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3:00Accept the consequences, such as making restitution. If you wrong someone, you make it right. Six, alter your behavior. Change your attitudes and actions, even if it involves a radical amputation, to use Jesus' terms. Number seven, ask for forgiveness. And if you will do these things, whenever you harm somebody or sin against God and harm somebody in the process, If you will go through these and do this well and really repent and do this well, you will make it easy for somebody to forgive you. And the better you are at asking for forgiveness, the easier it is for somebody to be gracious. And so you can love people by being a good repenter. And so we looked at that, a repentance plan. And this is a very simple, straightforward plan that you need to have in your pocket. And get used to doing this. Get used to going through these steps every time you sin against God and hurts, that hurts people.

4:12But now, let's assume there is genuine repentance going on. Now I want to talk to you about the characteristics of a biblical forgiveness plan. You need to have a forgiveness plan in place because inevitably in this world, some of you are going to be able to do that. Somebody's going to offend you. Somebody is going to wrong you. And God is going to call upon you and expect you to forgive them. How does that happen? Well, broad categories. Let me just, based on my study of scriptures and experience, this is some of the broad categories or the basics of a biblical forgiveness plan. It needs to have all of these components. Number one, you need to understand the offense. There needs to be a love for the offender.

5:04There needs to be a choice. Somewhere in the process, there must be a choice to forgive, a decision to be made, within the heart, spirit. And then there has to be this endeavor to overcome the obstacles to the relationship. Leaning in. And at some point, there is this formal grant of forgiveness. There's a choice to forgive that moves in the direction of formal reconciliation and grant of forgiveness. And then there is life on the other side of forgiveness. What does that look like? And so, and it's important to recognize that forgiveness involves a process. I want to talk to you about that tonight. So, any characteristic, any biblical forgiveness plan needs to be a good thing. To incorporate these items, and this is how I've put this together with help from other sources. But it is unique because there is a lot of discussion about forgiveness and how to apply these. It's not as straightforward as repentance because repentance is very straightforward. And if you're going to listen to the Bible, so is forgiveness, but it involves two people, and so it's a little more complicated. And so there are different opinions. So, what I'm going to show you tonight is something that I have synthesized, really, kind of thinking through the biblical information, scriptures, and relating it to what I've seen in my own heart and what I've seen in the counseling room and what I see in and understand scripture and the mandates. So, first, we'll just walk through this process. First, you need to understand the offense. At some point, there is going to be an offense that takes place that gets this whole thing started. An offense.

7:11Proverbs 19:11 says, A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression. So, if there is an offense, you need to understand precisely what it is. Now, if you Think about it. I don't know how easily you can see this image up here. But as you are seeking to understand the offense, many times in our world, it's just not so simple. It's not like somebody just comes up one day and says, you know, I want to offend you and punches you. I mean, it may happen, but it's usually not that clean. There's usually it involves two people, and sometimes it involves you doing something, and maybe a back-and-forth thing. There's some things that we can do to contribute to a problem. And so, just as you're trying to first understand the offense, it's important that you not exaggerate, that you get your mind around what is the offense that I am, that has, they have sinned against God and somehow harmed me in the process. So, here's a few little steps that I think would help. Number one, here at the bottom, remember, if you look at this scene under the ground, this is what's going on underneath the surface in your heart.

8:43Colossians 3:4 is a text. First of all, remember, my life is grounded in Christ. Before you even begin into thinking through an offense and how you're going to react, remember, you're in Christ. If you Are in Christ. Your life is grounded in Him. Whatever anybody does to you cannot change that. You're secure. You're loved. And you're treasured. Your identity is in Christ. So that's where your life is. You don't have to find your life in being treated in a way that you think is right.

9:25Your life isn't defined by that. It's defined by relationship with Christ. Matthew 7, Jesus speaks about make sure you're removing the log out of your own eye first. Make sure you confess your own sin first. That's a good place to start. When somebody has offended me, it's usually not in a vacuum. Like I said, it's not just like somebody woke up and wanted to hurt me. There's usually something that happens, and oftentimes I have contributed to it.

