Calling oneself a Christian should not be taken lightly. In fact, according to the Bible in Exodus 20:3, God Himself declares, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” This is actually the third commandment of the Ten Commandments.
Trying to Live Sin-Free
When a person accepts Jesus as his or her personal Saviour, the process of putting away sin and becoming Christ-like in character, or sanctification, is entered into. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 states, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” This is sometimes referred to as growing in grace.
Sanctification does not happen immediately upon acceptance of the free gift of salvation, but requires effort on the part of each Christian.
In Philippians 2: 12, Paul admonishes believers to strive for perfection in these words, “Work out your own salvation.” Christ explains the reason that Christians must aim for perfection in these words as recorded in Matthew 5:48, where it says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Help for Forgiving Others
The Bible offers words of hope and encouragement to Christians who struggle with forgiving others. Here is what the Bible teaches about the importance of forgiveness and how to forgive others.
- Forgiveness is a condition that must be met in order for God to forgive. According to Jesus God will forgive those who’ve forgiven others as is recorded in Matthew 6: 14, 15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
- Forgiveness is something that Christians must do over and over again. According to Matthew 18: 21, 22, Christians must always be willing to forgive, for it says, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven.”
- Forgiveness is the example that Christ set for believers. Christians are called to follow their Lord who set an example for forgiving others according to Colossians 3:13 where it says, “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
- Forgiveness is a Christian’s duty. Jesus commanded believers to forgive others as it’s recorded in Matthew 5:44 where it says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Assurance of Victory
Christians believe they can have assurance of victory over sin based on some of the following verses:
“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” according to 1 John 5:5. In other words, believers in Jesus overcome. Therefore, Christians have much to be thankful for because they have victory through Jesus as the following verse in 1 Corinthians 15:57 which says, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” according to . Once again, according to Romans 8: 37 Christians are called conquerors through Jesus, as given in these words,“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us,” according to Romans 8:37.
Christians are called to forgive others and may find help to do so in the Scriptures.
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