Forgiving Others

One common way in which believers give Satan a legal claim in their lives is failing to forgive others. Jesus taught us that we are forgiven by God in the same measure in which we forgive others. He said:

“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” (Matthew 6:14–15)

We are not entitled to claim forgiveness from God in a measure greater than that with which we forgive others. If there is any person whom we do not forgive, in a corresponding measure, we are not forgiven by God. That means the area of unforgiveness in our own lives is an area over which Satan still has a legal claim. We cannot dislodge him until we have forgiven whomever it may be who needs to be forgiven.

Redemption is coextensive with the forgiveness of sins. If all our sins are forgiven, then we have the total rights of redemption. Satan has no legal claim outstanding against us. But if there is any area in our lives in which sin has not been totally dealt with, Satan still has a legal claim in that area. We can get all the preachers in America to preach and pray over us, but we will not dislodge the devil, because he knows he has a legal claim. We need to remember that the devil is a legal expert. He knows it, too. However, God’s Word offers us total forgiveness of sin. It is crucial that we hold on to the total forgiveness and leave no offense unforgiven.