Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York

Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

The Torrey Collection - Chapter 3

 

III. THE BEST TEXTS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIFFICULTIES

 

1. "I am too great a sinner."

1TI 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the

worst.

ROM 5:6, 8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still

powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. . .But God demonstrates his own

love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

ISA 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though

your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they

are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

JOH 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal

life."

ACT 10:43 "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who

believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

LUK 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

JOH 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever

comes to me I will never drive away.

 

2. "My heart is too hard."

EZE 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of

flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my

decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

 

3. "I must become better before I become a Christian."

MAT 9:12-13 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who

need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I

desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the

righteous, but sinners."

LUK 15:18, 20-24 I will set out and go back to my father and say to

him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. . .So he got

up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his

father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his

son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him,

'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer

worthy to be called your son.' "But the father said to his servants,

'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger

and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's

have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive

again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."

LUK 18:10-14 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee

and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about

himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers,

evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a

week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a

distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and

said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man,

rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who

exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be

exalted."

ISA 44:22 "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins

like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

 

4. "I am afraid I can't hold out";or, "I am afraid I shall fail, if I

try."

JOH 10:28-29 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no

one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to

me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's

hand.

ISA 41:10, 13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,

for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold

you with my righteous right hand. . .For I am the LORD, your God, who

takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help

you.

1PE 1:5 . . .Who through faith are shielded by God's power until the

coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

2TI 1:12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed,

because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able

to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

JUD 1:24-25 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present

you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to

the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through

Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

2CH 32:7-8 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged

because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is

a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of

flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our

battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king

of Judah said.

2TH 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect

you from the evil one.

ROM 14:4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own

master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to

make him stand.

1CO 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can

bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that

you can stand up under it.

 

5. "But I am so weak."

2CO 12:9-10 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my

power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more

gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That

is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in

hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I

am strong.

PHI 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

1CO 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can

bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that

you can stand up under it.

 

6. "I have tried before and failed."

LUK 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But

I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when

you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

ROM 8:3-4 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened

by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of

sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,

in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met

in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to

the Spirit.

ISA 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of

the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and

fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They

will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they

will walk and not be faint.

PSA 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin

against you.

1JO 5:4 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the

victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

1PE 5:6-10 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that

he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he

cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil

prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist

him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers

throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And

the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and

make you strong, firm and steadfast.

 

7. "I can't give up my evil ways."

GAL 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what

he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature

will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the

Spirit will reap eternal life.

PHI 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

JOH 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

1CO 15:1-4 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I

preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your

stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I

preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I

received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died

for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he

was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

 

8. "I will be persecuted if I become a Christian."

2TI 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ

Jesus will be persecuted.

MAT 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of

righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you

when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil

against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your

reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who

were before you.

MAR 8:35, 38 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but

whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. If

anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful

generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his

Father's glory with the holy angels.

ROM 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth

comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

ACT 14:22 . . .Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to

remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter

the kingdom of God," they said.

ACT 5:40-41 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and

had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of

Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing

because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the

Name.

2TI 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him,

he will also disown us.

HEB 12:2-3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of

our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning

its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you

will not grow weary and lose heart.

1PE 2:20-21 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for

doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you

endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called,

because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you

should follow in his steps.

 

9. "It will hurt my business,"; or "I will lose my position."

MAR 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet

forfeit his soul?

MAT 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all

these things will be given to you as well.

 

10. "There is too much to give up."

MAR 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet

forfeit his soul?

PSA 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor

and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is

blameless.

ROM 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us

all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all

things?

1JO 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone

loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything

in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the

boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from

the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does

the will of God lives forever.

HEB 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known

as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with

the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short

time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value

than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his

reward.

LUK 12:16-21 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain

rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do?

I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll

do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will

store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have

plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat,

drink and be merry."'

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be

demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for

yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for

himself but is not rich toward God."

PHI 3:7-8 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the

sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to

the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose

sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain

Christ.

 

11. "The Christian life is too hard."

MAT 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

PRO 3:17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.

PRO 13:15 Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful

is hard.

 

12. "I am afraid of ridicule."

PRO 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in

the LORD is kept safe.

MAR 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous

and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he

comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

 

13. "I will lose my companions."

PRO 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of

fools suffers harm.

PSA 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the

wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates

day and night.

1JO 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you

also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

JAM 4:4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the

world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the

world becomes an enemy of God.

 

14. "I have no feeling."

What feeling do you expect?

a. "The joy that Christians talk of"

GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness. . .

ACT 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit,

whom God has given to those who obey him.

1PE 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though

you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an

inexpressible and glorious joy.

MAT 10:32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge

him before my Father in heaven.

EPH 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word

of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were

marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.

