Building on the Foundation

  There’s a famous quote, and I don’t know who first said it, but it goes like this: “Hatred is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.” Hatred, of course, often stems from a lack of forgiveness. As Christians, we know that forgiving others is something God requires of us. Our Savior Jesus Christ told us, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mat. 6:14-15). Just as God forgives us, so we forgive others when they do us wrong. What exactly does forgiveness mean, though? When and how should we forgive? Is there ever a time not to forgive? In the Old Testament, there are five Hebrew words that mean “forgiveness.” They have the literal meaning of covering, lifting, or pardoning. In the New Testament, there are three Greek words that mean “forgiveness.” They literally mean to release, to pardon, to disregard or send away, or...

  The Big Question Let me get started by asking all of you a question. No, it’s not that big question. This question is a little more awkward than that. Show of hands. How many of you have ever committed adultery? How about murder? Idol worship? I can imagine not too many of your hands went up, but honestly, I didn’t expect them to. All of you who are reading this are probably good solid Christians horrified at the thought of committing adultery or murder, so why would I even expect any hands to go up? This isn’t a fair question, though, because I already know that most of you have committed adultery, and if you are a guy, you certainly have for our natural sinful state with no conscious effort to the opposite is adultery. Wait! Before you get upset with me, just hear me out a little longer, and I think it will all make sense!  Let’s Define Adultery To discuss any subject effectively, we need to all start with the same definition of what we are talking about; otherwise, confu...