Are You Wrong?

By GodLife

Scripture: “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” (Matthew 5:23-24).

Has peer pressure ever gotten the best of you -- have you done something you know is wrong, just because you think your friends wanted you to do it? God's Word says that He loves when His people"listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight" (Exodus 15:26), rather than behaving in an unrighteous way. Part of behaving righteously is trying to be aware of when we hurt someone or treat them unjustly. Once we realize we have done something wrong, we need to repent and ask forgiveness.

Example of Wrong

We should follow God's command to "honor your father and mother" (Deuteronomy 5:16). He instructed His people "to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). God's Word tells stories of His people: when they did what was right, God blessed them; when they did what was wrong, God corrected them.

Today, Christians can rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance; the Apostle Paul instructed, "let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves" (Galatians 5:16).

Repent and Ask Forgiveness

"if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness" (1 John 1:9).

When we have gained forgiveness, we should remember to ask God to help us so that we do not give in to the temptation to sin again. God's Word tell us, "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:19).

Scripture: Matthew 5:23-26

What if you are wrong?

Ask for God’s blessing, peace and love on you and others. According to the Bible in Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus wants us to pray for our enemies, and that forgiveness plays a big role in this. God lifts a tremendous weight from our shoulders when we forgive and pray for those who have wronged us.

 “But what do I do if I have wronged someone?”

 In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus makes it clear that we should immediately go to the person, ask forgiveness, and make amends so there can be reconciliation.

The Bible tell us in Matthew 18:15-17 how we should handle it. First, you are to try to work it out just between those involved. You should make every attempt to have wrongs sorted out this way. If the problem is still not resolved, then you may bring a friend trusted by everyone into the situation to help. Should the problem still be unresolved, then it is time to bring the Church into it and let a group of elders, pastors, or deacons, decide. The working out of these problems can be a great witness (example of what Jesus would do) because reconciliation and forgiveness doesn’t happen often in our world.

Someone may come to you with a wrong that you committed which you may not know about. When you become aware of the wrong, you still must apologize and make peace. This holds true even if you believe that you were not in the wrong. Jesus says clearly that the criteria is if your brother has something against you (Matthew 5:23).

PRAY : "Lord, convict me of sin where I have wronged people in my life. Please give me Your grace to go and reconcile with them. Reconcile me to them and to You, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen."

God bless you.