EGO TE ABSOLVO

By Ben Berto

And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. 

¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  Matthew 6: 12, 15

 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6: 37 NKJV

In the Confessional, when a person goes to confess his sins, the priest used to say in Latin, Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.” [1]

This translates to: “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” [1, 2]

Some people used to say, “I can forgive but I cannot forget”, but in Micah 7: 18, 19 it is written, “Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.^[a]19 He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all ^[b]our sins Into the depths of the sea.” What a joy will it be when we hear Jesus say to us, penitent sinners, “Ego te absolve”!!!

I heard one fishing-minded preacher say, “God will cast our sins into the depths of the sea and put a “No Fishing” sign over it.”

In Brenda Walsh’s devotional, STRENGTH FOR TODAY, she wrote about Forgiveness, and on July 14, her topic was,  LEARNING TO FORGIVE. He Scripture is  “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6: 37 NKJV. Let her continue. “The Bible is very clear about how God feels about forgiveness. In Matthew 6: 15, NIV, we’re told, “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Many times we think we have forgiven  but we really haven’t. We are harbouring bitterness that we don’t even realize is there. Unless we get rid of all unforgiveness in our hearts, we can never have a close relationship with our heavenly Father, nor will God be able to carry out His perfect plan for our lives. But even worse, we will miss out an eternity with Jesus, because without God’s forgiveness for our sins, we won’t be going to heaven!!!

“We need to ask God to reveal any unforgiveness in our hearts, and help us not to hold grudges against family members, friends, or strangers who have done us wrong. God’s requirement to forgive is not dependent upon the person asking for forgiveness or whether or not the mistreatment was justified. We are to follow Jesus’ advice in Matthew 18: 21-22 NKJV. “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Learning to forgive is something we all need to do. Our salvation depends on it.”

The PRESCRIPTION FOR JOY is this: forgive, forget and move on with Jesus!!!It is really that simple!!! Write that prescription down and put it on your fridge, on your Bible, on a sticky note stuck to the dash of your car, etc. and keep it there until it finally sinks in—Jesus is the only Healer of hearts!!!

To contact us: Our website is www.abundantlifeadventist.ca. Worship with us every Saturday Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Genesis 2: 2, 3, Exodus 20: 8-10, Isaiah 58: 13, 14; Isaiah 66: 22, 23; Matthew 5: 17-19; Revelation 22: 14

John 14: 1-3