Christ Church

Colossians as Cornerstone #1

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

Together with Ephesians, the epistle to the Colossians is one of those places in Scripture where you have a much higher densityof truth. The letter is not more true than other passages of Scripture, but there is certainly more truth per square inch. This letter will repay many visits.

The Text

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Colossians 1:1–20)

Summary of the Text

The letter is from Paul the apostle and Timothy both, but since the pronoun I is used throughout, we may assume that Timothy was the secretary (v. 1). The saints and faithful brethren there are greeted with grace and peace from the Father and Son (v. 2). Paul was constantly grateful for the Colossians (v. 3), ever since he heard of their faith in God and love for the saints (v. 4). That faith and love sprang from their hope laid up in heaven, which they heard about through the gospel (v. 5). That gospel, in the Colossians and everywhere, is fruitful from the beginning (v. 6). They learned all this from Epaphras, a faithful minister (v. 7), who reported their love back to Paul (v. 8).

Since the first day Paul heard of their beginning, he constantly prayed that they would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (v. 9). This is so that they might walk in a way that was fruitful and pleasing to God (v. 10). This would happen as they were strengthened by His power in all patient joy (v. 11), giving thanks to the Father who included them in His inheritance (v. 12). God had delivered them from the power of darkness (v. 13) into His kingdom, and they had redemption through the blood of the Son, which is the forgiveness of sin (v. 14).

This Son is particularly exalted in this book. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation (v. 15). This Son is the Almighty Creator of all things—they were created byHim and forHim (v. 16). He is prior to all things, and in Him all things hang together (v. 17). He is the head of the church, and the arche(the “beginning”), the firstborn from the dead, the preeminent one (v. 18). It pleased the Father that all fullness might reside in the Son (v. 19). And having made peace through the cross, it was the Father’s intention to reconcile everything in Heaven and on earth through that magnificent sacrifice (v. 20).

Background of the Book

For many reasons, the book of Colossians should be considered the twin sister of Ephesians. These two books were written around the same time (62 A.D.), during Paul’s Roman imprisonment—the imprisonment recorded at the end of the book of Acts. Another letter written at the same time was Philemon. All three letters were apparently delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21; Col. 4:7) and Onesimus (Col. 4:9).

Colossae is located about one hundred miles to the east of Ephesus, in modern Turkey. Ephesus was on the coast, and Colossae was inland. The church at Colossae had been founded about ten years earlier, but not directly by Paul. When Paul was teaching for that three year stretch in Ephesus (A.D. 52-55), a Colossian native named Epaphras heard Paul in Ephesus, was converted, and returned to Colossae in order to plant the church there (Col. 1:7).

Christ the Creator

If something exists, then that something was created by Christ. He is the executive of God’s power, He is God’s power, which is to say, He is God. Consider verse 16 again. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” (Col. 1:16).

But we are told this many times in the New Testament. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (Heb. 1:2). If something is, then Christ made it.

Christ the Arche

The word archein verse 18 is translated as beginning, but there is more to this than what a stopwatch measures. The word archeis used in John 1:1, but there at the beginning is the Word, who is God and with God. In Col. 2:15, Christ spoils the principalities (arche), which refers to spiritual rulers. Christ is the ultimate ruler, the ultimate point of integration, the firstborn of all creation.

Paul says this explicitly in verse 15. He is the firstborn of all creation. This is echoed a moment later in the phrase firstborn from the dead. And so we see that firstborn of all creation does not mean “first born creature.” Christ is no creature, but rather the Creator, as already noted. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is God’s declaration of who is really is (Rom. 1:4; Acts 13:33). Jesus was begotten from the dead, which is what “this day I have begotten thee” refers to in the second psalm.

Christ the Cosmic Reconciliation

Paul says something very striking in verse 20. “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20). The death of Christ on the cross did not just result in our forgiveness and our redemption, although it includes that. We see that in verse 14—“in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” And so the estrangement between our unholy selves and a holy God is accomplished this way. But notice that Paul is talking about a much grander reconciliation accomplished through the cross. Here the reconciliation is between “all things” and “Himself.” And the allness of the “all things” includes things in Heaven as well as on earth.

Do not simply think of Heaven as a place that is utterly distant—although the Scriptures do speak of the highest heaven. We should also think of Heaven as something that is near but hidden from us. There are multiple places where we are told that the heavens “opened.” We see this at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:10). Jesus told Nathanael that he would see it (John 1:51). Peter saw this in his vision of the sheet with the unclean animals (Acts 10:11). This what Stephan saw at his martyrdom (Acts 7:56). This is the revelation that John saw (Rev. 4:1).

