Matthew 18:34-35: In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart .
To recognize what forgiveness is and what is not, and to learn how to forgive from the heart.
知道什麽是饒恕,什麽不是,並且學習如何從內心深處饒恕。
Focus Truth
重點真理
In order to experience our freedom in Christ, we need to relate to other people in the same way that God relates to us--- on the basis of complete forgiveness and acceptance.
為了經曆在基督裏的自由,我們需要向上帝對待我們一樣去對待別人---在完全的饒恕和接受的基礎上相處。
Welcome
歡迎
Read Matthew 18: 21-25 or act it out using the script on page 72. Then try to put yourself in the place of one of the characters and say what strikes you most about the story.
Suggested theme: God’ forgiveness of us (Psalm 103:1-12; Hebrews 10:19-22).
建議的主題:神對我們的饒恕。(詩篇103章1-12節,希伯來書10章19-22節)
Word
道
The Need to Forgive
饒恕的需要
“If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him.And what I have forgiven --- if there was anything to forgive--- I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us.For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11).
Nothing keeps you in bondage to the past more than an unwillingness to forgive.Nothing gives Satan greater opportunity to stop a church growing than roots of bitterness, the evidence of personal unforgiveness, and pride.
We must learn to relate to others on the same basis that God relates to us.
我們必須學會向上帝待我們一樣對待別人。
It Is Essential for Our Freedom (Matthew 18:21-35)
饒恕對我們自己的自由至關重要(馬太福音18章21-35節)
We need to understand the extent of our own debt.Those who have been forgiven much love much.Those who have been forgiven little love little.
我們需要明白我們自己欠債的程度。得到饒恕多的也要饒恕別人多,得到饒恕少的饒恕別人也少。
Pause for thought 1
思考問題1
Do you sometimes feel that your sins weren’t“ that bad” compared to others’?
How much have you been forgiven?Little or much?
你是否有時這麽想:你的罪比起別人的還不算太糟?
你得到了多少饒恕,很少還是很多?
Repayment is impossible
Mercy is required
So that no advantage can be taken of you (2 Corinthians 2: 10-11)
還債是不可能的,憐憫是需要的,好不叫撒旦利用了你。(哥林多後書2 章10-11節)
What Does It Mean to Forgive From The Heart?
什麽是從內心裏饒恕?
Jesus warns that, if you do not forgive from your heart, you will suffer some kind of spiritual torment.
We recommend a formular: “ Lord, I choose to forgive (name)_______ For (specifically identify every remembered pain and hurt inflicted on you)________________, which made me feel____________”.
Forgiveness must be extended to others (Ephesians 4:31-32).However, the crisis is only between God and us.
It is for our sake that we forgive.“But you don’t know how much that hurt me.”Don’t you see that they are still hurting you?How do you stop the pain?By forgiving.
We think that by forgiving someone we let them off the hook--- but by not forgiving them we stay hooked to the pain and the past.
Naturally speaking, none of us would want to remember past hurts.Is it necessary to do so in order genuinely to forgive?Do you agree that the crisis of forgiveness is between you and God rather than between you and the other person?Does it feel like that?
Who continues to feel pain when there is no forgiveness: the offender or the offended?
You can’t get rid of a hurt simply by trying to forget it.
你不能單靠忘記它而擺脫掉傷害。
Not Tolerating Sin
不容忍罪
Not Seeking Revenge
不尋求報複
“ Do not take revenge, me friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written:‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
Everybody is living with the consequences of somebody else’s sin.The only real choice we have is to do that in the bondage of bitterness or the freedom of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is to set a captive free and then realize that you were the captive.
How has this session changed your view of what forgiveness is or is not?
Next time someone offends you, will you be quicker to forgive? Why/why not?
這一課如何改變了你關於什麽是饒恕什麽不是的看法?
下一次某人傷害了你,你會很快地饒恕麽? 為什麽/為什麽不?