10:04And so I want to make sure that I confess my own sin. You know, I shouldn't have reacted that way. You know, I pushed you, you know, in my carelessness or in my thoughtlessness or in my love of myself, I pushed you into reacting the way you did. And so I repent of that. And if you'll do a good job of repenting, according to Your repentance plan, it starts simplifying, and you start getting your mind around the offense. And then, so any kind of offense, any kind of sin of your own, you should forsake and obtain mercy. You own your part, and then you go and ask God for mercy. And then, whenever possible, as in Proverbs 19:11, it is overlook the offense. Overlook, is this really a big deal? Is it something that you need to make an issue out of? Or can it just be dismissed? And you're going to go through life, and there's going to be a lot of these things that you just need to dismiss. Don't be easily offended. Go through life a little more resilience. Think the best of people, and don't go through life so easily offended. Now, if you've gone through all of that, and there's a real offense that needs to be addressed, that's what I'm trying to talk about. All this other stuff, I want to get to a real offense, not an exaggerated offense, not a perceived offense, not an offense that you have contributed to or the cause of or in some part, but a real offense that needs to be forgiven. So, get your mind around that. That's a good point. Place to start. Understand the offense. And be slow to anger. Don't react. Just work through it. Say, okay, how has this person, why am I feeling the way I am?

12:14What is going on? What am I perceiving? And what is this person's offense? Second element of understanding is really just love the offender. Just as the offense comes, remember, you are to love the offender. Let love cover the offense. 1 Peter 4:8 says, Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. See, what happens is when somebody sins against God and harms you, there's a temptation to send the offender away, to be angry, to hate, to despise.

13:08But let love cover, you are to love the offender. And look, this is certainly clearly what God expects. He says he expects us to love our enemies, do good to those who despitefully use us. So you'll be like your Heavenly Father. He causes the Son to rise on the good and the evil. He's Good, and you are to be like him. And the point of this is you are not to let the offense cause you to kill the relationship. If somebody offends you, and you're like, okay, we're done, or even if it's a slow fade, like, okay, I'm not going to lean in, I'm not going to forgive, I'm just going to let this build up, build up. You know what happens over a time as somebody offends and keeps offending and all that stuff? You're distancing. You're the one exiting. There's a temptation to send the offender away. And we are not to be a divorce-minded people. As we looked at this morning, the word for divorce and the word for forgiveness are the same. Divorce is about sending the person away. Forgiveness is finding a way to send the offense away and keep the relationship with the person.

14:25So do not let the offense cause you to kill the relationship. If this relationship is going to continue to go in different directions, you make sure that it's not because you are holding the fence against them. You are letting love cover the offense. So as the relationship dies, it isn't about you. Second major element in this Or another, is to look to God's standard. So at some point, you're going to have to choose to forgive. You've been wronged, and it's clear, it's a clear offense. You have been really or really wronged, and you are to love the offender. You know that. And at some point, you have to choose to forgive. And you can only do that by looking at God's standard. You're going to have to look at what God's standard is on forgiveness. And it is about choosing to forgive. Look at in Matthew 18, looked at this this morning a little bit about the one who God forgave, or the servant who had been forgiven much, and then he went out and he'd been forgiven a whole bunch, but then he wouldn't forgive someone who owed him a little. And this infuriated the Lord in the parable. Matthew 18, 8, 34, Jesus picks it up and says, And his Lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. That was the unforgiving servant. Who had been forgiven much. And then Jesus says these words: My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.

16:44Do you think Jesus is exaggerating there? Do you think he's just blowing smoke? Do you think it's an empty threat? No, he's very clear. If you do not forgive, my heavenly Father, he says, will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from the heart. Forgiving your brothers and sisters who wrong you is not an option. It is a command. And by threat, Jesus is saying, Look, if you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. It's plain. It's clear.

17:27And so we know that that's the standard. John was trying to get us to quote John 13:34. Or was it 35? What's both? Okay. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. So we. As we've been wronged against, immediately, if you are informed by Scripture, you know that forgiving, choosing to forgive, is the right thing to do. And you know that based on the command, based upon the threat, but also based upon Christ's example. We know that. And you have to choose. You have to make that decision. I will forgive because you're not going to feel like it.

18:28So you must choose. Exercise your volition. Do what is right because you know it is right. And so you make that choice. And it happens in your heart. But then, how does this flow out of the heart? Well, then you need to overcome the obstacles to the relationship. Or certainly be of that mind and party to pursue reconciliation. So there's the offense that occurs. Then you look to God's standard and you choose to forgive. You choose to be like Christ and obey Him. And then you lean into the relationship. You work toward reconciliation. You work towards a mutual understanding of the offense as much as it is possible.