So do not say, “who will go up into Heaven to get Christ for us?” (Rom. 10:6; Deut. 30:12-13). No, Heaven is nearby, because Christ is preached, and whenever Christ is preached, He is nearby.

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Rom. 10:8).

Read Full Article

Christ Hidden in Your Calling

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

First we must begin with a statement of our problem. Many glorious truths were recovered in the Reformation, and one of them was the doctrine of vocation. Unfortunately, this is part of our Protestant heritage that we have shamefully neglected, and have almost lost. One of the principal indications that we have lost this doctrine is that we speak so easily and readily of “full-time Christian work,” as though there were anything else for a Christian to do. The reestablishment of two “holiness” layers of occupation in Christendom has been a terrible loss.

The Text

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:1-5).

Summary of the Text

So the word of the Lord comes to Moses (v. 1). A particular man was called by name out of the tribe of Judah. His name was Bezaleel (v. 2), and the Lord filled him with the Spirit of God (v. 3). This is the first instance of anyone being described as filled with the Spirit in the Bible.

And what were the indications of the Spirit’s filling? They were wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and craftsmanship (v. 3), which gave him the ability to do cunning work—as a goldsmith, a silversmith, a worker in brass (v. 4), as a jeweler (or possibly a mason), a woodworker, along with any other similar work.

So when the Spirit descends to fill a man for the first time in the Bible, it is surprisingly not to come down upon a theologian reading a big, fat scroll. He does do that, but later. Now the important thing here is that Bezaleel was called. The Latin verb that means “to call” is vocare, from which we get our word “vocation,” calling. This is not to disparage the importance of a call to the mission field, or the ministry—of course not. But all Christians are called, and are called to labor self-consciously and faithfully in their calling, whether it is law, real estate, carpentry, medicine, brick-laying, shop-keeping, changing diapers, writing novels or songs, digging latrines, or planting trees. All of God is in all of it. Christians who think like Christians should function in terms of calling, and not in terms of “a job.”

The Foundation

We do not hold to this on the basis of a mere assertion. There is a doctrinal foundation for it. We must fix it in our minds that God is in everything, and works through everything. If God is sovereign in this way, which we affirm, this means that Christ is hidden in the artisan, and Christ is hidden in the customer. Christ is hidden in the one behind the counter, and He is hidden in the one in front of the counter. He is hidden in the dentist, and hidden in the patient in the chair.

First, God provides for us through means. We benefit from the work of the farmer, the fertilizer salesman, the trucker, the grocery store clerk, the dairyman, and when we bow our heads to thank God for the breakfast cereal, we are thanking Him for His work in and through all of these people, whether they know Him or not. We receive from Godthrough the work of others. We acknowledge this when we pray for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). We know that God is working in and through all things (Rom. 8:28), and this includes all of our countless daily kindnesses.

Second, Christ receives from us as we work in each of our vocations. God gratefully receives from us through the work we do for others. “Lord, when did I ever give you hot French fries when you were famished?” “Don’t you remember? It was that time at the drive-through window.” This is the other side of vocation, the flip side of it. God keeps track of every cup of cold water (Matt. 10:42), and He reckons everything we do for others as done to and for Him (Matt. 25: 34-46).

This means that Christ is hidden in our vocation, and He is hidden in our neighbor. We are to discover Him there with the eye of faith. We were created for work (Gen. 2:15), and called to work diligently six days out of seven (Ex. 20:9-11). We are to render all our work to Christ, and not just to the boss when he is present. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col. 3:23). Christ is in your boss, and Christ is in your customer, and Christ is in you.

And so we are to receive all the work done for us as a gift from Jesus Himself (Matt. 6:11). The mother gives milk to the child, but who fills her breasts with milk in the first place? When the farmer first planted the wheat, he did not know he was making milk for the baby.

What Vocation Does Not Mean

All work is full of glory but it is a glory apprehended by faith. This faith does not necessarily mean that a Christian carpenter pounds nails differently than an unregenerate carpenter does. But it does mean that he should understand the meaning of what he does, and, over time, this should result in differences in craft competence.

Neither should this doctrine be taken as an excuse to become a one-trick pony. Your vocation is varied, and extends to every aspect of your life. This means that you are not only called to be, say, a software designer, but you are also called to be a son, a student, a husband, a brother, a citizen, a churchman, and a putter of model ships into bottles. Incidentally, parents, this means that education should be equipping your child for his or her vocation in this broad sense, not the narrow sense. And this, incidentally, is the meaning of a liberal arts education.

