“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15 NASB1995)

All of us who are born of man and woman, and into this world, are born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. So all of us have sinned. All of us, in our own flesh, thus, fall short of the glory (approval) of God. And there is not anything that any of us can do in our own flesh to be approved by God. No amount of fleshly good works will ever earn us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. ONLY by the grace of God are any of us pardoned of our sins.

But God’s grace is not a free ride into heaven based on lip service to God only. God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (see Titus 2:11-14). For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

Therefore, since all of us have sinned, and none of us are saved and on our way to heaven based on the works of the flesh, but only by the grace of God, then we are to have hearts of compassion, kindness, and humility toward others who sin and toward others who fail. But this does not include pampering them in their sin or giving them approval to sin. This does not include lying to them to make them not feel bad about their sin. For the love of Jesus sent him to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and obey our Lord and his commands.

One of the most loving and kind things that we can do for anyone is to tell them the truth, but to speak it in love, and with kindness and not in hate. And depending upon the kind of sin and the length of time someone has given themselves over to sin should depend on what actions should be taken or how the sin is to be addressed. For there can be a huge difference between “a complaint against anyone” and a serious offense that may be of an immoral or illegal nature. But no matter the nature of the offense, we who all have sinned must humbly forgive others who sin against us.

[Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:21-22; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37-38; Luke 11:4; Luke 17:3-4; 2 Corinthians 2:5-7; Colossians 3:12-13]

Nails Were Pounded

An Original Work / June 4, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Nails were pounded when
He hung on a tree;
Suffered for us so
we could be set free.
He died for our sins;
rose up from the grave,
So we could be forgiven;
by His grace we’re saved.

A spear pierced His side;
His clothes they’d divide;
A crown on His head
to mock Him instead
Of honoring Him
as our Savior, King,
Who gave his life for the world
to be free from sin.

Forsaken by friends,
though He’d not offend.
He lived perfectly;
our High Priest to be.
He calls us to see,
and by faith believe;
In repentance receive Him;
live eternally.

Compassion, Kindness, and Humility
An Original Work / March 16, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love