THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S blossom out in such a harmony of so ciety th a t everywhere men would say, ’“The millenium must be here.” If ev ery nation held a spirit of forgiveness toward every other nation, there would be a reign of peace over the whole earth. Forgiveness not only brings men and na tions together but it also brings God and the service together. No Heaven W ithout Forgiveness. While dealing with an inquirer one evening in an after meeting, he said, “No, sir, I’ll not confess Christ till I have downed that villain th a t wronged my sister. I have carried this gun,” (pulling a revolver from his pocket) “for months. When I meet the man and have him out of the way, then I will think about religion.” However, through the passage “Vengeance is mine I will repay, saith the Lord,” he was per suaded to receive forgiveness from God through Christ. His spirit of revenge left him and he was willing to forgive the man who had so shamefully wronged his sister. Forgiveness in a man’s life makes the difference between heaven and hell. In heaven all have been for given on the ground of Christ’s atone ment and all hold a spirit of forgiveness toward each other. In hell all are un forgiven, in strife with God and each other. Golden Text Illustration. Two brothers had quarreled over an estate left them by their parents. They were equally popular in the community and in the churchT In time the people took sides with each brother respective ly. They sat on opposite sides of the church and the friends of each sat on his respective side. One morning the pastor preached a powerful sermon on the subject of forgiveness. At the close he said, ‘.‘Does any one here wish to take God’s forgiveness? If so, let him come forward and kneel here.” One brother arose and, coming forward passed by the preacher and went straight to his brother. He held out his hand,
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PRACTICAL POINTS (1) God’s standards are the only safe stand ards. (2) God’s rule of forgiveness is by the route of repentance. (3) Christ paid the price for the sinner, and the sinner affixes his seal to the transaction. (4) Acknowledge your debt to God; confess your inability to pay; accept H is receipt in full. .(3) The forgiving spirit is the spirit of our Father. (6) We are justified in^ forgiving a wrong, but our forgiveness m ust not mean a justifica tion of the wrong. (7) The lim it of forgiveness is unlimited. (8) God’s mercy and wrath are equal in measure. Subject Illustration. Forgiveness is known only in the realm of human beings, the animals never forgive each other. Forgiveness brings heaven into society here where before hell had reigned, LESSON through unforgive- ILliUSTRATIONS ness. W. H. Pike A boy had taken ten dollars from his mother. He came to a place in his heart conviction where he felt he must tell his mother and pay it back. But oh, what a struggle he had with himself be fore he was willing to confess and ask mother to forgive him. But when he did make a clean breast of the whole matter all suspicion was removed from other members of the family and the whole household was brought into har mony. Bible Illustration. Lev. 16:11 illustrates how our sins, like Israel’s, are put upon Christ, our Scapegoat, and being forgiven they are carried into the land of forgetfulness. In Mark 2:1-12 the palsied man has his sins forgiven and his body healed. These two blessings are also associated in Psa. 103: 3. Notice also Matt. 6:12-15. Forgiveness Restores Fellowship. If all the labor leaders would ask all the corporations to forgive them for all the short hours they have put in and all the property they have destroyed, if all the capitalists would ask all their employees to forgive them for their op pression and selfishness, and this spirit was carried but in practice, this would
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