I cut my sermon off today because I felt like the message had been delivered. Having said that, the end of my planned sermon would have tied together the main theme and I want to make sure it isn't lost. I preached the Law…and we were defeated by it as we should be...and we got to the Gospel and we were encouraged by it as we should be…but I am afraid I didn't spend enough time exploring the depths of the Gospel. So for those who want to dig deeper...read on.
The main theme of the sermon was that because we have peace with God through Jesus, we can have peace with others and that many times it is people and not things that take away our peace. So we looked at how God forgives us and how that applies to peace in our relationships.
God's grace is mind-blowing. We saw that God is not motivated to forgive us because of his sinfulness or because of ignorance of the full extent of the wrongs done against him. God can't be motivated by his own sinfulness and his own ignorance because he is perfect and because he knows everything...including the full extent of our sin. And yet he forgives. That is mind-blowing. Because listen...our own sinfulness and ignorance are motivators for us to forgive others. We are motivated to forgive because we know we too are sinners and because we don't know the full extent of the evil that was done against us. So when someone seeks our forgiveness, we forgive because we know how sinful we are and how forgiven we are. We are also ignorant. We don't truly know the extent of the sin that was committed against us. If we knew the full extent...we wouldn't forgive. The other person may tell us the gist of how they offended us, but we don't know what they were thinking about us, how many people they talked to and the things they said about us, and the depth of their offense against us. So we can forgive because of our ignorance of the extent of the wrongs done against us. If we knew the whole story, we probably wouldn't ever talk to the person again, let alone forgive them.
The main theme of the sermon was that because we have peace with God through Jesus, we can have peace with others and that many times it is people and not things that take away our peace. So we looked at how God forgives us and how that applies to peace in our relationships.
God's grace is mind-blowing. We saw that God is not motivated to forgive us because of his sinfulness or because of ignorance of the full extent of the wrongs done against him. God can't be motivated by his own sinfulness and his own ignorance because he is perfect and because he knows everything...including the full extent of our sin. And yet he forgives. That is mind-blowing. Because listen...our own sinfulness and ignorance are motivators for us to forgive others. We are motivated to forgive because we know we too are sinners and because we don't know the full extent of the evil that was done against us. So when someone seeks our forgiveness, we forgive because we know how sinful we are and how forgiven we are. We are also ignorant. We don't truly know the extent of the sin that was committed against us. If we knew the full extent...we wouldn't forgive. The other person may tell us the gist of how they offended us, but we don't know what they were thinking about us, how many people they talked to and the things they said about us, and the depth of their offense against us. So we can forgive because of our ignorance of the extent of the wrongs done against us. If we knew the whole story, we probably wouldn't ever talk to the person again, let alone forgive them.
Let me press this great truth into us even more. God forgives us and offers us the gift of peace, but yet, unlike us, he wasn't a sinner. He isn't motivated to forgive us because he thinks to himself, "well, I'm not perfect either and yet I am forgiven." No! He is perfect, without sin, and yet STILL forgives. That should stun us. But what should stun us even more is that he forgives and offers peace when he actually knows the WHOLE extent of our sin. We don't know the extent of the wrongs committed against us and people don't know the extent of our wrongs committed against them. If we all knew the extent of the offenses against each other, no one would be friends…perhaps no one would even be married. But yet God not only knows the tip of the iceberg but he also knows the rest of it. He knows our evil thoughts, he knows our dishonesty, he knows our conniving, he knows our disbelief, he knows our secret sins...and yet…and yet...he forgives! Yet he extends the peace of God to "guard our hearts." We sing that "his grace amazes us" because the grace of God is mind-blowing.
So we looked at Matthew 18 and the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant told by Jesus and saw that the first servant (who represents us) owed ten thousand talents, or in today’s currency, seven billion dollars, and was forgiven that debt by the master (God). After the servant (us) had been forgiven, another servant (one of our friends, family member, even ourselves), owed the servant (us) 100 denarii, or twelve thousand dollars, but that servant (us) wouldn't forgive the debt. The servant who had been forgiven the seven billion dollar debt couldn't forgive the person who owed him 12,000 dollars. By using 12,000 dollars, or a 1/3 of annual wages, Jesus is showing that, yes, the offenses against us can sometimes be significant. But still...we were forgiven a debt of seven billion dollars but we can't forgive twelve thousand dollars? Jesus ended the parable by saying, "therefore, forgive your brother from your heart."
So, yes, Jesus’ point was that we ought to forgive as we have been forgiven. But here is the issue...we can't. We don't. We won't. In fact...we couldn't forgive this radically even if we tried! We all have our limits. Our love for mostly everyone in our lives, if not everyone, is conditional. Jesus says to forgive seventy times seven times, but even the best of us forgives maybe a dozen major offenses before we stop truly forgiving from our heart. And if we forgive someone, in some cases we will still keep our distance. And we should. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time! But God doesn't do that. The good news of the Gospel is that he not only forgives while knowing all the sins, and while not being a sinner himself, but goes a step beyond total forgiveness and honors us. Like the father did for the prodigal son in Luke 15, he not only forgives our seven billion dollar debt, he puts a ring on our finger, he gives us the best robe, he gives us the seat of honor, sacrifices the best calf and throws a party in our honor…because we were lost and now we are found…we were dead but now we are alive! That is where I stopped my sermon…and that was an ok stopping point. I got to the Gospel for sure. But...
