How Important Is It to Forgive and Bless Our Enemies?
Forgiveness is essential to our relationship with God and brings us into a revelation of favor and blessing.
David Wilkerson emphasizes the critical importance of forgiving and blessing our enemies, as outlined in Romans 12:19. He warns that refusing to forgive leads to greater guilt, a shutdown of God's mercy, and a loss of peace, allowing our persecutors to triumph over us. Wilkerson highlights the need to control our anger and not act on it, as true forgiveness brings glory to God and builds our character. He reminds us of Jesus' command to love our enemies through blessing, doing good, and praying for them, which opens the door to divine favor and blessings.
Text
Paul writes, "Give place unto wrath" (Romans 12:19). He is saying, "Suffer the wrong. Lay it down and move on. Get a life in the Spirit." However, if we refuse to forgive the hurts done to us, we have to face these consequences:
We'll become guiltier than the person who inflicted our wound.
God's mercy and grace toward us will be shut off. Then, as things begin to go wrong in our lives, we won't understand them, because we'll be in disobedience.
Our persecutor's vexations against us will continue to rob us of peace. He'll become the victor, succeeding in giving us a permanent wound.
Because Satan succeeds in driving us to thoughts of revenge, he'll be able to lead us into deadlier sins. And we'll commit transgressions far worse than these.
The writer of Proverbs advises, "The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression" (Proverbs 19:11). In other words, we're to do nothing until our anger has subsided. We're never to make a decision or follow through with any action while we are still angry.
We bring glory to our heavenly Father whenever we overlook hurts and forgive the sins done to us. To do so builds character in us. When we forgive as God forgives, he brings us into a revelation of favor and blessing we have never known.
Jesus commands us to love those that have made themselves our enemies by doing three things:
1. We are to bless them
2. We are to do good to them
3. We are to pray for them
In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Sermon Outline
- The Consequences of Unforgiveness points: - We'll become guiltier than the person who inflicted our wound - God's mercy and grace toward us will be shut off - Our persecutor's vexations against us will continue to rob us of peace
- The Importance of Forgiveness points: - We bring glory to our heavenly Father - Forgiveness builds character in us - Forgiveness brings us into a revelation of favor and blessing
- Jesus' Command to Love Our Enemies points: - We are to bless them - We are to do good to them - We are to pray for them
Key Quotes
“Give place unto wrath (Romans 12:19). He is saying, 'Suffer the wrong. Lay it down and move on. Get a life in the Spirit.'” — David Wilkerson
“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression (Proverbs 19:11)” — David Wilkerson
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44)” — David Wilkerson
Application Points
- We should never make a decision or follow through with any action while we are still angry.
- Forgiveness builds character in us and brings us into a revelation of favor and blessing.
- We should choose to bless, do good to, and pray for those who have made themselves our enemies.