Colossians 3:13

forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have. complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:

'FORBEARING' -430. anechomai an-ekh'-om-ahee; middle voice from 303 and 2192; to hold oneself up against, i.e. (figuratively) put up with: -bear with, endure, forbear, suffer.

'ONE ANOTHER' -other Christians. And this is mutual. Lest one think that all the forbearing will be on their part, let us remember that we probably do things that irritate others too! Somebody is probably being very patient with us.

'FORGIVING EACH OTHER' -Which infers that sins, misunderstandings, slights, etc.. will happen between Christians (Matthew 5:23; Matthew 18:15)

Points to Note:

1. If we insist on perfection in the Church, we will be frustrated. This verses admit that problems will always pop up. No congregation will ever be free from things which have the potential to cause division and or hard feelings. The only way to prevent division in the body, is if each member of the body is resolved to apply these passages.

2. Obviously, God expects the person seeking forgiveness to repent (Luke 17:3).

'IF ANY MAN HAVE. COMPLAINT AGAINST ANY' -God knows that we have the habit of thinking that we have been "really" mistreated. God knows that we have the tendency to feel that we have been "wronged"--beyond what anyone else has experienced (Matthew 18:21).

'JUST AS THE LORD FORGAVE YOU, SO ALSO SHOULD YOU' -'the Lord's generosity to you must be the model of yours' (Knox).

Points to Note:

1. 'Just as' means that when we forgive, it needs to be genuine and real. If we really forgave them, then let's be honest. When God forgives us, He doesn't hold any grudges, He doesn't harbor ill-will, and He doesn't act cold and stand-offish. And neither does God place. conditional time period on His forgiveness, i.e. if you lapse back into sin-then. have the right to pull up and hold you accountable for all your previously forgiven failures also.

2. While we need to hold people accountable and stress that repentance must be sincere (2 Corinthians 7:10). Brethren, let's be very careful about requiring people to jump through more hoops to be in our favor than God requires to remain in His favor.

3. We may think of 100 reasons where such instruction wouldn't be practical or in 100 situations where it hasn't supposedly worked before. But the magnitude of God's forgiveness directed to us, demands that we expend every effort to apply this command in our own lives. No price or personal sacrifice is too great to apply this passage, for just remember, no price could be paid to atone for our own sins. Instead of looking for excuses, let's remember our own forgiveness (Matthew 6:14).

4. This thought might help put everything in perspective: Would you rather wrestle with the particulars in trying to forgive your brother properly. Or would you rather wrestle with the fact that God won't forgive you?