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The increasing division and vitriol in public life has left many Americans and especially Christian citizens in a dilemma. Should we respond to cancel culture over Biblical beliefs in kind through heated rhetoric and eye-for-an-eye cultural strategies? Or, should we say nothing and offer little resistance to efforts to remove Christian belief from the public square? Scripture offers a different prescription for our cultural moment: forgiveness. Here is how and why to practice this Biblical command in an increasingly secular and divided society.
Outline:
- The Motivation
- The Command
- The Practice
Key Takeaways:
- We should forgive others because Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). This is a profound motivation as He died for us and then forgave us the debt of our sin.
- The cross was the ultimately bad thing happening to the ultimately good Person.
- Why vengeance, not forgiveness has been the default human behavior throughout history.
- Forgiveness includes forgiveness in the heart and confrontation of injustice, and many of us only practice half of it (Mark 11:25, Luke 17:3-5).
- Why forgiveness is such a strong command in Scripture and reflections on the spiritual equivalent of the Hatfields and McCoys in our churches and cities.
- The example of Emanuel Church and how the family members of those killed by Dylan Roof exemplified Biblical forgiveness.