Pastor Andy · 16 August 2026
Sermon — "The Basis of Forgiveness"
Drawing from Ephesians 4:29-32, Colossians 3:12-14, Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 7:36-50, Romans 5:8, 1 John 1:9, Micah 7:18-19, Psalm 103:10-12, Isaiah 43:25, Hebrews 8:12, John 8:1-11, and 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, the key themes were:
What forgiveness is NOT — the pastor opened by clearing away common misunderstandings:
Forgiveness is not excusing the offence — it does not say "what you did was okay."
Forgiveness is not forgetting — the memory may remain, but the sting and the weapon are removed.
Forgiveness is not reconciliation — you can forgive someone without restoring the relationship, especially where abuse or danger is present.
Forgiveness is not a feeling — it is a decision, an act of the will, made independent of emotion.
Forgiveness is not weakness — it requires more strength and courage than holding onto bitterness.
Forgiveness is not conditional on the offender's repentance — you forgive because God commands it, regardless of whether the other person ever says sorry.
What forgiveness IS — from Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." And Colossians 3:13: "Bearing with one another and forgiving one another; if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." Forgiveness is a deliberate choice to release someone from the debt they owe you — to cancel the record of wrong — based on what Christ has already done for us.
The parable of the two debtors — from Luke 7:36-50, Jesus was dining at the home of Simon the Pharisee when a sinful woman came in, wept at His feet, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive perfume. Simon was offended. Jesus told the
parable of two men — one who owed 500 denarii and one who owed 50 — both forgiven by their creditor. He asked: "Which of them will love him more?" Simon answered: "The one who was forgiven more." Jesus replied: "You have judged correctly." The pastor applied this: the more you understand how much God has forgiven you, the more natural it becomes to forgive others.
God forgave us while we were still sinners — from Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God did not wait for us to get our act together. He did not wait for our apology. He extended forgiveness while we were at our worst. This is the model — not forgiveness contingent on the other person deserving it, but forgiveness rooted in grace.
God removes our sin completely — from Micah 7:18-19: "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?... You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." From Psalm 103:10-12: "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." From Isaiah 43:25: "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." And Hebrews 8:12: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." The pastor declared: this is what true forgiveness looks like — complete removal, not just management.
The woman caught in adultery — from John 8:1-11, the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and demanded she be stoned according to the Law. Jesus stooped and wrote on the ground. Then He said: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." One by one they left. Jesus said to her: "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said: "No one, Lord." And Jesus said: "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." The pastor challenged: Jesus did not excuse the sin — He said "go and sin no more." But He chose not to condemn. This is the model: accountability without condemnation.
We are ministers of reconciliation — from 2 Corinthians 5:17-19: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." The pastor declared: God has not called us to walk around carrying a list of people's offences. He has called us to be carriers of reconciliation — mirrors of what God has done for us.
The process of forgiving from the heart — the pastor walked through Dr. Bruce Wilkinson's practical steps for forgiving someone from the heart:
Identify who has hurt you and what they did.
Acknowledge the pain honestly before God — don't minimise it.
Choose to forgive — say it out loud: "I choose to forgive [name] for [what they did]."
Release them from the debt — say: "I cancel the debt. I will not hold this against them."
Hand it to God — place the offence in His hands and trust Him to be the righteous judge.
Repeat when the memory returns — because it will return. Each time, declare: "This is forgiven. I have already released this."
Forgiveness sets you free — the pastor closed with a personal declaration: the moment you truly forgive — not with words only but from the deepest part of your heart — something breaks in the spirit realm. Chains fall. The torturer loses his legal right. Joy returns. Peace returns. The Holy Spirit moves freely again. He challenged the congregation: "Who are you still holding in prison tonight? Because while you are holding them — you are the one who cannot move."