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.
知道什么是饶恕,什么不是,并且学习如何从内心深处饶恕。
Focus Truth
重点真理
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.
为了经历在基督里的自由,我们需要向上帝对待我们一样去对待别人---在完全的饶恕和接受的基础上相处。
Welcome
欢迎
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).
建议的主题:神对我们的饶恕。(诗篇103章1-12节,希伯来书10章19-22节)
Word
道
The Need to Forgive
饶恕的需要
“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.
我们必须学会向上帝待我们一样对待别人。
It Is Essential for Our Freedom (Matthew 18:21-35)
饶恕对我们自己的自由至关重要(马太福音18章21-35节)
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.
我们需要明白我们自己欠债的程度。得到饶恕多的也要饶恕别人多,得到饶恕少的饶恕别人也少。
Pause for thought 1
思考问题1
Do you sometimes feel that your sins weren’t“ that bad” compared to others’?
How much have you been forgiven?Little or much?
你是否有时这么想:你的罪比起别人的还不算太糟?
你得到了多少饶恕,很少还是很多?
Repayment is impossible
Mercy is required
So that no advantage can be taken of you (2 Corinthians 2: 10-11)
还债是不可能的,怜悯是需要的,好不叫撒旦利用了你。(哥林多后书2 章10-11节)
What Does It Mean to Forgive From The Heart?
什么是从内心里饶恕?
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.
你不能单靠忘记它而摆脱掉伤害。
Not Tolerating Sin
不容忍罪
Not Seeking Revenge
不寻求报复
“ 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?
这一课如何改变了你关于什么是饶恕什么不是的看法?
下一次某人伤害了你,你会很快地饶恕么? 为什么/为什么不?
Witness
见证
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.你得到了多少饶恕,很少还是很多?
2.你是否有时认为,你的罪和别人比起来不怎么大?
3.一般来说,我们都不想记住过去的伤害。为了真正饶恕,是不是有必要回忆它?
4.你是否认为饶恕的危机发生在你和上帝之间,而不是你和另外一个人之间? 感觉是否如此?
5.当不饶恕时,谁继续感受伤害的痛苦,伤害人者还是被伤害者?
6.这一课如何帮助你改变了关于什么是饶恕什么不是的看法?
7.下一次某人伤害了你,你是否要更快地饶恕,为什么/为什么不?
To take away
带回家的问题
Suggestions For Your Quiet Times This Week:
建议你在本周安静的时间作以下事情:
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,我当饶恕他几次呢? 到七次可以吗?
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,宽容我,将来我都要还清!
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:
他的仆人朋友跪下来求他
Servant 2:Be patient with me, and I will pay back.
宽容我吧,我会还清!
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?
你这恶奴才!我把你所欠的债都免了,因为你求我免。你不应当怜悯你的同伴,像我怜悯你吗?
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,把他交给掌刑的,等他还清了所欠的债。
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.
这就是我天父要对你们做的,除非你们从心里饶恕你们的弟兄。
Steps to Forgiveness
饶恕的步骤
1.Ask the Lord to Reveal to Your Mind the People You need to Forgive
1.求主向你的头脑揭示你需要饶恕哪些人
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.
十字架使得饶恕合法并合乎道德正义
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.
你现在从过去那些人和事的束缚当中解脱了。
8.Do not Expect that Your Decision to Forgive Will Result in Major Changes in Others
8。不要指望你饶恕他人的决定必然会使他人发生巨大变化
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.为你学到的真理和你获得的成熟感谢神
You are now free to move on and grow as a Christian.
你现在可以自由前行,做一个生命成长的基督徒了。
12.Accept Your Part of the Blame for the Offences you Suffered
12 对于你过去经受的得罪,接受你该受的那部分责备
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)”.