19:28But what you're doing in this process. Is you are not letting the offense drive your heart away from the relationship. You are choosing to forgive. You are choosing to lean in and pursue reconciliation. That's what God does. This is what he says in 2 Corinthians 5, 18. Now, all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So even while we were sinners, it wasn't, and we were offensive in God's eyes, yet he wasn't allowing that offense to be the death of our relationship. He pursued that relationship because he is a forgiving God, wanting reconciliation.

20:33Think about it this way. I like to ride my bicycle and try to get some exercise. Suppose my neighbor doesn't like bicyclers on his road in our neighborhood, and he's got a big pickup truck, and he sees me driving, riding my bike, and he just has got his wife in the car, and he just has this habit of just running over a cyclist. He runs over me one day. And his wife, you shouldn't do that. So he gets out. I'm really sorry.

21:04You know, okay, I forgive you. The next day, out there, again, I'm riding my bike, and there he is. He just can't resist. Runs me over again. And this goes on and on. Eventually, when I see him coming, I'm going to start running away, aren't I? I better, right? But then he keeps doing it over and over. It's like, look, we can't go through life like this. We need to, you need to understand that hurts. Here, you get on the bike and let me run over you a little bit. No, but I need to communicate. We can't coexist like this. And so that hurts when you run over me with the truck. And so we need to come to an understanding and pursue reconciliation. He needs to see that that's wrong. We need to share the road. It isn't his road any more than it is my road. But we need to share that. We have a mutual reason to, and it's wrong for him to run me over and to be selfish like that and to hurt.

22:17We can reconcile when he comes to an agreement. Yes. Yes. I'm going to stop running. In fact, you know what? I'm going to get rid of my pickup truck and I'm going to get a bike just like yours and that's. That way, you will know for sure that you can feel safe on this road, and you don't ever have to worry about me running over you again. I understand the pain that that caused. Please forgive me. I've sinned against God, sinned against you. I have wronged you, harmed you. I recognize it's hurt, and you know what? It's never going to happen again. Please forgive me. You see how that makes it easy to forgive.

22:56And so, but until that point, you're working towards this. You're leaning in. Help me. Doctors, there's forgiveness, a choice to forgive. You are forgiving, and you are not letting that offense be the death of the relationship, but you are there working toward leaning in, wanting the relation. Because you love the offender, you value the relationship, and you are working toward reconciliation. And the reason you're working toward reconciliation is because you have a forgiving heart. And that only comes from looking at the standard and understanding how God has done this for you.

23:44And then at some point, there is this formal grant of forgiveness. There's the offense. There's the choice to forgive, to let the offense go. There is this pursuit of reconciliation. And at some point, This person comes and says, Will you forgive me? And you must grant forgiveness. And this is a difficult step because some people want, well, I want your repentance to be a little stouter. Give me a little better repentance, and I'll give you a little better forgiveness.

24:23I don't think it's, I think, even as we stand before God, it's, I think we all recognize it wasn't the strength of our repentance that got his ear, but just how good he hears. So, we're to be looking for that real part, that person really leaning in. You see a change of heart where the trajectory that has been to harm you, or the trajectory to hurt, has now been recognized and has changed. And now I want to lean in and make things right.

25:00And then, and then you can enter into a formal grant of forgiveness and formally grant. But you've already forgiven, and now it becomes formal and public, and reconciliation takes place, where he or she knows that they are forgiven. And that's important. It's not just that you've forgiven. In the heart, but then it comes to that point of reconciliation, and they know they are forgiven, just like we know that we are forgiven. And that's what brings about reconciliation.

25:45So, what is this grant of forgiveness looks like? Look like well, John MacArthur summarized, he said there are 75 metaphors used in Scripture to talk about forgiveness, what it is. I'm going to mention ten of them that he itemized. To forgive, and this is that formal grant of forgiveness. To forgive is to turn the key, open the cell door, and let the prisoner walk free. To forgive is to write in large letters across a debt, nothing owed.

26:33To forgive is to pound the gavel in a courtroom and declare not guilty. To forgive is to shoot an arrow so high, so far, it can never be found again. To forgive is to take out the garbage and dispose of it, leaving the house full of cleanliness and sweet-smelling fresh air. To forgive is to loose the anchor that holds the ship and set it free to sail. To forgive is to grant a full pardon to a condemned and sentenced criminal.