And vocation is not a talisman against worldly difficulties. Americans love “three steps to automatic success,” but that is not what the Scriptures promise. Diligence in this vocational way of thinking will generally result in long term satisfaction with what you do—instead of the constant flitting from job to job that is so common in our day—but don’t think that God-given changes are a sign that something is necessarily wrong. And don’t think that vocation means that you will just float through your work day—the diapers can really stink, the customers can really be unreasonably irate, the promised shipments really can be subject to exasperating delays. Rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45). And Christ is in all.

Finding Your Way

We are called, all of us, to live in the will of God. But remember the difference between His revealed will for all Christians, and, after that, what are yourabilities, youropportunities, and yourdesires. The first is a function of obedience. The second is a function of wisdom.

When those three things line up, then go for it. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Prov. 16:9). And as you go, remember this: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men” (Prov. 22:29). This is not carnal ambition—it is what enables us to see death and resurrectionin our daily callings.

A message on this subject would be grossly deficient if we did not quote Luther at some point. His wonderful grasp of vocation, the most heavenly and earthy of truths, was remarkable. “God Himself milks the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid.” And amen.

Read Full Article

Children of the Congregation

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

As Reformed Christians, we naturally think in terms of covenants. We do this when thinking about our salvation, and the covenant of grace, and we also do it when it comes to some of our horizontal relationships—we have a rich understanding, for example, of the covenant of marriage. And related to marriage, we also think of the family in covenantal terms. We are covenant families; our children are covenant children. This means that when our children are brought into the faith, they are introduced into the universal church. But they also individuals who, for the most part, grow up in a particular congregation (this one), and this has additional ramifications. They are not just brought to the faith. They are brought to a particular church, and they grow up to maturity within the church.

The Text

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Summary of the Text

This passage is one that is very familiar to us, having been appealed to regularly as we have urged and argued for the necessity of a Christian education for Christian kids. Fathers are here instructed not to provoke their children, which is something that fathers are prone to do (v. 4). In addition, as you have been told many times, the word translated nurture here is paideia. This paideia of the Lord is, of necessity, an all-encompassing reality. Our word education doesn’t begin to touch it. This word actually represents the profound experience of enculturation. The other word, admonition, could also be translated as instruction. Christian kids need a Christian education; the apostle requires that they be reared in an environment dominated by the Word of God.

That said, my interest today is with the verb rendered as “bring [them] up.” The word is used just two times in the New Testament. One of them is here, meaning rear, or bring up. The only other use is just a few verses earlier, when husbands are commanded to treat their wives as they treat their own bodies. No man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes (same word) and cherishes it.

A husband is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church. That is the baseline. As if that were not enough, he is told to apply the Golden Rule to marriage, taking how he nourishes and cherishes his own body as a rule for how he treats his wife. He feeds and cares for his own body, and the word for cherish (thalpo) literally means “to keep warm.” He is to be, in other words, extremely solicitous for his wife’s welfare. Then just a few verses later, he uses the same word with regard to the children of this man. Bring them up, feeding, protecting, caring, watching. Fathers are given this central charge.

In This Together

Fathers, and then mothers together with them, are engaged in this vital task of bringing up children. But Christian fathers and mothers are not on their own with regard to this.

In our practice of baptizing children, we recognize the importance of our congregational unity in child rearing when we ask you this question: “Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting these parents in the Christian nurture of this child? If so, signify it by saying amen.” But what does this mean exactly?

Let us say that you dutifully said amen at the baptism of little Herbert, and it is now three years later and little Herbert, cuteness diminishing by the year, is three rows ahead of your family at church every week, and is playing the role of a hellion ramped up on nitrous oxide.

The vow that we all take at baptisms requires (at a minimum) two things of us. The first is that if you are an observer of such things, and you have discounted for reasonable differences in family standards, then you need to inquire. But absolutely make sure you are observing a divergence from the Word, and not a divergence from your house rules. I would recommend that you do this dad-to-dad, and that you do it with questions, not accusations. Do it carefully, don’t rush into it, but do it. These are vows we take, and not decorations we put on.

I know that a number of you have done this sort of thing, and I know also that most of the time it goes well. Parents who are in over their heads are usually more eager for input than outsiders are to provide such input. This is not always the case, but it is usually the case. And when it isn’t the case, consider that the problem may have been an inept approach. So I said begin with questions, and not accusative questions. They should be questions like “How do you think Herbert is doing? Do you and your wife feel on top of things?”

