FORGIVENESS

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FORGIVENESS FINDING PEACE THROUGH LETTING
GO CHAPTER 2 FOR BETTER OR WORSE
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Read Colossians 312-15
Last week we talked about small pebbles in our
backpack. This week we move up to medium
pebbles.
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There are more serious sins that we carry around
like boulders in our back pack. They include
serious and persistent deceit, physical and
verbal abuse, addictions and infidelity. Some of
these are so bad and deep seated we cannot get
past them without help from counselors or a
support group.
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For these serious sins, it is possible for
healing, forgiveness and reconciliation to occur,
but this is far from a foregone conclusion.
What happens when you have problems going through
these stages when someone has seriously hurt you
physically and/or emotionally?
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Sometimes these serious sins occur within the
bounds of a marriage. Some people say that God
requires the wronged party to stay in an abusive
or deceit filled marriage.
How do you feel about this statement?
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He says that a marriage filled with persistent
deceit, addictions, or abuse has ceased to be a
marriage as God intends. The author says
marriage was not meant to be a life sentence or a
time of torture, neither is the home meant to be
a place of fear.
What do you think about this? Do you agree? Why
or why not?
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A common form of sin in marriages or committed
relationships is infidelity. One of the 10
commandments is you shall not commit adultery,
but what is considered adultery in the
Bible? Read Matthew 5 21 - 32
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If a married man is intimate with a woman who is
not married or betrothed is that considered
adultery?
If a man is intimate with a married or betrothed
woman who gets killed?
If a man is intimate either voluntarily or
involuntarily with a woman who is a virgin and
betrothed in the city who gets killed and how?
If a man is intimate with a virgin who is not
betrothed, who gets killed?
If a man or woman divorces their spouse and
remarries is that considered adultery? What if
the wife had been unfaithful? What if the
husband had been unfaithful?
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Read Deuteronomy 2222-29
Read Mark 1011-12
Read Luke 1618
Read Matthew 199
What defines adultery today and does it match
what was read in this verses?
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In the OT, the man was not considered to be an
adulterer unless he was intimate with a married
woman. For example, Abraham (Hagar), Jacob
(Leah, Rachael, and maidservants), Solomon (700
wives, 300 concubines). In the NT, the man was
held accountable as an adulterer. The man and
the woman were considered adulterers after
divorcing and remarrying, as well as their
spouses. Jesus says that the men were adulterers
even if they lusted after a woman, no action just
thinking about it.
Do the laws in the Bible always coincide with
Gods will or are they more in line with the
society of the day?
How do you decide which laws are valid in todays
society?
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One of the main problems here deals with lineage
and inheritance. A man had to know that he was
the father of the child. The other main issue is
that the woman had no rights and is considered as
the property of the husband, therefore if a
married woman is intimate with someone other than
her husband then the husbands property was
violated.
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Sometimes people forgive because it is the
right or Christian thing to do. Do you
sometimes feel obligated to forgive because it is
expected of you as a Christian?
A part of forgiveness is to rebuild trust.
Sometimes the offending party has to carry the
boulder until trust can be rebuilt. How hard is
it to rebuild trust after the trust bond has been
broken?