ROM 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are

justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

b. "Sorrow for sin"

 

1. Passages for the careless.

ROM 3:22-23 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus

Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of God.

1JO 1:8, 10 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and

the truth is not in us. . . If we claim we have not sinned, we make him

out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

MAT 22:37-38 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your

heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the

first and greatest commandment."

PSA 130:3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could

stand?

ISA 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot

rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. "There is no peace," says my

God, "for the wicked."

JOH 8:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a

slave to sin.

GAL 3:10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it

is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything

written in the Book of the Law."

JOH 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever

rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

HEB 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because

anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards

those who earnestly seek him.

JOH 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does

not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the

name of God's one and only Son.

ROM 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2TH 1:7-9 . . .And give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as

well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in

blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not

know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be

punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of

the Lord and from the majesty of his power.

JOH 8:24 "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not

believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your

sins."

JOH 8:21 Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will

look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot

come."

REV 21:8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,

the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and

all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

This is the second death."

HEB 10:28-29 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy

on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do

you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God

under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the

covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

 

2. Show that it is not feeling sorry for sin, but turning away from

sin and receiving Christ that God demands.

ISA 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our

God, for he will freely pardon.

JOH 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his

name, he gave the right to become children of God.

ACT 16:31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be

saved--you and your household."

 

15. "I have been seeking Christ, but cannot find Him."

JER 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your

heart.

LUK 15:3-10 Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has

a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-

nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes

home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,

'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the

same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who

repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to

repent.

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not

light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and

says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I

tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over

one sinner who repents."

LUK 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

All passages under Chapter 2

 

16. "I have sinned away the day of grace"; or "God won't receive me."

JOH 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever

comes to me I will never drive away.

ROM 10:13 "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

2CH 33:1-13 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he

reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the

LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had

driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father

Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made

Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped

them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had

said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." In both courts of the

temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He

sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced

sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and

spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to

anger.

He took the carved image he had made and put it in God's temple, of

which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and

in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I

will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the

Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they

will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the

laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses." But Manasseh led

Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil

than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of

Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him

with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought

the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the

God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by

his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to

Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.

 

17. "I have committed the unpardonable sin."

(Show just what the unpardonable sin is.)

MAT 12:31-32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be

forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be

forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be

forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be

forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

(Explain Hebrews 6:4-6):

HEB 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,

who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the

coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance,

because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again

and subjecting him to public disgrace.

(This describes one who "falls away," i.e., becomes an apostate,

renounces Christianity, and goes back to Judaism; not one who merely

falls into sin, as Peter did. Then use the passages under 16.)

[Note: The unpardonable sin is really the sin of unbelief. The Holy

Spirit seeks to convince the world of the truth of the Gospel,

therefore when someone rejects the Gospel they simply are declaring

that they feel that the Holy Spirit is a liar--blasphemy. This sin is

only committed when a person makes the final and unchangeable decision

not to believe the Gospel.]

 

18. "It is too late."

DEU 4:30-31 When you are in distress and all these things have

happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your

God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not

abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers,

which he confirmed to them by oath.

2PE 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some

understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to

perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

REV 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears

say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let

him take the free gift of the water of life.

 

19. "Christians are so inconsistent."

ROM 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

ROM 2:1-5 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on

someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are

condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is

based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet

do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do

you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and

patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward

repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are

storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his

righteous judgment will be revealed.

MAT 7:1-5 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same

way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use,

it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay

no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your

brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time

there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank

out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck

from your brother's eye."

 

20. "God seems to me to be unjust and cruel."

ROM 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is

formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"

ROM 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of

God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

ISA 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your

ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the

earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your

thoughts."

JOB 40:2 "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let

him who accuses God answer him!"

HEB 12:5-7, 10-11 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement

that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's

discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord

disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a

son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For

what son is not disciplined by his father? . . .Our fathers disciplined

us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for

our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems

pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a

harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by

it.

 

21. "There are so many things in the Bible which I cannot understand."

1CO 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that

come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he

cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

ROM 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of

God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

1CO 13:11-12 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like

a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish

ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then

we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,

even as I am fully known.

PSA 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

2PE 3:16-18 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in

them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to

understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the

other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard

so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and

fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!

Amen.

 

22. "There is someone I can't forgive."

MAT 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will

not forgive your sins.

MAT 18:23-35 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who

wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the

settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife

and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The

servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged,

'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on

him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants

who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him.

'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to

his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you

back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown

into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly

distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said,

'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't

you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In

anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until

he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will

treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

EPH 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each

other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

PHI 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

GAL 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against

such things there is no law.

 

Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New

York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.


Index of Preacher's Help and Notes

These documents are free from BelieversCafe.com, the complete christian resource site with more than 5000 webpages.