Witness
見證
How might this question of forgiveness challenge someone who is not yet a Christian? Are there any ways you can demonstrate forgiveness to someone who does not yet know the Lord?
2.Do you sometimes feel that your sins weren’t “ that bad” compared to others?
3.Naturally speaking, none of us would want to remember past hurts.Is it necessary to do so in order to truly forgive?
4.Do you agree that the crisis of forgiveness is between you and God rather than between you and the other person?Does it feel like that?
5.Who continues to feel pain when there is no forgiveness:the offender or the offended?
6.How has this session changed your view of what forgiveness is or is not?
7.Next time someone offends you, will you be quicker to forgive? Why/why not?
1.你得到了多少饒恕,很少還是很多?
2.你是否有時認為,你的罪和別人比起來不怎麽大?
3.一般來說,我們都不想記住過去的傷害。為了真正饒恕,是不是有必要回憶它?
4.你是否認為饒恕的危機發生在你和上帝之間,而不是你和另外一個人之間? 感覺是否如此?
5.當不饒恕時,誰繼續感受傷害的痛苦,傷害人者還是被傷害者?
6.這一課如何幫助你改變了關於什麽是饒恕什麽不是的看法?
7.下一次某人傷害了你,你是否要更快地饒恕,為什麽/為什麽不?
To take away
帶回家的問題
Suggestions For Your Quiet Times This Week:
建議你在本周安靜的時間作以下事情:
Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart by leading you into all truth and starting to reveal to you the areas you will need to bring into the light when you go through “The Steps To Freedom In Christ.”
Peter:Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?Up to seven times?
主啊,我弟兄得罪我,我當饒恕他幾次呢? 到七次可以嗎?
Jesus:I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.As he began the settlement, a man who owned him ten thousand talents was brought to him.Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
Servant 1:Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything.
主啊,寬容我,將來我都要還清!
Jesus:The servant’s master took pity on him cancelled the debt and let him go.But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owned him a hundred denarii.He grabbed him and began to choke him.
Jesus:His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him:
他的仆人朋友跪下來求他
Servant 2:Be patient with me, and I will pay back.
寬容我吧,我會還清!
Jesus:But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Master:You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?
你這惡奴才!我把你所欠的債都免了,因為你求我免。你不應當憐憫你的同伴,像我憐憫你嗎?
Jesus:In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
主人大怒,把他交給掌刑的,等他還清了所欠的債。
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.
這就是我天父要對你們做的,除非你們從心裏饒恕你們的弟兄。
Steps to Forgiveness
饒恕的步驟
1.Ask the Lord to Reveal to Your Mind the People You need to Forgive
1.求主向你的頭腦揭示你需要饒恕哪些人
Make a list of everyone the Lord brings to your mind.Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and write the names on a separate piece of paper. Even if you think there is no one, just ask God to bring up all the right names.
Only God can forgive your sins --- but for many people, especially perfectionists, the hardest person for them to forgive is themselves, for letting themselves down.You are in effect accepting God’s forgiveness and refusing to listen to the devil’s accusations.Some people are really helped by being able to say, “I forgive myself for (list everything you hold against yourself), and let myself off my own hook.”
Forgiving God is harder to understand because God has done nothing wrong.He always acted in your best interests.
Because you have not understood God’s larger plan, or because you have blamed God for something that other people or the devil have done, you may have felt that God has let you down.
Many people feel disappointed with God, even angry with Him, because He didn’t answer their prayer; He didn’t seem to be there for them.They cried out for help and nothing came.Usually they are embarrassed to admit it.But God knows anyway and He’s big enough to handle it.
Jesus instructed us to forgive from the heart.That’s much more than simply saying “ I forgive” and pretending we’ve dealt with it.To forgive from the heart we need to face the hurt and the hate.People try to suppress their emotional pain, but it is trying to surface so that we can let it go.
The cross is what makes forgiveness legally and morally right.
十字架使得饒恕合法並合乎道德正義
Jesus has already taken upon Himself your sin and the sins of the person who has hurt you.He died “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).When your heart says, “It isn’t fair”, remember that the justice is in the cross.
