THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF FORGIVENESS

I have been preaching through The Model Prayer, known better as The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-12) on Sunday mornings at Fellowship Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi, where I am the pastor. Some of those sermons can be viewed on our web site: www.fellowshipbaptisthernando.org.

When I recently preached on Matthew 6:12 and the subject of forgiveness, I spent a couple of Sunday messages on the subject of forgiveness and one Sunday pulled out a sermon I had preached one other time over two Sundays in November 2005. In between the two Sundays I preached that 2005 message in two parts on The 10 Commandments Of Forgiveness, something happened between two individuals I knew, that should have resulted in their repentance, but instead they tried to defend and cover up what they did. A side result is that it caused several people who were their friends to take sides and once close friendships were soon no longer! And, had the ones who made the mistake owned up to the mistake they had made there would have been forgiveness granted to them by their friends and full reconciliation and restoration would have been possible. It escalated into one of the worst examples of unforgiveness and unchristian actions among church members that I have ever experienced in my now 32 years full-time in the ministry and 51 years as a Christian.

The sweetest, most Christ-like Christians I have known this side of heaven have been among the members of churches where I have been a member and a minister, but some of the meanest, most hateful people I know have been members of those same churches. Amen, Oh, me, or Ouch! I have taken some key subjects such as marriage, gratefulness, and forgiveness and applied the Ten Commandments to them. So, that is how I have come up with The 10 Commandments Of Forgiveness. Many Christians today are focusing on the wrong people, issues, and situations in life as the greatest threat to our Christian beliefs that are threats and concerns, but they aren’t our greatest threats. I believe among the reasons why the modern day church is not reaching the numbers for Christ that we should be today, and why numbers attending churches are down is not because of the music not being contemporary enough or the worship services exciting enough or because the people in attendance are too dressed up, and so on. It is because of the lack of forgiveness Christians do not exhibit toward the world or to one another and our lack of gratefulness concerning God’s blessings. One only needs to read social outlets like Facebook where those who claim to be Christians are among the most vocal whiners and complainers about just everything. Why would the secular world want to be like us or part of us!

Anyway, let’s learn to look for the good in life and others more than their faults, admit it when we make mistakes and help others get over their mistakes, learn from our mistakes and don’t let how others have wronged us cause us to become bitter but better, and move on beyond it. Sometimes you’ve just got to get over others and get over yourself and get on. That’s what Paul did and exhorted us to do when he said “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13,14). Let’s live our lives so that we can look back with no regrets and look ahead with great anticipation.

Blessings,

Bobby Mullins

“THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF FORGIVENESS”
Based off MATT. 6:12; MARK 11:24-26; EXODUS 20:1-20 and too many other Bible verses to list here

I. THOU SHALT NOT RETALIATE AGAINST THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU: DON’T GET MAD AND DON’T GET EVEN

II. THOU SHALT NOT LET YOUR UNFORGIVING SPIRIT TOWARD ANOTHER PERSON GET BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD: DON’T LET YOUR BITTER, UNFORGIVING SPIRIT CAUSE YOU TO LOSE THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION AND QUENCH THE WORKING OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ANY WAY WHERE YOU ARE

III. THOU SHALT NOT UNDULY CRITICIZE THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU: DON’T BE GUILTY OF WHAT YOU ARE CRITICAL OF ABOUT OTHERS

IV. THOU SHALT NOT LET A WRONG THAT YOU FEEL A FELLOW CHURCH MEMBER COMMITTED AGAINST YOU CAUSE YOU TO QUIT ATTENDING YOUR CHURCH: DON’T RUN AWAY FROM WHAT YOU NEED TO RECONCILE

V. THOU SHALT NOT DISHONOR SOMEONE ELSE’S FATHER AND MOTHER AND YOUR GODLY MOM AND DAD BY YOUR UNFORGIVING ATTITUDE TOWARD SOMEONE ELSE’S PARENT(S)

VI. THOU SHALT NOT TRY TO VERBALLY MURDER YOUR CHURCH IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED THERE: DON’T FIRE PARTING SHOTS AT YOUR CHURCH OR A GROUP OR AN INDIVIDUAL IF YOU CHOOSE TO LEAVE

VII. THOU SHALT NOT LET THOSE WHO HAVE AN UNFORGIVING SPIRIT LURE YOU INTO GOSSIP ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON THAT CAUSES YOU TO TURN AWAY FROM THEM: DON’T HANG AROUND PEOPLE WHO HELP TO RUFFLE YOUR FEATHERS

VIII. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL FROM THE UNITY OF YOUR CHURCH BY YOUR UNFORGIVING SPIRIT IN ONLY ASSOCIATING WITH THOSE IN YOUR LITTLE CLIQUE WHO SHARE YOUR FEELINGS, BARELY SPEAKING TO CERTAIN OTHER MEMBERS, GIVING THE COLD SHOULDER AND ACTUALLY PLANNING TO AVOID INTERACTION WITH THOSE WHOM YOU CANNOT FORGIVE, OR WITHDRAWING FROM FELLOWSHIP WITH THOSE WHO DON’T SIDE COMPLETELY WITH YOU: DON’T STRETCH OR TEST THE RULES YOU SHOULD ABIDE BY IN SEEING WHAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH, EVEN WHEN THE RULES APPEAR TRIVIAL TO SOME

IX. THOU SHALT NOT LISTEN TO SOMEONE’S CRITICAL OR SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON WHO IS NOT WILLING TO GO WITH YOU TO THE INDIVIDUAL THEY ARE BACKBITING ABOUT TO SEEK RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATION: DON’T MAKE SNAP ASSUMPTIONS, FORMING OPINIONS ON VERY LITTLE INFORMATION, MAKING ASSUMPTIONS THAT OFTEN PROVE TO BE WRONG BY PROVIDING A LISTENING EAR TO THOSE WHO USE THE WICKED ART OF INNUENDO

X. THOU SHALT NOT BECOME JEALOUS OR ENVIOUS OF SOMEONE ELSE WHOM YOU FEEL IS GETTING MORE ATTENTION, RECOGNITION, PROMINENCE, OR SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL BLESSINGS THAN YOU: DON’T KEEP A RECORD OF WRONGS

First Preached by Dr. Bobby Mullins at Central Baptist Church, Oak Ridge in the Sunday morning worhsip service on November 13 & 27, 2005