27:16To forgive is to loosen a stranglehold on a wrestling opponent. To forgive is to sandblast a wall of graffiti, leaving it looking brand new. To forgive is to smash a clay pot into a thousand pieces so it can never be put together again. That is what granting forgiveness is about: letting it go. But then there's another element. What does life look like on the other side of forgiveness? You need to live out that forgiveness. And you do that by living out three promises, really three implications of forgiveness. If you've truly forgiven somebody and you have told them they have asked you for forgiveness, if you told them I forgive you, when you say those words, you are invoking the implications of those words. What does it mean to tell somebody you forgive them?

28:27Well, number one, when you tell somebody I forgive you, you're telling them, I will not dwell on the sin anymore. I will not foster bitterness. This is the way God is in Hebrews 8:12. It says, For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. And he's talking about in the context of, I will remember their sins no more. I will not ever drudge those up again to bring out and use it against them. In other words, when you say you forgive somebody, you leave that offense behind forever. You never pull out that offense and start beating them over the head with that. If you do, you haven't forgiven. You're a liar. And you need to ask for forgiveness. You need to look back at God's standard. This is how He dealt with our sin and forgave.

29:30So the first promise, first implication of forgiving is that I will not dwell on the sin and therefore continue fostering bitterness any longer. I will remember it no more. Second, when you say, I forgive somebody, you're saying, I will not use the offense against you. That is being judgmental. Not only will I not dwell on it and Foster bitterness over it in my heart, I will not use it against you. I think I spoke a little bit out of turn there. Still, they all blend together. I'm just trying to make some distinctions here.

30:13But Psalm 103:10 says, He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us. So, to live out the promises, number one, I will not dwell on the sin anymore. I'm not going to go deeper in bitterness. Number two, I will not use the offense against you and keep reminding you of it. I've separated it from our relationship forever. That's what it means to forgive.

31:07Number three, when you say I forgive you, you're saying I will not talk to others about the offense. I'm not going to go around gossiping. Did you hear what my okay, you know what my husband did? Or do you know what this person did to me? But you said you forgave them. And so, why are you going and talking about that? Asked to gain simply you haven't let it go. If you are gossiping or if you're talking to others about it and still mulling it over and woe is me, or did you trying to get people engaged, that does not come from a forgiving heart, it comes from a divorce-minded heart. Ephesians 4:31 says, This, Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you. That's the standard.

32:13And the problem with why it's so hard for people to forgive is because they really haven't taken a long, hard look at their own sin. And I would say, if you struggle or if you cannot forgive, it's because you really haven't been forgiven. You really haven't come before, or you're blind to your own sin, and the incredible gulf and chasm that it caused, and the offense that it was to a holy God. I guarantee you, no one, no matter how bad they sin against you, will even get close. To getting on the same scale, not even measurable to the degree of God's, how you have offended an infinitely holy God with your sin. The chasm is so far removed, so far greater. And so living out that forgiveness.

33:23I will not dwell on the sin. I will not use the offense against you. I will not talk about the offense to others. So that's the process of forgiveness. There's an offense. There's a need to look to God's standard, to constantly be looking at that standard. When you violate one of those promises, what do you do? Go back, look at the standard, and ask God to forgive you and to help you be more Christ-like in the way you relate to one another.

33:59Lean in. There's an offense. Look to God's standard. Pursue reconciliation. Choose to forgive. Choose to send that offense away and pursue the person. And then when reconciliation, when there does come, a coming of the minds and agreement, no matter how slight it is, grant forgiveness. You want to err on the granting forgiveness side, I can assure you. And then live out the three promises of forgiveness. It's a suggested repentance plan. I mean, forgiveness plan. And the better you are at forgiving, say the more Christ-like you are.

34:49And the more, and the better you get at repenting, the more you make it easy for others to forgive you. Questions? Thoughts? Yes, sir. It seems like you're saying that a formal grant forgiveness, whether you intend it on a person who repented somebody else's life, is that just the purpose situation, or are we to give grant forgiveness even when the person is not? Well, and that's where there's a lot of conversation about that. I think what is the question is: do we, well, what is the question?