That doesn’t mean you never testify in a court of law --- However, you do it not in the bitterness of unforgiveness but having first forgiven from your heart.
Forgiveness is a crisis of the will.If you wait until you feel like doing it, you probably never will.
You may feel you can’t do it--- but would God really tell you to do something you couldn’t do?When he says that you can do all things in Christ, is that true or not?The reality is that you have a choice to make --- are you going to remain in bitterness, hooked to the past, giving the enemy an entrance to your mind; or are you going to get rid of it once and for all?
You choose to forgive, and in making that choice you are agreeing to live with sin and its consequences.You are choosing to let God be the avenger, and trust Him to bring justice in the end.You choose to take it to the cross and leave it there.
The gates of hell can’t prevail against the kingdom of God.There is nobody out there keeping you from being the person that God created you to be.The only one that can do that is you.You need to forgive, be merciful and love as Christ has loved you.Let that person go; get on with your life; walk away free in Christ.
To forgive from your heat, say:” Lord, I choose to forgive my father” and then specify what you are forgiving him for.Stay with the same person until you told the Lord every pain and hurt that has surfaced and be as specific as you can.It is then helpful to take it a step further and say how it made you feel: “ I choose to forgive my father for leaving us, which made me feel abandoned.”
Tears will often come at this point, but this is not about trying to get somebody to cry.It’s making sure that it’s as thorough as possible.One lady said, “I can’t forgive my mother.I hate her.”Having recognized her real feelings of hatred, now for the first time she probably could forgive--- if she didn’t admit that she hate her, she couldn’t forgive.
Pray as follows for each person you need to forgive: “Lord, I choose to forgive (name of the person) for (what they have done or failed to do), which made me feel (verbally tell the Lord every hurt and pain He brings to your mind)”.
Take careful note of what is said after the statement “which made me fell”.What often occurs is repeated patterns (eg “abandoned”, “stupid”, “dirty”).You can tear down those strongholds by saying, for example: “ I renounce the lie that I am stupid.I announce the truth that I have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16); “I renounce the lie that I am abandoned.I announce the truth that God has promised never to leave me nor forsake me”(Hebrews13:5).We will look at a specific strategy for doing this in Session 10.There is space on page 78 for you to write down what comes up.
You are now free from those people and those events in the past.
你現在從過去那些人和事的束縛當中解脫了。
8.Do not Expect that Your Decision to Forgive Will Result in Major Changes in Others
8。不要指望你饒恕他人的決定必然會使他人發生巨大變化
Forgiving others is primarily about you and your relationship with God. Pray for those you have forgiven, that they may be blessed and that they too may find the freedom of forgiveness( see Matthew 5:44; 2 Corinthians 2:7).
You may find it helpful to understand some of what the other person was going through, but don’t go so far as to rationalize away the sin—this is not about saying “It didn’t matter”, because it did.
Forgiveness is not about feeling good; it’s about being free.However, good feelings will follow eventually.You will need to concentrate on renewing your mind so that negative ways of thinking are replaced by the truth.
11.Thank God for the Lessons You have Learned and the Maturity You have Gained
11.為你學到的真理和你獲得的成熟感謝神
You are now free to move on and grow as a Christian.
你現在可以自由前行,做一個生命成長的基督徒了。
12.Accept Your Part of the Blame for the Offences you Suffered
12 對於你過去經受的得罪,接受你該受的那部分責備
Confess your part in any sin and know that you are forgiven.If you realize that someone has something against you, go to them and be reconciled.Confess your own wrongdoing rather than bringing up anything they did.
As you go through Step 3(Forgiveness) of the Steps to Freedom In Christ, you are encouraged to pray as follows for each person you need to forgive: “Lord, I choose to forgive (name of the person) for ( what they did or failed to do), which made me feel (Verbally tell the Lord every hurt and pain He brings to your mind)”.