1. Forgiving One Another As God Forgave You Ephesians 4:32

2. Bible Forgiveness We are to forgive others (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13) Forgiveness is necessary to be forgiven (Mt. 6:14-15; Mk. 11:25-26; Lk. 11:4) We are to forgive others “even as” God forgives us (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13); that is, “in the same manner” How is this done? Consider six characteristics of God’s forgiveness that we are to have ourselves

3. God Forgives Willingly No one forces God to forgive; he forgives willingly, lovingly, and mercifully (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Jn. 1:9) We must be willing to forgive out of mercy and love in our heart (Mt. 5:7; 18:33,15; Acts 7:60; Jas. 2:10-13; 1 Pet. 4:8)

4. God Forgives Aggressively God takes the first action to forgive (Jn. 3:16) We must take the initiative to forgive when necessary (Mt. 5:23; 18:15-17)

5. God Forgives Absolutely God forgives sin completely, without reservation… – He covers and hides it (Psa. 31:1; 51:9; 85:2) – He removes it far away (Psa. 103:10-12) – He puts it behind him (Isa. 38:17) – He blots it out (Isa. 44:12) – He buries it (Mic. 7:19) We must forgive completely when necessary (Eph. 4:31-32)

6. God Forgives Limitlessly God forgives without limit (Rom. 5:6-10) We must forgive without limit when necessary (Mt. 18:21-35)

7. God Forgives Permanently God forgives sins and never brings them up again (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12; 10:17) We must forgive permanently (Col. 3:13)

8. God Forgives Conditionally God forgives sins upon the condition of repentance (Psa. 32:5; Mk. 4:12; Acts 3:19) We will be forgiven when we fulfill God’s conditions: the sinner (Lk. 23:34 with Acts 2:37-38; Col. 1:14 with Col. 2:12-13); the sinning Christian (Acts 8:22; 1 Jn. 1:9) We must forgive others upon the condition of repentance (Lk. 17:3-4; 2 Cor. 2:7 with 2 Cor. 7:9-11)

9. Forgive As God Forgave You Willingly Aggressively Absolutely Limitlessly Permanently Conditionally