God doe not command our feelings. He commands our choices. He commands acts of the will. Much of the time our emotions, our feelings are things that happen to us not things that we do. That’s why I say that God does not command our feelings. We human beings do not really have control of our feelings. Now we most certainly have control over what we do with our feelings.
God does not command me not to become angry. But he does command me not to lash our violently or with hateful words at someone with whom I am angry.
God does command us to forgive those who hurt us. When he issues that command, he is not commanding us to feel in some particular way. He is commanding us to choose to do something. That is the issue I lay out in this sermon. Forgiving is something you do regardless of how you feel about it. Forgiveness (like love) is first and foremost something you do, not necessarily something that you feel.
First, read Matthew 6: 5-15 and Colossians 3:12-17.
Then listen to “Choosing to Forgive.”
©2012 Gary A. Chorpenning; all rights reserved.
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- Sermon #19 – Forgiven Forgivers – Matthew 18:21-35 & Colossians 3:12-17 (gachorpenning.wordpress.com)
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