Ephesians 4: 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
The above passage says it all, for it calls on us not merely to forgive trespasses occasionally, when it is convenient or easier to do so, but to form the habit of forgiving, on a continuing basis. Habits form the character, whereas occasional practice would not usually tend to cement forgiveness as a way of life.
Thus, if we are to forgive as Christ has forgiven us, we will actually need a few repeat offenders in our lives so as to from the habit of forgiving trespasses. This is not what most individuals would like to hear, for with many of us, the last thing we think we need in our lives right now is a repeat trespasser.
However, as Christians we need to remember that this earth, in its current state is not our home, and the only thing we would take from this world to the next is character, and thus, it should be a forgone conclusion that character building is a cornerstone of the Christian’s everyday experience.
In order for forgiving trespasses to become a habit there are certain things that must be put into place for persons to facilitate it. To begin with, forgiving trespasses and sins is something that persons must decide upon in advance, for if we were to wait for the spur of the moment for it to happen, in most instances we will bungle the golden opportunity.
With the Christian, everything has to do with our decision, and forgiveness is no different. Therefore, in our personal time with God, when we surrender our souls to Him daily, the decision to forgive others should be a part of our petitions for help, so that if and when, the old devil would throw a curve ball at us unexpectedly, we would have already decided, and been strengthened to do the right thing.
Character building is not something that would ever happen by chance, since it takes deliberate decision and well thought out purposes, together with the presence and power of the indwelling Christ in us, for forgiveness to become the staple that it should be. In other words, God wants it to be so engrained in us that persons can expect to be forgiven.
When Christ explained the issue of habitual, repeat forgiveness, He made reference to persons who had concluded that they could expect forgiveness from such and such a person, hence the reason why they kept coming back for more. It’s a troubling thought to know that a repeat offender can expect mercy. Let’s read:
Matthew 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
But the very thought of a repeat offender expecting forgiveness will cause some person’s blood to boil, for the first thing that will usually arise in our minds is that we are being deliberately taken advantage of us, and as such, we will quite often usually preempt forgiveness by deciding up front not to pardon such a person.
At such times, the decision not to forgive could be palpable, since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and like Cain, our countenances may fall, and reveal the hard-heartedness within. To forgive a repeat trespasser, who is expecting to be forgiven multiple times is a very tall order, and it can try our faith and patience to the core at times.
Yet, this is how our heavenly Father forgives us, as day by day, and week after week, and years upon years, we keep coming back to Christ, asking Him to forgive us, in some instances, of the same sin over and over again. So, if God doesn’t get weary neither should we get weary because, just as the habit of forgiving is a part of His character, similarly it can, and should be with us.
Another stumbling block we would encounter when cultivating the habit of forgiving trespasses is that in some instances, we might put a sort of threshold on what we would be willing to forgive. With some folk there are certain red lines, drawn in the sand which must never be crossed, or else!
However, the tendency to set some predetermined limit, or threshold on what we are willing to forgive will effectually prevent us from making forgiveness a habit, for if we have decided to go thus far, and no further, our spiritual growth in that area would be limited to what we have stipulated.
This is not the Bible’s gold standard of forgiveness, for if God does not generally put a threshold neither should we. Now, it is true that a person can commit the unpardonable sin, according to the scriptures, but this is always after repeat offences and repeat forgiveness have been utterly exhausted.
The “Three strikes and you’re out” type of forgiving trespasses is not how God deals with us, and since He is our Great exemplar in all things, we should be willing by His grace, to follow in His footsteps. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 13: 4 Charity suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up.
5 Does not behave itself unseemly, seek not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil.
6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Charity never fails.
Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Another issue that must be taken into consideration when forming the habit of forgiving trespasses, is that it’s always preferable to give the benefit of the doubt. This can be quite difficult to do, without the help of The Holy Spirit for one might think that after several infractions against a particular person, the repeat offender would have gotten the message.
The fact is that in reality, a person might actually be struggling with some issue and they could be having difficulty in correcting their course of action. This is especially true when persons are trying to kick the drug habit, or trying to overcome other addictions.
Kleptomania is one’s inability to resist the urges to steal items which he or she might not actually need, or that may have very little value.
There are several prominent celebrities who suffer from this problem, and even though they are filthy rich, some have been caught stealing petty items as low as seven dollars in value, and, as a result of repeat offences, some of them have been banned from Walmart.
