Jehovah Blesses Those Who Forgive -WHEN A CHRISTIAN COMMITS A SERIOUS SIN

 Suppose that a person is not repentant when the elders meet with him.  In that case, he will be disfellowshipped from the congregation.  If he has violated the law of the land, the elders will not shield him from the consequences.  Jehovah allows governmental authorities to judge and punish anyone  who violates the law-whether he is repentant or not.  (Romans 13:4) Yet, if the person later comes to his senses and sincerely repents and turns around, Jehovah is willing to pardon him. (Luke 15:17-24) That is true even if his sins were very serious . - 2 CHRONICLES 33:9, 12. 13; 1 TIMOTHY 1:15.

What a relief to know tha twe not need to decide if Jehovah will pardon a sinner!  Still, there is something that we do need to decide. What is it?  In some cases, an individual has sinned against us-even seriously -but then he may apologize and ask for our forgivensss.  In other cases, the person may not. Even so, we can choose to forgive the person in the sense that we can decide to let go of any resentment and anger that we feel toward him. Realistically, this may take time and effort, especially if we have been deeply hurt.  The Watctower  of September 15, 1994, says: "When you do forgive a sinner, this does not mean that you are condoning the sin.  For the Christian, forgifeness means trustfully leaving the matter in Jehovah's hands.  He is the righteous judge of all the universe, and he will carry out justice at the right time."  Why does Jehovah encourage us to forgive and to leave justice where it belongs-in his hands?

Next time:Jehovah Blesses Those Who Forgive - WHY JEHOVAH ENCOURAES US TO FORGIVE

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