35:38Do we formally grant repentance when there is grant forgiveness where there is no formal repentance? No, I think how I would articulate that is that you have already let the offense go, but you still have this issue between you. So you're not entering into, I promise never to bring it up again. I promise. Never to deal with you. I promise never to bring this up again because it's still something between us. And so I think that there is a heart disposition that has already forgiven, already sent that away, but you're pursuing reconciliation and there must be a coming of the mind. So I would say with that formal grant of repentance, I mean the formal grant of forgiveness, that comes at a point of reconciliation. Not everybody's going to heaven. God is a forgiving God, but it's clear that there must be reconciliation in Christ before there is a grant of taking the sins. If you're not in Christ, you are still in your sins. And so, yeah, there is a union that takes place following God's reconciliation. So I think in your heart, yes, you are ready to not ever bring it up again. You are ready to, but sometimes you're not bringing it up to use against them.

37:13You're bringing it up again to show them their sin and their need for a change of heart. So even then, you have already granted, at least in concept, all of those things. But there needs to be a formal mind. Moment of, okay, you and I are reconciled. I will never bring this up again. So, yeah, I think, but just to follow God's example, yes, we are letting all of these things. That's what we're working towards, to where formally all this stuff is behind.

38:00Yes, sir? Could you talk to some more about who initiates offender or enemy? Looks like it is: you are, as the one who is offended, is pursuing that relationship. Now, if you're looking at the repentance plan, what does the Bible say? The person who has offended somebody needs to be pursuing that relationship as well. But from a forgiveness standpoint, if you have been sinned against and harmed, you too are to be working toward forgiveness. So, to answer your question, in the forgiveness plan, the one who has been offended is to lean into the relationship and be pursuing the reconciliation.

38:58Yeah, and what's interesting is. The conversation, and this is where I would land on this, and this is something even in biblical counseling circles. Is a wife to forgive her husband if he hasn't asked for forgiveness? And my answer is yes, you are. Does that mean you cease trying to work through a resolution to where you don't just allow him to keep sinning? And that's part of that pursuit of reconciliation. You have forgiven, but if that, if he keeps sinning, keeps sinning against God, then there is no relationship with him with God. There is no basis for reconciliation.

39:48But you can still forgive, and you're called to forgive. And I think that's, others would say, no, you wait until there's repentance. The problem with that is that then all of a sudden, our definition of repentance starts moving. It's kind of like, okay, yes, I don't have to, I can hang on to this grudge until this person formally comes and gives me a repentance that pleases me. And that, I'll tell you, that leads to further division. And that's, I don't think that's where Christ is going at all. I don't think that's where the biblical standard is.

40:28And that is, there's the Lot of debate on that, can you? But I think as you're looking at this process, no, we always look to God's standard. We always are to be a forgiving person. We are not counting people's sins against them, and we are pursuing union and relationship with them. And so, we don't wait. And yet, for there to be reconciliation, there needs to be repentance and ownership. Go ahead. Maybe you talk about how the concept of turning the other cheek and going the extra mile and taking the class is harder and covenant by the message. Yeah, I think that's all out of that heart of forgiveness. When somebody slaps you on the cheek, yeah, you are out of a love for the offender, you love that offender, and you are pursuing relationship with him. And, you know, so I would say that that's pardon. Yes, sir.

41:36The reason maybe you know this? Well, that's a good question. I don't know if anybody has a somebody who's been in that. That becomes that becomes really a matter of maybe maturity, I don't know, a matter of understanding, understanding the offense, growing in at the end of the day. Some point, it's just it's easier to forgive. It's easier to forgive and move on, at least personally. But sometimes somebody needs to know, I forgive. And so sometimes you have to make an issue, not just out of your own self, because it's easy. It's easier to just, you know what, Lord, I put that into your hands and I move on. And so I think what you're looking at, when is it a matter of reconciliation? In other words, and the defining, if somebody wrongs you and they don't even know they wronged you, and you can move on, yeah, overlook that. Go on.

42:49But if it's something where they have really wronged you and they know they've wronged you, sometimes it's important to clear the air and say, let's talk about this. And let's work through this. Do you understand what you did was wrong? And you understand, I know that what you did was wrong. And so it's when that becomes an obstacle to the relationship. So I would say if it's something that isn't a barrier to the relationship, something they don't know, then yeah, just move on. Forgive.

43:26If it is still something between you, you need to. Talk through that and anyway. Go ahead, Daniel. I've up to three questions if you'll uh follow. We got three minutes, so I don't know. Go ahead. I'm sorry. So the second question would be I'll try with that third question. Would you recommend the same cause of a repeat offense? Yes. Yes, I think you I think you you do. I think it's whatever the offense is, and no matter how many times it occurs, this is the process. And I think Jesus makes that explicit.

