19.  Neither time nor space will allow me to comment on the entire passage, so let me just pull from the following verses:

"You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.  Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence and you sinned.  So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made you a spectacle of you before kings..." (verses 15-17).

In its context, Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre's rule appears to contain a veiled description of Satan as the true ruler of Tyre.

Let me summarize.  The Scriptures metaphorically use the king of Babylon and the king of Tyre as types of what happened to Satan, also known as Lucifer, or the devil.  In other words, these historical accounts line up with Satan's demise and subsequent expulsion from heaven.  Both accounts name pride as the catalyst by which the devil fell.  Because of his sinful pride, he was driven from out of the mount of God, or heaven.

What a sad, most unfortunate reality this is!  The earth became his domain at that time, and humankind has shared his domain -the earth--ever since.  Adam's fall into transgression was, of course, a result of the devil's deceitfulness and cunning.  The human race was plummeted into sin because of the enemy's hatred for God.

Let me encourage you today to hug up to the cross, to accept the cleansing power of the blood and to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit every day of your life.  God's arch enemy, our arch enemy, has no authority in our lives because of the blood of Jesus.  He is a defeated foe!  How sad, how unbelievable that this created being had his origins in heaven and chose to defect.

I have left a lot out of this answer, because of the depth of its embrace.  I hope my comments somewhat help you.