How serious is God about forgiveness? God is not just extending an invitation to participate, or giving a suggestion for Christian living. No, the Lord requires forgiveness out of His children. Today Pastor Mark will define forgiveness and teach on its importance. If you expect God to forgive you unconditionally, then why is it crazy to think He would expect the same out of you towards others? Examine your life today, and see if there are any broken relationships that could be easily fixed if you just chose to forgive those who wronged you.

Pastor Mark Balmer, Melbourne, Lessons for Living, Calvary Chapel

Can people around you see fruit of the Salvation moment in your life? Would Jesus be proud of the different path you have taken? Today as Pastor Mark continues his message on forgiveness, he speaks on the responsibility of the believer to show true repentance in their life. The Lord has wiped your sin debt clean, and all He asks is for you to repent, and place your trust in Him. Have you set a good example of a changed life in Christ? Your life’s proper representation of Jesus is often what can attract or detract people away from the faith!

Pastor Mark Balmer, Melbourne, Lessons for Living, Calvary Chapel

1The greatest need that any man or woman has today is forgiveness. The

2forgiveness of our sin, through the blood of Jesus, is our only hope. God

3sent His only Son to this Earth to make a way for us to be restored unto

4Him. So if we repent and turn from our sinful ways, HE will forgive us.

5Pastor Mark tells us that God's forgiveness, His Salvation, frees us from

6our slavery to sin! No longer do we have to walk according to our flesh,

7but we can now walk according to HIS SPIRIT! We are new creations in

8Christ! And as these new creations, we are to show our love to the

9Father by walking according to His commandments...just as we will read in the book of First John.

1Today we discuss forgiveness. The ability to forgive others AND also be

2forgiven. Pastor Mark reminds us that in order to walk with the Lord, we

3MUST be forgiven of our sins. More importantly, we must be willing to

4first repent...turn away from that sin and THEN accept the forgiveness

5offered through Jesus. We also must be willing to forgive others. You

6see, if we cannot forgive those around us, then how can we receive that

7same forgiveness from our Heavenly Father? So believer, realize that

8God has a righteous standard...one that we are all required to live by.

9When we sin, we need to cry out to Jesus with a heart of repentance and HE will forgive and restore us.

1Today we are continuing to look at the steps established by God for

2dealing with unrepentant sin within the Body of Christ. First of all, we

3must realize JUST HOW SERIOUS sin is. You see, sin separates us from

4God. It also separates and causes division among those around you.

5Many people believe their sin...their choices are they own, but in fact,

6the decisions you make have an affect on EVERYONE around you. Thats

7why its SO important to deal with sin...in a Biblical manner. Pastor Mark

8reminds us that our goal is to bring repentance and restoration. It

9should be our desire that, in love, we present their sin...repentance takes place and then restoration is accomplished.

1As believers, we all understand that sin separates us from God. So when

2we sin, we must be quick to repent and turn away from that sin. But

3what if that doesn't happen? What if you or a brother or sister in the

4Lord does NOT repent? Well today, Pastor Mark will explain to us the

5four steps dealing with the confrontation of sin - laid out for us in the

6book of Matthew. He spells out exactly how we are to deal with sin in the

7midst of the congregation. You may ask, why is it up to me to deal with

8this sin? You see, if unrepentant sin is not dealt with, it permeates...just

9like leaven. And if you're not careful, it can cause division.

1Our character defines who we are...its how we are known. What does

2your character say about you? Well if you're a believer, then your traits

3should be those of the Lord's: humility, self-discipline, compassion and

4so on. Pastor Mark lists these as character traits that a true Christian

5should possess. Obviously, these traits do not come naturally. Our

6flesh cannot produce them on its own! They can only come from a

7transformation...as a result of God's life-changing grace. For it is GOD

8who works in us to give us the desire AND power to do what is pleasing

9to Him! Remember believer, that unless you've been transformed, you will not enter the Kingdom of God.

Sometimes you may look at another person’s life and think, “God must love them way more than me.” This is far from the truth. Jesus put the same amount of love and effort into rescuing your life from sin as anyone else. Today Pastor Mark encourages listeners to embrace that same love Christ has for us, and give it to others. How are we going to be a proper representation of Him if we don’t love like Him? Maybe you have ignored the needs of people around you. Have compassion on the needy, and don’t be afraid to share the good news of the Gospel with all you come in contact with!