It is worth driving home, even more, that the main point to take from the sermon isn’t that “because we have been forgiven 7 billion dollars, we should forgive our brother the 12,000 dollars.” That is true…it is what Jesus tells us to do. He even goes a step further, and makes it more impossible, and says to “forgive from your heart.” If we follow Jesus' example, we certainly will have peace in our relationships. The Psalmist tells us that "the Law is perfect, reviving the soul"...if we follow the Law to the letter, we will have life and peace. But there was only One person who followed the Law to the letter. The Law is good at showing us what we are required to do, what is pleasing to God, and it is ultimately good at driving us to....Jesus. Jesus told a parable and made a Law…to forgive your brother from your heart...even significant wrongs done against us. This idea would have gone against the Jewish culture and would have been difficult for some to even square with the Law of Moses. Jesus intensified the Law of Moses...he didn't soften it. But the Law doesn’t give us the power to carry out its demands. It simply diagnoses us and tells us there is a problem. The Law diagnoses us, the Gospel delivers us.
So what?
The main point is to see the One, Jesus, who actually did and does forgive seventy times seven. To see the One who actually did and DOES forgive the seven billion dollar debt. It is only when our eyes are fixed on Jesus’ actions, not ours, Jesus’ forgiveness, not ours, the peace that Jesus gives, not the flimsy peace that we give, that we will begin to move towards this kind of radical forgiveness and peace. We won’t be able to forgive this radically and have this kind of peace when we focus on the Law ("do this") contained in the story. That is what the rich young ruler did elsewhere in Scripture (Mk 10). He ran to Jesus and asked him, “what must I do to inherit enteral life”…and Jesus said, “keep the commandments”….the rich young ruler said, “I have since I was young" (actually, he hadn’t kept them as none of us do, but that is not the point), Jesus said, “ok…well, sell everything and give it away and follow me”…and the rich young ruler went away downcast because HE couldn’t do it. The cost was too high. He only heard the first word…Law…and thought HE could do it...he actually thought he had DONE it...but he hadn't done it. Even a young man raised immersed in the Torah, raised to follow all the Law, had fallen woefully short of following the Law! He was deceived. He didn’t stick around to hear the final word which would have given him the fuel to follow Jesus…he didn't hear the Gospel.
So what?
The main point is to see the One, Jesus, who actually did and does forgive seventy times seven. To see the One who actually did and DOES forgive the seven billion dollar debt. It is only when our eyes are fixed on Jesus’ actions, not ours, Jesus’ forgiveness, not ours, the peace that Jesus gives, not the flimsy peace that we give, that we will begin to move towards this kind of radical forgiveness and peace. We won’t be able to forgive this radically and have this kind of peace when we focus on the Law ("do this") contained in the story. That is what the rich young ruler did elsewhere in Scripture (Mk 10). He ran to Jesus and asked him, “what must I do to inherit enteral life”…and Jesus said, “keep the commandments”….the rich young ruler said, “I have since I was young" (actually, he hadn’t kept them as none of us do, but that is not the point), Jesus said, “ok…well, sell everything and give it away and follow me”…and the rich young ruler went away downcast because HE couldn’t do it. The cost was too high. He only heard the first word…Law…and thought HE could do it...he actually thought he had DONE it...but he hadn't done it. Even a young man raised immersed in the Torah, raised to follow all the Law, had fallen woefully short of following the Law! He was deceived. He didn’t stick around to hear the final word which would have given him the fuel to follow Jesus…he didn't hear the Gospel.
The power to forgive radically will not come from the command itself to forgive, or even the example that Jesus sets in forgiving, but out of the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if we gritted our teeth and took Jesus' example to forgive and tried to forgive the best we could, we would not be "forgiving from our heart" as Jesus commanded. No. The only way towards this kind of radical forgiveness that will lead to peace in our relationships is by being in awe of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and being fueled by the Gospel. Those of you who are beginning to catch this grace know exactly what I am talking about, but you are probably like me and can’t fully explain it.
You are like Paul who after explaining the two Great Words of Scripture, Law and Gospel, for eleven chapters in Romans, finally cried out, “oh the depths of the wisdom and knowledge and riches of God…its way over our heads…we will never figure it out…no one can explain God!”…but when you are addicted to grace…addicted to Nothing but Jesus…you may not totally understand it or even be able to explain it…but you start to get it more and more...the fruit grows slowly within us. And eventually you start to have real peace with God, with yourself, and even with others.
No comments:
Post a Comment