Matthew 12:36, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
May
I say that the Lord has forgiven us of our sins, as horrible as they are.
Many people are like the self-righteous Pharisees in the Bible, who looked
down on other people as being more wicked, because the Pharisees hadn't
actually commit the act of murder or adultery.
So Jesus taught them the truth about inner holiness, declaring that even the sins of lust and hate are identical in awfulness to adultery and murder (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28).
We are all horrible sinners in the sight of God. You'll become a much better Christian when you stop saying “He has sinned” and “She has sinned” and you start saying “We have sinned.” Amen! WE HAVE SINNED MY FRIEND!
Did you know that the two greatest commandments in all the Bible is to LOVE and to LOVE? That's right! Love God and love thy neighbor (all mankind). It grieves God when we fail to love one another...
Ephesians 4:30-32, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
If the Lord was willing to forgive us of our sins, then we ought to be able at least to trust God to avenge us of those who do evil against us. Did you know that Luke 6:35 says God is kind to the unthankful and to the evil? That's right! And He wants us to do the same to exemplify the Lord Jesus Christ in our earthly life. God will reward us greatly for doing so (Matthew 5:12).
Returning good for evil is advanced Christianity 101. It's not difficult, because it's hard to do if you're not abiding in the Scriptures and walking with God. You can tell who's selfish and their mind is not on the things of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:4-5, 20-21). When a waitress is unkind, leave a bigger tip and a Gospel tract. When a homeless person asks for a dollar, give them $20 and a Gospel tract. Love one another. If you're paying child support or alimony, add a few extra dollars each month. Pray daily for everyone in your life. Prayer is the number one way how not to hate an enemy.
The Lord knows the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30). A sparrow cannot fall to the ground without God allowing and knowing about it Matthew 10:29. Mankind is worth much more to God than the sparrows, for God gave up His only begotten Son for our sins to redeem us (Romans 8:32). What an awesome God!!!
So let it go my friend. Let go, let God. Whoever has hurt you, every time you may think about it, just remember that judgment day is coming for all of us. No Christian on earth today shines as an example to the rest of humanity. Only the precious Lord Jesus Christ is worthy, for only He is without sin (Revelation 5:9; Hebrews 4:15).
It's possible not to hate others who hurt you if you can learn to simply claim the promises in the Bible, particular passages which ensure that God will judge everyone for even the words that come out of their mouth.
Each and every individual must stand and give account o God one day in eternity...
Romans 14:12-13, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”
The Bible gives us so many wonderful and helpful Scriptures to comfort our souls when people hurt us. The Word of God teaches that God is the only ultimate Lawgiver and Judge...
James 4:12, “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
If other people condemn us (and some will, especially if we serve the Lord, 2nd Timothy 3:12), that's ok, don't let it bother you because God said He will judge them out of the words of their own mouth (see our text Verse at the top of the page). God holds men accountable for every word, every deliberate thought (such as lust or hate) and every work.
The Bible warns that God will hold men accountable for every work and every secret thing, whether it be good or bad...
Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
The Bible teaches that there is NO respect of God with persons. No one gets preferential treatment on Judgment Day...
Colossians 3:25, “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”
Keep in mind that there will be two main judgments of all mankind:
- The first judgment is only for born-again
Christians, which will happen immediately following the Rapture of the
saints. This judgment is taught in 2nd Corinthians 5:9-11 and is called
The Judgment Seat Of Christ.
- The second (or final) judgment will be
only for unbelievers, the unsaved throughout history who have died in
their sins without Jesus Christ. This judgment occurs at the end of the
1,000 Millennial reign of Christ over the earth from Jerusalem. This
judgment is called The Great White Throne Of Judgment (Revelation
20:11-15).
If you can imagine, the Bible says that earth and heaven will all flee away (Revelation 20:11). There will be nothing but the blackness of outer space and a great white throne upon which God the Father will judge, sentencing the wicked to the Lake of Fire for all eternity without end. Oh how horrifying it will be. John 3:18 and 36 warn that the unsaved are already condemned, so it won't be a judgment to determine whether or not they are guilty. It will be a judgment to determine how hot their Hell will be!
When people hurt me, I stop and counsel myself, realizing that if they are unsaved that Hell will be their eternal home. It's hard to hate someone when you realize that they'll burn in Hello forever. And then I always pray for their salvation. If I can witness the Gospel to them I certainly will. If the person who hurt me is a professed Christian, then I claim the promises of God which teach that every believer will be held accountable by God even for their words.
But what if it's mere hurt feelings? Will God avenge us of hurt feelings? If the person meant to be unkind, yes, certainly God will judge them, because it was an evil work. However, if it's just our own oversensitivity in a matter, then God knows that as well. God is not naive of anything my friend. God knows the very thoughts and intents of your heart and will judge you accordingly to your heart...
Proverbs 24:12, “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
Did you read that wonderful truth? ... “HE THAT KEEPETH THY SOUL.” Wow! God is the keeper of every man's soul. Your soul is God's property and He can do with it as He desires. God is fair and just and the Bible tells us exactly how God operates... He will render to every man according to his works! Consider the powerful inspired Words on Romans 12:17-21...
Romans 12:17-21, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
This is a doctrine-packed passage of Scripture. The Lord doesn't ever want us to get even with others, nor to be vindictive and revengeful. If YOU DO, then God will not be obligated to avenge you because you avenged yourself. The Apostle Paul says to do the exact opposite of hurting them back. Paul says to feed them, give them to drink, clothe them, do something nice for them, pray for them, love them, speak kindly to them; and in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon their head for judgment day.
The greater our faith that God will keep His promise to avenge us, the easier it will be for us to let a matter go. A vindictive spirit often causes a person to do something more evil than what the first person did. Vindication requires an act of evil, which is why God doesn't want us to do it. Two wrongs never make things right. Since God is going to avenge us of every evil work against us, we ought to find comfort in the promises of God.
If you ever feel hatred and anger against someone for hurting, embarrassing, cheating, taking advantage of, abandoning, divorcing, betraying, defrauding, stealing or hypocritically gossiping about you—just think about the Scriptures that I've shared with you and claim the PROMISES of God!
God will not let a matter go just because 50 or 100 years have passed (or 1,000). Remember, God doesn't live in time; but rather, in eternity. God is not influenced, limited nor affected by time as mankind is. Time is one day coming to an end my friend. Revelation 10:6, “...that there should be time no longer.” Only God knows when that time will be (no pun intended).
I recommend that every Christian get the DVD audio Bible by Alexander Scourby. Listen to it. Pray and walk with God. You'll never feel the closeness of God in your life that you could until you pray daily. Don't look for visible answers because God works in spiritual ways behind the scenes. Remember that Romans 1:20 says the things of God are “invisible.” The Christian life must be lived by faith. Most believers won't pray because they don't see visible results and it becomes a chore. By faith we pray, and continue to pray, trusting God to work in His own ways and in His own times (Isaiah 55:8-9; Ecclesiastes 3:11).
I choose to love, forgive and put things into God's hands through prayer as Philippians 4:4-7 teaches...
Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
