Love Like Jesus - Part 1: "Forgives Sinners" with Craig Groeschel - Life.Church

Love Like Jesus: Jesus Forgives Sinners

Scripture References

Primary text

• Luke 23:32
• Luke 23:34
• Matthew 6:14-15

Other references

• Luke 6:28
• Matthew 5:43-44
• Colossians 3:13

Overview

Forgiveness is at the very heart of loving like Jesus. On the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them,” displaying a supernatural mercy that now shapes how His followers respond to hurt. Craig Groeschel shows that the way out of bitterness begins with praying for those who wound us and choosing to forgive as we have been forgiven. Releasing an offense will not change the past, but it can transform our future and set us free.

Context

Craig begins with lighthearted birth-order humor, then tells the painful story of his younger sister’s long-hidden abuse by a trusted teacher. His own rage and desire for revenge collided with Jesus’ command to forgive, launching a personal journey that frames today’s message.

Main Points

1. The Cross: the ultimate picture of forgiveness

• Jesus, sinless and beaten, hung eye-level with mockers.
• While suffocating, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23).
• He forgave in the very moment the offense occurred—a model no human heart naturally wants to imitate.

2. Pray for those who hurt you

• Jesus’ instruction: “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:28; cf. Matthew 5:43-44).
• Completely counter-cultural to both Roman revenge and Jewish “eye for an eye” ethics.
• Right attitudes often precede right actions; prayer reshapes the heart even when it may not change the offender.

• Story: Craig could barely utter a prayer for “Max,” his sister’s abuser. It began as “God, do something,” progressed to “God, bless him,” and eventually became a sincere plea for God to draw the man to Himself.
• Your prayer may or may not change them, but it will always change you.

3. Forgive as you have been forgiven

• Command: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
• When weighed against the vast debt Christ has canceled for us, withholding forgiveness becomes indefensible.
• Even serious offenses—such as adultery—may be biblical grounds for divorce, yet they are also grounds for forgiveness if repentance is present.
• Unforgiveness is self-destructive: “Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.” —Anne Lamott.

4. Choosing to let it go

• Forgiveness is rarely a feeling; it is a faith step repeated until the heart catches up.
• Options: rehearse the hurt, nurture the grudge, become critical—or release it and live free.

• Story: Craig’s family mailed a forgiveness letter to Max, including a salvation prayer. A hospice nurse later reported that Max wept, asked to hear the prayer again, and prayed it before he died.
• Outcome: Craig’s sister now ministers to other survivors; Craig testifies that the prisoner set free through forgiveness was himself.

Key Truths

• Jesus’ prayer on the cross defines the standard: we forgive in light of the forgiveness we have received.
• Prayer is the starting point for softening a resentful heart.
• Forgiveness does not excuse the offense or erase the past, but it releases its hold on us.
• Right attitudes birthed in prayer empower right actions toward people who wrong us.
• You can have grounds for resentment and simultaneously possess grounds for grace.

Response

• Begin praying daily for the person who hurt you, even if the prayer is only a sentence.
• Name the specific offense before God and verbalize your decision to forgive.
• When memories resurface, reaffirm, “I have let that go.”
• Seek wise counsel or therapy if the wound is deep; forgiveness and healing often travel together.
• Share your story of forgiveness to help someone else find freedom.

Closing

Forgiving others is not a peripheral, optional virtue for Christians—it is the very way we “love like Jesus.” We forgive as we have been forgiven, trusting God to handle justice and to heal our hearts. The past cannot be changed, but our future is wide open when we release the weight of bitterness.

“In the same way God has forgiven me, I’m choosing to let this go.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father
forgive me of my sins
make me brand new
I believe Jesus died for me
so I could live for You
fill me with Your Spirit
so I could know You
serve You
and follow You
for the rest of my life
my life is not my own
today I give it to You
in Jesus’ name I pray.