Monday, August 11,
2014, 8:45 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put in mind the song “His Tender Mercies.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV).
How Many Times?
Then
Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother
or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus
answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Forgiveness should have no limits put on it. No matter how
many times someone sins against us, we should forgive that person, even if he
or she does not own up to his or to her sins, and does not ask us for
forgiveness.
When a brother or sister in Christ sins against us, we
should take the appropriate Biblical steps as outlined in this chapter, just
preceding this section on forgiveness. We should go to that individual in love
and mercy, willing to forgive and to restore him or her. We should also go in
humility and with a clear conscience so that we are not pointing out the speck
in a brother’s eye while we have a log in our own (See Gal. 6:1; Matt. 7:3-5;
18:15-17).
We should confront the individual with his or her sin
against us. If he or she listens to us, we have won over our brother or sister
in Christ. If not, we are to take others with us and approach the individual
again, and if he or she will not listen to them, we are to tell it to the
church. If this brother or sister will not listen even to the church, we are to
consider this person as we would someone outside of faith in Christ. We should
pray for the person to put his or her faith in Jesus Christ, and we should love
him or her into the kingdom.
What Forgiveness
Looks Like
“Therefore,
the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his
servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of
gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that
he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“At
this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged,
‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him,
canceled the debt and let him go.
“But
when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a
hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you
owe me!’ he demanded.
“His
fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I
will pay it back.’
“But
he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he
could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were
outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then
the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled
all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy
on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him
over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This
is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your
brother or sister from your heart.”
This parable of Jesus gives us a picture of God’s
forgiveness towards us, and how our thankfulness and gratitude to him for
forgiving us, and for showing us his grace and mercy, should carry over into
how we treat others.
I have no trouble at all remembering my own sins and how my
Lord Jesus rescued me from them; how he reached down and lifted me out of the
pit of despair, forgave me of my sins, and gave me a new life in him, and in
how he restored me to himself when I had fallen. Praise Jesus! I am eternally
grateful for his love, kindness, mercy and grace to me. I have no right to
ever, ever refuse to forgive others because he has forgiven me SO MUCH! I have
no right to look my nose down on others thinking that I am somehow superior to
them because I do not now do some of the things that they do. It does not take
much for me to be reminded of where I once was, and how gracious he was to me
in lifting me up, and in delivering me out of my sin. And, I should treat
others the same; in like manner.
Jesus Christ, even while we were yet sinners, died on the
cross for our sins. When he hung on that cross to die he took upon himself the
sins of the entire world. My sins alone would be more than anyone could bear
were they all accumulated together in one bundle, so I cannot even begin to
fathom the pain and suffering he must have gone through to bear all of our sins
upon himself – upon one who had committed no sin. Yet, he did this for us
because he loves us so very much! When he died, he crucified our sins with him,
and when he rose from the dead, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin on our
behalf. Amen! He paid the penalty for our sin so that by faith in him we are
set free! Hallelujah!
Yet, we are not forgiven of our sin until we personally
apply to our lives what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, in dying for our
sins, and to do so by faith in him. He will confront us with our sins, and he
will call us to repentance – to turning from our sin to God. He will ask that
we willingly submit ourselves to the cross of Christ in being crucified with
Christ to the sins which once enslaved us, and in allowing the Spirit of God to
transform our lives away from lifestyles of sin to walks of faith in obedience
to our Lord. When we humble ourselves before him, believing that he died to set
us free from slavery to sin, and that he set us free to walk in his
righteousness and holiness, all in the power and working of his Spirit within
us, then he saves us by his grace, and we are forgiven of our sin. Amen! [See:
Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; 2 Co. 5:15; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn.
1-5.]
So, when we forgive others as Jesus Christ has forgiven us,
we willingly bear the pain of unjust suffering and/or the guilt of their sin
upon us, and we choose to set them free from all punishment. In other words, we
choose not to get even, we wish no harm upon them, we don’t reject them, we
love them, we treat them with kindness, grace and mercy, and if they have not yet
repented of their sin, we pray that they will turn from their sin and that they
will accept God’s saving grace into their lives.
We also speak the truth in love to them, as Jesus does with
us, hoping that they will hear the truth and that they will turn from their
sin, and that they will come to saving faith, or that they who have wandered
away from Christ Jesus will be revived and restored. Forgiveness of the
unrepentant does not mean we ignore their sin, but it does mean we don’t reject
them or punish them for it, but we show God’s love and mercy to them, and we
hope and pray that they will turn and that they will be set free as he has
freed us.
Mercy Unending
What is wonderful about God’s mercy to us is that it is
never ending. He keeps on giving. If we are in Christ, he is with us always –
loving, leading, guiding, protecting, and nurturing us. We never have to be
afraid no matter what we are going through. He will never leave us. He is
completely faithful to all that he has said he would do. We can trust him
completely! He just asks us to put our trust in him, to walk in his ways, to
trust in his love, to believe that he truly cares about us, to share with him
our heartaches, to believe that he is our friend always and forever, and to
trust him for the healing that we need. We need to trust him also with those
that we love who are in need of Christ, believing him to draw them to himself
and that they, too, will find grace and mercy and forgiveness of sins. Amen!
His Tender Mercies
/ An Original Work / January 26, 2014
Fear not! I’m with
you.
Be not dismayed!
God watches o’er you.
Trust Him today.
He’ll lead and guide
you;
Give you His aid.
He’ll love and keep
you
With Him always.
Walk in His footsteps.
He’ll lead the way.
Trust in His love;
Believe that He cares.
He will not leave you.
Faithful He’ll be.
His tender mercies
Now you will see.
Fellowship with Him
Throughout the day.
Tell Him your
heartaches.
He’ll heal always.
Rest in His comfort.
He is your friend.
Your faith He’ll
strengthen,
True to the end.
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