Luke
11:4
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
2
Corinthians 6:1
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Ok
Church, what’s the point of being saved….if you are not willing to forgive? As
church folk, we can be the very worst at forgiving. Somehow or another, we all
deem ourselves some kind of expert on scripture, and so find all kind of
reasons to justify ‘my’ opinion. I’m guilty. Yes I am. I’m guilty of having
been hurt in church and then slipping into a dark place of self-righteousness
and un-forgiveness. I won’t dismiss my past behavior with a flip, “Been there,
done that.” I’m over it, but it has been twenty years, so I’m not so sure I can
count myself as some sort of spiritual giant. What about you?
Be
honest, odds are that if you’ve belonged to more than one church
in your adult life, you left one of them because of conflict and,
yes…..un-forgiveness. Beloved, God means for to strive with one another for the
sake of love….and peace. So then, might I dare ask, what are you doing for the
sake of reconciliation? In this passage of 2 Corinthians, Paul encourages his readers
to be mindful of the depth of the mercy and patience of God on their behalf to
bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior. God’s
patience is infinite, we are temporal. God lovingly waited us out, sent us
marker after marker, sign after sign of His great love toward us. He made sure
we heard the Gospel, then He sent us His Spirit to explain it to us in simple
terms that we could understand. What a wonderful God we serve. Paul’s
exhortation to us is not to receive God’s great grace and live short of it’s
great power to redeem. Within grace lies the limitless power of God to heal, to
deliver, to set so completely free that suddenly borders and boundaries no
longer exist.
Matthew
28:2
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
Acts
16:26
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
Grace
raised Jesus from the dead. Grace set Paul and Silas free from jail. Grace
opened blind eyes, healed leprous limbs, loosed mute tongues, opened deaf ears,
caused crippled limbs to have strength. Grace gives us the power to forgive one
another. It is the very least we can do to exercise forgiveness at every
opportunity afforded to us, as it is the very first component of the great
grace of God exercised toward us with the gift of His Son, Jesus.
Romans
5:17
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Matthew
11:6
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
The problem with conflict
resolution: it will eventually be determined that someone is right and someone
is wrong. Grace is required to admit one is wrong, then be reconciled to those
who were right. Grace and humility is required to be found to be right and not
use our ‘rightness’ as an reason to ‘lord’ our supposed spiritual superiority
over others. Pauls’ example is stark. He would not take offence….period. He
refused to be offended by whatever was said to him or about him. Remarkable.
Paul had a number of detractors in the church at Corinth who were
vehement in their dislike for him. They spared no insult concerning him. His
response: forgive and keep forgiving. If they lie on you, forgive. If the cheat
you, forgive. If they spit on you, forgive. Whatever the offence, find it
within yourself to ….forgive. This is the beginning of grace. A first thing of
first things. Paul appealed to them and he still appeals to us to forgive to
the nth degree.
1
Corinthians 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
John
13:35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
One
more thing. The world is watching you and ….hoping. They are hoping that what
you preach is genuine. You see, if we struggle with Christ, then they struggle
mightily without Him. They need you to learn the first and greatest lesson of
grace: forgiveness. And they need to see that you’ve learned it by the way you
treat those you call ‘brother’. When unbelievers see the power of grace
reflected in your love for other church folk, they will be more willing to
follow you through those very church doors and hear the same Gospel of Grace
that you once heard and to receive the same great Savior that you received:
Jesus.
John
3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Selah (Pause. Meditate. Think on this.)
.wb
See the video at: http://youtu.be/w6YIH-YyWVk?list=UUUg4PiFZaHV3h4tK084kxgQ
Blessings!
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