One of the things that we're supposed to do as Christians is to resemble the life of Christ.
And if you look at the life that he lived and the way that he died, it's just very powerful.
And the fact that he forgave people, even until his last breath, he was just forgiving people,
forgiving people, forgiving people. You know, even the people that nailed him to the cross,
even the people that were spitting on him, the people who gave him vinegar to drink,
the people that put the crown of thorns in his head, the Bible says that Jesus died for them.
And as they whipped him, it got to a point where you couldn't even tell that Jesus was human.
The Bible says you couldn't even tell that he was a man.
And despite all of these things that happened to him, despite all of these beatings and the spittings
and these horrible, torturous things that were done to Christ, the very last thing that he prayed
was, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
The Lord said that these people don't even know what they're doing. They're crucifying me wrongfully.
They're nailing me to this cross wrongfully. They are torturing me wrongfully, yet I hope that they
get forgiven. I hope that they come to know the Lord God. And that was how Jesus's life was ended.
He didn't end as a famous person in a good way. He didn't end his life in a wonderful state.
He ended his life not bitter and in one of the most difficult ways that you could ever possibly imagine.
Crucifixion. Such a sad way for our Savior to be treated. His life was ended by people who hated him,
crucified him, and scourged him on that cross. And so, to me, I think that the power of this story
should be shared with people. That the ultimate power of God that can be seen through forgiveness.
It's such a powerful thing that Jesus, despite all of these terrible things that happened to him,
he still turned around and said, you know what? I really hope that these people get saved. I really hope
that they come to know the Lord as their Savior. I've met people that have committed suicide in
their life because they couldn't let go of some emotional hurt or somebody that wronged them
mentally and emotionally, and so they just took their own life because of the pain that they were
experiencing. But let me tell you that if you forgive people that wrong you, if you let go of
the problems that you've had in your past and you let go, the Bible says, forgetting those things
which are behind and pressing on toward the mark and the high calling which is in Christ Jesus.
If you press forward and you forget the things that are behind, you can have healing in your life.
You can experience emotional restoration. There really is such power in forgiveness.
You know, you may not want to forgive somebody that might have cheated you in the past or done
something to really hurt you. Let's say they talked bad about you. Somebody talked smack
about you behind your back. Maybe it was a friend that you've had for years that has talked smack
about you and that maybe even one day just turned on you. I've heard of that happening with people
where a friend that they had or a relative even just completely cut them off, and I think that
the best way once again to heal from these things is through forgiveness and through the power of
his cross. You see, if we follow the way that Jesus lived, if we do things the way that Jesus
did them, we can really reach a lost and dying generation. They'll know that we're Christians
by our love. You know, the Bible says that be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted. You should
have a tender heart towards people. Even forgive those who would wish for our deaths, right?
There are people out there who would love nothing more than for me to be dead or for you to be dead
as a Christian, and I think that the best way to look at them is looking at them like the
Apostle Paul, for example. Saul, who is called Paul, I'm sure you remember the story. Saul,
Paul, persecuted the church before he became a Christian. The Bible says that he would kill
Christians. He physically pulled them out of their houses where they were meeting at,
and he brutally murdered Christians. But yet the Bible tells us that God got a hold of Paul's life.
God made Paul into one of the most famous Christians and one of the most beloved apostles
of all time. And it's really because people were forgiving with Paul, but not only that,
God forgave Paul. Despite being attacked by this man and some Christians even murdered by him,
this man became a brother to the people who he really despised and hated so much.
And there might be people out there who hate you. There might be people out there, like I said,
that would want you dead. You should pray. Really think about this. You should pray
that those people would come to know Jesus as their Savior, that they would turn from trusting
their dead works and rely on his cross, his death, burial, and resurrection to get them to heaven,
the gospel of Christ. That's what you should, that's the attitude that we should have towards
people that are lost, that are bitter, that are dying, and on their way to a Christless hell.
I think that the way that we can reach people is by taking Bible approaches and Bible methods
and using them. You know, Jesus died for the sins of every man, woman, and child, and he desires
that none would perish but that all should come to repentance. And sure, is the wrath of God on
some people? Are some people never going to be saved? Absolutely. But I think that it's important
to treat people the way that God treated them when he was on the cross, when he was breathing
his last breath. And I even think back to the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas would betray
Jesus. The very first thing that Jesus said to Judas was, friend. He called Judas a friend.
He said, friend, wherefore art thou come? Where did she come from, friend?
If Jesus could call Judas a friend, that shows me that we should be friendly with those who
have even walked with us for years and have turned around and stabbed us in the back. We should refer
to them as friend. We should be friendly with people and we should love one another even as
Christ loved us. Jesus told the apostles before he died, he said that, you know, a new commandment
that I'm giving you is that you love one another as I have loved you.
You know, the Bible says that greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends. That's the greatest love that anybody could ever have.
The apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians, he ended up becoming
one of the greatest Christians of all time. And he was, in the beginning, a murderer
of people in the church. He brutally, like I said, brutally murdered people.
So
so