It may be that they are struggling with depression, or some other mental illness which they might be trying to overcome, but whatsoever might be the problem, the habit of forgiving trespasses will give them the benefit of the doubt, even as they might ask for pardon on numerous occasions.
Some persons do fall on numerous occasions on the issue of sexual cravings, and even though they may be genuinely trying to kick the habit, yet for some reason they do stumble over and over again. Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast out seven demons had this problem, as did some of the other righteous in days of yore.
We are not to judge a person’s sincerity if they ask for pardon on numerous occasions, for in our own life experience, we too, most likely have asked God to forgive us several times, and indeed our sincerity might have actually been questionable, yet God did freely forgive.
Forming the habit of forgiving trespasses will take care of repeat offenders, insincerity, and deliberate violations against our persons, once we follow on in Christ’s footsteps, and if we have decided to adopt the Biblical teaching on this matter. Let’s read:
Luke 17: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he trespasses against you seven times in one day, and seven times in one day turns again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.
This leads us to our study for today, in which one of God’s prophets was to be given many lessons in the process of forming the habit of forgiving trespasses. Hosea was instructed by God in this instance to marry a woman who was a whore. Her very life was bound up in pay to play, and therefore adultery was a common occurrence with her.
Lest anyone should take this command by God to the prophet out of context, the Bible specifically says that the instruction was issued so that Hosea would have a firsthand view and experience of the love of God towards backsliding Israel. And, in the process, Hosea would be put into a position where forgiving such a spouse could be quite difficult.
In a person’s own experience of forming the habit of forgiveness, we would discover that there are some trespasses which are much easier to forgive than others. Adultery is one of them, let alone the prospect of multiple infractions by one’s spouse.
Hosea had to face this reality, not only up front, but also on a continuing basis, as he struggled to form the habit of forgiving his wife. Not only did Gomer have multiple relationships outside of her marriage to Hosea, she also had children by her secret lovers, so Hosea was faced with the prospect of having to care for children that were not his.
He vents his frustration at times, and he is tempted to abandon the habit of forgiving trespasses, to the point where he becomes separated from his wife for a time.
But then, the word of The Lord comes to him once more, to take up the mantle of forgiveness, and this time he not only has to forgive his wife, but doing so would actually cost him personally, as he finds himself having to purchase her from sexual slavery into which she had sold herself. A grim prospect indeed. Let’s read:
Hosea 1:2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah.
8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Hosea 2:1 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries….
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
Hosea 3:1 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
Most persons would have thrown in the towel after the first bout of infidelity, especially since in this case, Hosea had given his wife a brand, new start in life. She obviously blew the golden opportunity on several occasions, yet, Hosea was to practice loving and forgiving her over and over again.
Then it reached a climax when he had to purchase her back to himself, with all of the baggage, bruises, and wounds she had incurred. This represents what Jesus did for us on Calvary, for like Gomer, we had multiple transgressions against us, and Christ finally had to pay with His own blood, to purchase us back to Himself.
Therefore, in our own sphere, where we too would be put into positions where we may need to forgive someone multiple times, God encourages us not to be weary of well-doing, for He does not get weary of forgiving us over and over again.
Instead of saying why me, let us step up to the plate and do as Jesus does with us. No one says it will be easy, but like Hosea, we would be strengthened by God to follow in His footsteps.
Only those who have formed the habit of forgiving trespasses will be able to endure the time of trouble such as never was.
The prospect of losing life and property to persons who are bent on doing deliberate harm, would call for characters that do not dwell in revenge or strict justice. But, if we refuse to be trained by God in this matter we will implode under a weight of revenge, for wrongs that will be done to the remnant.
Let us therefore continue to cultivate the habit of forgiving trespasses. We can start with those whom we know have wronged us or we may start with the friends and families with whom we may have had a beef for many years. It is high time for us to move on from those grievances, for if we cling to them, they would only eat us from the inside out.
Instead, let the love of God pervade our hearts, and as we go about our daily duties, and as we interact with persons who may not treat us right from time to time, let us forgive and forget, because doing so will enable us to form the habit of forgiveness, and as we all know, practice makes perfect.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to follow in Christ’s footsteps, for it is the will of God that Christians reflect the radiance of His character, by dealing only in the currency of heaven. Let’s read:
Matthew 6: 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
God Bless!