dscheer – Page 26 – Scripture Thoughts

Author: dscheer (page 26 of 33)

How Do We Know We’ve Really Forgiven Someone?

We often say we have forgiven someone. But have we really? How can we be sure? It is crucial to us that we forgive people who have wronged us, and the forgiveness must be from our heart (complete). God says to us, “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:26). Ouch!

If we wonder whether or not we have really forgiven someone, we can allow the Holy Spirit to ask us the
following insightful questions:
1) Are we willing to pray for that person’s welfare?
2) Are we willing to help and do good for that person?
3) Are we willing not to gossip about that person, especially when their name comes up in a conversation?
4) Are we willing to ask God not to punish them or hold anything against them for what they did to us?
5) Do we have inner peace about it?
6) Are we still “grinding an ax” against them in our thought life?

We can forgive someone and yet still not want to be around them due to what they stand for or what they do. Forgiving someone also does not mean that we trust them either. Some people will not repent or change for the better. I don’t see the Bible telling us we have to yoke ourselves with them. I guess I would call this “forgiving from a distance.” In most cases, however, we will be side-by-side with those who have offended us from time to time and we must be willing to forgive.

Are there levels of forgiveness? My initial thought is that we either we do it or we don’t. I guess I still stand by that, but I also realize that there are degrees of “aftermath” from an incident. Trust, for example, may take a long time to be restored, if ever. God never tells us to trust in any human, however. There may be long-lasting repercussions resulting from the offense and the forgiver must work through those things.

If we struggle with forgiving someone, it may reflect some problems with RECEIVING God’s forgiveness for ourselves. This does not involve us forgiving ourselves. Surprisingly, the Bible never tells us to do this. If we are in Christ, our sin as been resolved (Romans 8:1). The closer we are to Him, and the more we realize how much we have been forgiven, the more love and ability to forgive others we have (Luke 7:47). Therefore, the solution to this problem may be repenting, getting into His Word, and allow His love to flood us. When we love Him, we love others (1 John 2:9-12).

If any of you readers feel you have not forgiven someone as you think about this topic, I strongly urge
you to go to God in prayer and ask Him to help you, if you think you just cannot forgive someone. I’ve
had to do this on two occasions. It worked both times. Thank God, I am free. No unforgiveness or
bitterness is chaining me down.

Feedback:
P.T. – This is a tough one, Dave. I recently have been visiting an Urban church that has just gone through a split. The pastor is trying to salvage what is left of the church and is preaching on forgiving one another and going to them and reconcile. Looks like pride is the problem, and I say that because it is what “I” do, a lot. I don’t want to carry the burden of someone who differs from me and yet I know that if I separate from them I am no better than the pagan who readily writes someone off they don’t agree with. I tried to mention the beatitudes of loving one’s enemies to a group at this church and was readily put in my place and told boundaries were violated and separation is called for sometimes. Yes, if violence or abuse is the problem, but I will continue to do good and remember that it cost God a lot to forgive me–His own Son. God did not give up on me, neither will I others and bear the burden, a cross, to love others as God loved me.

Dave to P.T. – Thanks for your comments. I cannot comment about that church split and the so-called
“boundaries that were violated” because I do not know enough about that situation, but it seems to me that you have the right attitude and solution. First, you see and admit to wrong attitudes that you can have.
Most people do not. Second, you have tried to make peace. Jesus calls you blessed for that. Third,
“violating boundaries” is not up there with blaspheming the Holy Spirit, so I hope they can seek God and
ask His help to make things right.

Patricia P. – This is an issue I’ve been struggling with for the last few months. A very good friend has been stealing from me. She’s been a friend for years and we had this same problem 2 years ago. We didn’t see or speak to each other for several months back then. I read my Bible a lot, especially about forgiving, and finally went to see her. She admitted what she’d done and promised it would never happen again. I forgave her, we talked, cried, and became really close again. She spends a lot of time in my home and, many times she’s inside my house while I’m outside doing yard work. I started noticing a few things missing but nothing too big or important to me so I kind of let it slide. I began getting nervous and uptight, telling myself that it couldn’t possibly be happening again. A couple of weeks later, I purposely left a few things out in the open while I went outside. After she left, I went to see if my things were still where I left them and they were gone. I was shocked, saddened, and heartbroken. I talked about it with my sister, who was surprised I forgave her the first time. I told my sis that I have again forgiven my old friend, but I can no longer be friends with her. She’s no longer welcome in my home. I miss her terribly but am getting used to not having her around. I don’t trust her at all now and just can’t be her friend and welcome her in my home. I feel terrible about it but it has to be this way. Do you think I’m doing the right thing? The whole thing really bothers me a lot but I just can’t see her or be around her anymore.