44:36Somebody else? Yes. Oh, okay. So go ahead. Go ahead, Michael. You don't have time to address this, but just before you address what is the legitimate workstress if ever there is a legitimate constraint, Is there okay your question is is there ever a time when you're justified to end a relationship? And what are those justifications? Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? That's the only one I see in Scripture that God stops pursuing reconciliation. All other manner of sin is forgiven. And I would say we have got to be a people who forgive all manner. We keep pursuing forgiveness. We're available for forgiveness. Yeah, somebody may be so far gone and so hurtful, but you're not the one terminating the relationship. They are the one. And I think that all manner of sin is to be forgiven. And I think at some point, you know, we look at the character of God. This whole forgiveness process has to be found in the character of God. And he forgives everything except for that repeated, unrepentant heart. That repeatable, unrepentant heart, which completely resists. And he's the one who can see when that blasphemy we cannot. So we, but, you know, I think you do. Remove yourself from harm. You know, I mean, it's like, okay, you still are forgiving. You're letting this go because you know your sins against God are far greater. And so you're letting it go, but your ability to pursue reconciliation is limited. But you're still there for it. And so that's what I would. Okay, one more.

47:04How do you deal with that kind of consequence? You are all yeah, well, consequences are consequences. I mean, you can think of it like this: like if one of my children takes my car out at night and totals it because he or she cannot see very well at night or whatever, or is careless, then I forgive you. I'm glad you're okay, and I forgive you for that. But it's probably not a good idea for you to drive at night anymore. So you can learn.

47:43And I will remind you, you remember you totaled the last one, but I'm not using that as a club. I'm just saying we've learned that this is an ongoing consequence until so there are lasting consequences that don't impact. So, we should learn from our sins, and we should learn. In fact, he tells us, God tells us, remember who you were. And so, I think there is a cause for remembering and learning, and consequences are part of that. And you don't, you know, and so you have to imagine a new relationship that lives with the consequences. The relationship may not go back to what it was, but there is a healthy, God-honoring relationship from that point forward. That is because some offenses make it hard to go back to the way things were. And so, you have to reimagine the relationship going forward. Some offenses you can go back to the way things were, they're small, simple, or they're not so epic. Some are not.

48:57But the process is the same. You must be working towards a healthy, God-honoring relationship, and that's who God is. I'm going to close this in prayer. Okay, Pat, you've got. I've seen some people try to take the process of church discipline as an excuse to shun somebody and totally, you know, have nothing to do with them. But it actually tells us you're to treat them as often, or in other words, other than. Saved. But how are we supposed to treat people that are not saved? We're still able to reach out to them hoping that they'll come to the knowledge of Christ. So that's just one little area that's not. Yeah, in the church discipline case where somebody isn't responding to the Word of God, then that's giving you an indication that they are not believers in God and they are in need of evangelism. And yeah, you're still consequences of the sins, you're bringing that out. Your confession is not, your lifestyle does not match your confession, and somebody's got to tell you you're acting as an unbeliever. And unless you truly repent, it's evident that you really probably are an unbeliever. And so reaching out with reconciliation in mind, with the truth. I'm not saying that pursuing reconciliation is always a nice, easy thing. It may get pretty aggressive, and that's some of the hard things. It's really having to speak truth and having tough conversations regarding sin. They are some of the hardest conversations and things that we shy away from, but that is what leaning into the relationship may involve. And most of the time, or a lot of the times, it is. That's what loving is, is leaning into a relationship, talking about the difficult things, but with a spirit of reaching resolution and reconciliation.

51:00But it all starts with somebody who's already let the offense go. They've already forgiven. And that's where it starts. It starts in the person of God. And then it's actualized in reconciliation when there is reciprocation. Let me pray. I'll be up here because I know that just kind of just starts, we just started the conversation, and there's probably a lot of questions and thoughts. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a merciful God, and you do not deal with us as our sins deserve, nor do you hold them against us, but you have brought Christ, sent Christ, and have placed us in Him and put our sins upon Him and have taken them away. And Father, we thank you that even while we were sinners, you were pursuing reconciliation with us. You weren't counting our sins against us. And so, Father, it's because of your heart we can rejoice. You are the good news. Your forgiving heart is the good news. And so, Father, we thank you for that. We thank you for forgiving us. Help us, Lord, to grow in our ability and skill of forgiving others. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Just missed.