Life is too short to live with a burden of hatred. I have heard countless stories of people so filled with hatred, because they couldn't forgive, that they became monsters! Case in point was a 79 year old man in Belgian named Louis Dethy, a retired career engineer. Louis hated his family for abandoning him, so much so that he rigged 19 deadly booby-traps to murder them! Ironically, Mr. Dethy was killed by one of his own booby-traps. My heart was grieved as I heard that story in the news. The Sydney Morning Herald reported...
“Relatives said he [Louis Dethy] never forgave his wife for divorcing him, or his 14 children and 37 grandchildren for having little to do with him. His bitterness grew into a desire for revenge when even his mother became estranged from him.” —Family Murder Plan BackfiresMy former wife also abandoned and divorced me in 2006, and most of my adult children want nothing to do with me, and I have grandchildren I'll never meet; but I love them and could never hate them. I love my family because I love God! I can't even imagine hating them, let alone setting traps to murder them. JESUS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!!! Pastor Jack Hyles' own daughter has slandered her father all over the internet, unjustly calling him a cult leader, thief and an adulterer. What saith the Scripture? Matthew 10:36, “And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.” Dr. Hyles wisely said:
“I believe any man in this world, can love any other man in this world, if he thinks right! The reason you hate is because you think hate. The reason you love is because you think love.” —Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from the excellent MP3 sermon, “What The Law Could Not Do” (July 5, 1987 - First Baptist Church of Hammond, PM service).God's children are taught to forgive, just as we have been forgiven by our heavenly Father for Christ's sake, on the basis of the precious blood that He shed for our sins...
Ephesians 4:30-32, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”It has not been too difficult for me to forgive those who have hurt me in life, because of my Christian faith. Since I believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God, I just let everything go into God's hands, laying every burden at Jesus' precious feet. For those who have done evil against me during my lifetime, God WILL deal with them. I have God's PROMISE on it, which makes it easy for me to forgive. Essentially, forgiveness is letting an offence go into God's hands for judgment, trusting that He will avenge that wrong in eternity as He hath so promised. You have God's Word on it my friend...
Romans 12:17-21, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”Louis Dethy let evil overcome him, but by God's grace I am overcoming evil with good. That is what God commands me to do as His child. I am excited about serving God. I love when I go to church. I enjoy being around other Christians. I am zealous about the inspiration of the King James Bible and the clarity of the Gospel. I look for opportunities to help people. I receive joy as I “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3b). I am excited about the things of God!!! I don't have time to sulk and wallow in self pity, there's a world dying and going to Hell, that needs to hear the Gospel.
The Lord Himself taught that if we forgive others, we will be forgiven; but if we refuse to forgive others, then neither will God forgive us. ...
Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”This passage is not talking about salvation. The only basis upon which a lost sinner can be justified with God is the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 9; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). Only a born-again saint can call God our “heavenly Father.” I heard Evangelist Ravi Zacharias addressing unsaved Mormon in Salt Lake City in 2014 as “our heavenly Father.” No, that is blatant heresy and very wrong! Ravi ought not have misled those unsaved Mormons to feel saved, because they are as lost as a moose in a caboose! How can you expect to win lost sinners to the Lord, unless you first convince them that they are lost?
Matthew 6:14-15 is speaking to Christians. If we do not forgive one another, then we will be judged by the Lord at the Judgment Seat Of Christ. 1st Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” My faith makes it easier for me to forgive others, because I know everyone must give account to God. No one ever gets away with anything. Romans 14:10-12, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
It is not my place to judge others who sin. Vengeance belongs to God alone. That is why Joseph could so easily forgive his half-brothers who caused him to be sold into slavery. Genesis 50:19-20, “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” The Scripture warns that men will be held accountable even for their words. Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” So trust God, letting go of any unresolved hatred or bitterness in your soul, and I guarantee you'll feel like a whole new person! Trust God to make everything right in eternity, as He has so promised (Romans 8:28; Revelation 21:4).
“The mark of the child of God is that he loves everybody!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “FORGIVENESS”