Dave – Thanks for the great question. Overall, I think you’ve done well with your situation. My first question is what did you talk about when confronting her that first time? Do you know why she stole from you. Friends don’t steal from friends unless drug abuse is involved. Your friend obviously has a serious problem and needs help. It doesn’t sound like she steals money from you but, of course she could be selling them for money. Is she willing to get help? Pray that she gets it.

As far as allowing her in your home is concerned, I agree with what you have made clear to her. As I’ve said, forgiving is not necessarily equated with trusting. If you’re concerned about not having a close friend, ask God to provide one. He loves His kids, and you are one of His kids.

In His Love,
Dave

Patricia P. – She was stealing my pain medication and once in a while loose change from my change bank. The drugs were the big thing though. I guess I didn’t help though since there a few times when I could see she was in a lot of pain, I’d give her one of my pills. Then, she started asking me for them and I asked her to stop asking and that I shouldn’t have given her any since I short myself. She seemed to understand and said she wouldn’t ask anymore. That’s when I started noticing my supply was dwindling. I actually caught her one day and told her to leave my house and not to come back.

Months later I went to see her and she cried, we talked and she admitted to taking the pills. he apologized up and down and said it would never happen again. Again, I gave her a pill every now and then since I knew she was in pain. She’s been to the emergency room many times for severe neck and back pain, had MRI’s and was told she had serious problems in her neck. She’s never gone to see doctors because she doesn’t have a primary care doctor who could refer her to specialists.

Long story short, she began taking my pills again, and even coming to my house when I wasn’t home and using my back door to get in. I caught her again and this time just had to make a final break and not see her anymore. I still miss her company a lot but have to get over it. I pray for her a lot and ask God if I’m doing the right thing. She was beginning to come to church with me and we talked about reading the Bible. She knows I read mine every day and she started asking me questions. I’m sad about not being able to bring her to church anymore but if I do that, I’ll start things up all over again and I just can’t do that. I tried to get her to go to a doctor and get some help with her pain but she doesn’t want to spend the money. I guess it’s her choice. I have forgiven her but can’t be around her anymore.

Dave – If she is willing to go to church with you, and if she is asking questions about our faith, I suggest going to your pastor and see if he could organize some folks to give money for your friend’s doctor appointment. If money is collected for her, I would not give her the cash. Someone can hold it for her, go with her to the appointment, and pay the doctor for her. This would be a good witness to the love and care Christians have for others. It also may cause your friend to come to church more and read the Bible for herself. Our church has a separate fund for these kinds of cases, maybe yours does too. It’s worth finding out.

Q & A: Why Faith Works

October 5, 2017 / dscheer / 0 Comments

Chris L – Why would our eternal future be determined by some choice we make during our human lifetime based on this thing we call faith? Wouldn’t it make more sense for God to just say, after we die, ‘here’s the deal, you can accept Me and My Son’s sacrifice and live forever with us or choose your own path which leads to Hell.’ I know we might say ‘that is the choice we have here!’ but why not make it even clearer? Why not have Jesus stick around and actually speak to everyone after he rose from the dead? I wonder why it takes Faith at all – why would a loving God require faith? If people don’t want to accept God, fine, but why even put an element of ‘faith’ that counters ‘doubt’ in there? Why not eliminate doubt?

Dave – I believe that faith is the only way God could use to prevent forcing souls to obey Him. Once doubt is eliminated, obedience to God is forced. Love does not demand (force) its own way (1 Cor. 13:5). He uses faith to separate the sheep from the goats. God knows that faith makes up for sin and disobedience perhaps because it is the antithesis of sinning. For example, Adam and Eve sinned because they did not trust (believe in) God’s Word. If they did, they never would have eaten from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Now one may argue that Lucifer and the fallen angels saw God therefore eliminating any doubt about His existence, so why not afford that same “luxury” to humans? I think the answer ties in with something deeper God had to accomplish in order to banish evil forever. For example, if He simply created more angels to replace the fallen ones, they too could at some time in eternity fall. God did not want any more “falling.” He wanted a perfect Bride for His Son (Himself) and wanted to banish evil forever. One that would be faithful forever to Him and Him to “her.” So He decided to create beings that were a little lower than the angels, allowing them to fall in order to perfect His love by His great demonstration on the Cross. Because of what he accomplished (and this gets pretty deep), He “figured out” a way to banish evil forever. It will never raise its ugly head again! Now one can ask, “Why then did God allow evil to exist at all?” My only attempt at this tough question is to say that when Good exists (and God is ever existing Good), the concept of “not good” must be in existence at the same “time.” God therefore allowed the concept of evil to become reality in order to conquer it. Therefore, God’s Plan was to eradicate the reality of “not good” forever. So the concept of evil will always exist but now it has no power or authority to become a reality again. Hence, we now have the Kingdom of God among us! Just my thoughts. It all could be as wrong as predicting the NY Yankees will win the next World Series. 🙂

Chris L – Wow, insightful responses very quickly given, thanks! I’ve always wondered something like that regarding your answer to the last question. I once thought out-loud something along those lines to a leader in campus crusade, who didn’t think God would be involved in intending ‘the fall’ in that manner, but I tend to agree with you. I’m interested to see what people have to say (if anything). I might be able to have time to further comment later, but it’s clear to me you got where I was going with my rambling questions!

I still struggle with ‘belief” question, as in what that really means. And it ties into my ‘why have faith’ issue. If it’s just a matter of accepting you need help, it still bothers me that God would make there be some possibility of doubt. There is like an inkling of unfairness that arises in my mind when I wonder if there are any honest non-Christians who would ‘believe’ if simply given a bit more evidence. Maybe they are just all in self-deception, but then why would it be important for us to minister to them if they already have all the info they need to believe?

Dave – Regarding your statement that some would believe if just given more evidence – according to Luke 16:31 this is not a safe assumption. This describes the condemned rich man’s plea to return from the dead so he could tell his 5 brothers about what happens after death. But Jesus said if they don’t listen to Moses (first 5 OT Books) then they will not listen to someone back from the dead (probably alluding to Himself at this point).

Regarding your “honest” non-Christians who would believe if given a bit more evidence…God says to seek so we can find. If they are open (honest), they should be compelled to seek to find God. If they do this with good intent, then God will reveal Himself to them (John 7:17). He will grant them repentance (2 Tim.2:25), remove the veil (2 Cor.3:16), and get them saved. Shame on any human who does not seek their Creator. Simply seeking truth does not necessarily cut it because motivations may be askew. This is covered in that John 7:17 passage cited above. So I am still a bit confused at your “inkling of unfairness.”

Chris L – That’s a good point. I’m just thinking of some people I know who may not fully believe but don’t see the need to dive into the Bible – or those people who say that they would like to believe but just don’t. I can say that ‘well, you must not be honestly searching for Him, because if you did, you would find Him,’ but that’s so difficult to say when I am not in their shoes. Or maybe it’s not if it’s a truth stated in the Bible, I don’t know…

Dave – Regarding those people you described as not fully believing and see no need to dive into the Bible: God declares in Psalms 40:7-8, “Behold, I come in the volume of the book…I delight to do your will.” To me, this means that people who are not interested in delving into the Bible, God’s Word, then they really are not interested in learning about Him or following His lead in this life (allowing Him to be the Boss). Their non action speaks louder than words, according to my take on Scripture.

Feedback:

Chris L – Yeah, there must be some fundamental reason for allowing evil/faith/doubt. Even with Adam and Eve, God could have cut the serpent’s conversation short, stepped in and said ‘listen, he’s telling you a lie…’ But He didn’t – He allowed that tree to be there, and even more importantly, apparently allowed temptation and doubt to exist, even in Paradise. There seems to be a reason God permits this to exist, and maybe it does have something to do with the question of free will, that the only way He can change us for the better but still have a relationship with us in which we choose to accept Him is to be able to create alternatives to following Him that have real temptation. But even that feels odd…almost like some slight of hand – holding back His full reality in a manner that allows evil a great impact on so many things (and people’s eternal souls?)…I don’t know…still working it out, but I think you must be pointing towards the answer, thanks!

Dave – But I still maintain that this set up by God was the only way He could exterminate the reality of evil forever.

NF – Very Interesting lesson–but don’t like that NY Yankees comment–only the good Lord know if my NY Yankees will win it all next year!!:}

Dave – Alas, what can I do about these Yankee fans?!

GR – Dave, respectfully regarding your statement about Adam and Eve sinned because they did not believe in God’s word. I disagree, I believe in God’s Word and I commit sin all the time. It is man’s nature to sin, thereby the world’s sin problem. Jesus dies for us to cover our sin.

Dave – Yes, I agree that it is our nature to sin so we do know we sin when we do. In the beginning, however, Adam and Eve did NOT have that sinful nature when they failed to heed and thus obey God’s Word. That evil nature came after they sinned. God did not create mankind with an evil nature.

Q & A: Iniquity

October 5, 2017 / dscheer / 0 Comments

Cindi L – Isaiah 53:5 …wounded for our transgressions (sin-direct violation of law)…bruised for our iniquities (propensity or bentness toward wrong)…chastisement of our peace was upon Him …with his stripes we are healed (this healed means PHYSICAL HEALING-cross references + root word).

Can you give more exposition on iniquity and in this case it is plural iniquities in this Scripture? (vs sin) and why bruising (vs death) might be relevant to understanding what we were set free of….

Dave – I think iniquity is having the inclination to sin because we are slaves to sin as you have already stated. So a new born baby would not be guilty of sin yet, but would still have the iniquity inside from Adam’s curse. It will be simply a matter of time for the child’s first actual sin which would include inner wrong desires as well as overt action. In Is. 53:5, “iniquity” is plural perhaps because it refers to all human evil tendencies.

Second question – Physical healing is put right in the midst of this, going along with the benefits we have all received of His redemptive work on the cross for us. This is NOT always manifested as readily as the other spiritual attributes (faith based-experiencing forgiveness, salvation, baptism of Holy Spirit) can be. Why? Or perhaps I should ask why you think it is put in there as though it was immediate upon salvation?

Feedback:

Gary R – Nice job. Thanks for the analysis.

Pat T – “Healing” spoken here I believe means that we can function at our highest level possible in God’s will (including the physical). There is without a doubt much controversy that surrounds healing in the church today and the interpretation of this scripture and likewise the one in James 5. Having a disabled wife for over 20 yrs. who died from her disability (MS) and working among the disabled for more than 25 yrs has brought me to struggle with these healing messages in both the scriptures and the church. I have witnessed far to often many well-meaning Christians burdened many who were disabled (including my wife and myself) saying that if one has enough faith they will be healed–including the so called “word of knowledge” people on the 700 Club. It amazes me that no one has ever “seen” an amputated limb miraculously appear or a Down Syndrome child suddenly become normal or cancerous breasts that have been removed suddenly appear again all healthy. The list can go on and on. It is very cruel to see someone with Cerebral Palsy think they can be made physically normal like everyone else because someone told them so. It grieves me that so many believe that God is some kind of magic machine who will restore all who believe if they just believe enough and claim a healing. My question is, all those who have earnestly prayed for healing believing that it is God’s will to heal them yet died anyway, did they die out of God’s will?

Dave to PT – Die out of God’s will in that case? This is impossible for humans to judge. Hebrews 9:27 states that we are “appointed to die once.” The word “appointed” may simply mean that we all will die due to the fact that we all have sinned. I do like the word “once” because it totally shoots down the eastern religion notion of reincarnation. This verse may or may not mean that God has fixed a certain time in history that individuals MUST die. In any case, God has not given man the ability to know all these things.

Cindi L – I so totally agree with Pat T. I hope you will express to him for me. That is even the reason I brought it up, but it’s such a tough (not understood like I’d like to) scripture for me.

Feedback on physical healing:

Marsha H (10/7/13) – Hi Dave, wow…does this touch my heart. Sometimes I wonder if it is a matter of faith.. I often pray, ” Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” After [my husband] Dan died from complications which developed from MS…despite all the prophesy and words spoken over him for healing, and then when Jody and Josh (his two children) were diagnosed with the disease, I continue to seek the scriptures and hold on to His promises. No matter what, we have to trust God. Recently, I have heard of some miraculous deeds! Chris O’Reilly prayed over a baby born dead who came back to life; prayed for a breech baby to turn, and she turned. Last week, Julie encountered a woman carrying a lifeless baby out of her apartment and screaming for help. She ran over and declares that the Lord just showed her what to do. She began hitting the baby on the back and telling the spirit of death to release the baby in Jesus name and commanded life to return. The baby is alive today because our wonderful Lord gives us wisdom and sometimes uses us to be His hands and feet on the Earth today. Why some are healed and some are not …I am resolved in believing it is God’s business. I will just continue to “knock” and claim promises for my children, until He comes. One thing is for sure…”He never leaves us or forsakes us!” Thanks for letting me spout off…:)

Dave to Marsha – Dearest sister in Christ, you’ve got all the right attitude when answers to tough questions will not be answered. God bless. Great to hear from you again!

Scripture Thoughts

Author: dscheer (page 26 of 33)

How Do We Know We’ve Really Forgiven Someone?

Q & A: Why Faith Works

Q & A: Iniquity

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