The second thing these vows require is a particular attitude if you are the parent who is approached. This vow does not mean that any critic who comes to you is correct about what they see, or that their observations are even sensible. You are not obligated to agree, but you are obligated to not be defensive. The one thing you may not say is that “this is none of your business.” It is our business. We all took a vow.

Not only did we all take a vow, but in addition we practice child communion. We all come to the same Table week after week. This means that we are all being knit together into one body, and this includes your child and your child’s critic. That critic may be part of the problem, or may be part of the solution, but the one thing that is certain is that the critic is part of the body.

One last thing about this. You know your child up and down, inside and out. You are invested in your child. You love your child. The critic, observing from fifty feet away, may not know your child’s name, or his hopes, dreams, and aspirations. But because of the way communities work, that person that I have been (somewhat unkindly) calling a critic may know things about your child concerning which you have no idea. A three-year-old falls over at church, gets up, looks around, and then runs across the gym, bursting into a wail as soon as mom comes into sight. The observer, who doesn’t even know Herbert’s name, knows that Herbert is working his mom. And mom doesn’t know.

Or the parents of the kids who rode the bus to that basketball game know all about your teen-aged daughter’s boy-crazy conversation, and you don’t know. Factor this in as an ever present possibility (not a certainty), and simply refuse to be defensive. A rebuke from the righteous is excellent oil (Ps. 141:5), and so treat everyone who comes to you as being potentially one who brings that.

In the Lord

And now a few words to you children of the congregation. As you are growing up in the Lord, what sort of spiritual indicators should you be looking for? We are supposed to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). We are supposed to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). This can be done without morbid introspection. But how? Keep in mind that in all that follows, it is not so much what you look to as the way you look to it.

We are not looking for dramatic conversion stories, like Saul on the road to Damascus. Those do happen in the world, but for kids whose parents have obeyed our text this morning, bringing you up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, such stories are not the norm. Some people can say that they “got saved” at thus and such a time. For others, while God knows the precise time, they do not. But remember that everyone here knows that the sun is up, but I dare say that not one person here knows the precise time the sun came up.

For you covenant kids, what are the assurances of salvation. Fortunately, they turn out to the same as they are for everyone else. Now I am directing these remarks to the 10 to 12-year-olds. But if you are younger, you are invited to listen. And if you are older, you are invited to listen.

  • We see in 1 John 5:13 that we are to believe on the name of Jesus. We are to hold fast to Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9). This is the foundation of everything else. Do you trust in Jesus? This is all about Jesus. So we begin with Him. What do you make of Jesus? What is your attitude toward Him? Love? Hostility? Indifference?
  • “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). The Spirit is given as a guarantee (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:5-6). The Spirit is given to us as an assurance. And how do we know we have the Spirit? He grows things (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9), and He kills things (Rom. 8:13). Many of the passages we are looking at here tell us explicitly how we know that we belong to God. Notice how it goes with this one—hereby we know . . .
  • “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14). What is your attitude toward those that you know really love God? Do you want to be with them, or are you repelled by them? Now you don’t know if you are a real Christian, but you do know certain others who are real Christians. I am not talking about the goody-two-shoes, but rather the kids your age whom you know that really love God. What do you make of them? What is your attitude toward them? Respect? Admiration? Constant irritation? When one of them raises her hand in Bible class to answer a question, do you roll your eyes?
  • “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Jesus says that a mark of true conversion is humility of mind, becoming like a little child. When it comes to spiritual issues, are you humble? Or are you a know-it-all?
  • “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pet. 2:2–3). A marked characteristic of life is hunger—in this case, hunger for the Word. I am not talking about whether you read your Bible because for many of you, it is assigned. I am asking here whether there is any hunger for it. Do you read your Bible, or listen to sermons, because you are hungry? Peter compares it to being a newborn. When you were first born, nobody had to give you hungry lessons.
  • “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). There are two kinds of people in the world—those who are perishing and to whom the cross makes no sense, and those who are saved, to whom it does. So here is another indication. When the gospel is proclaimed, does it make any sense to you? Or is it all just yammer yammer Jesus yammer yammer yammer Bible yammer be good?
  • “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Here is another explicit statement of how we know. We know because we obey Him. We know that we are real Christians if we act like real Christians. We are following Jesus if we do what He says. But don’t despair too quickly here—this leads directly into an assurance that is connected to us not doing what He says.
  • “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). But the previous mark should not be clutched in a false and unreasonable perfectionism. We do still sin. But what happens when we sin? What happens then is anothermark of true conversion. God doesn’t spank the neighbor kids.

And so it is that we—all of us, adult and child alike—must always return to the proclamation of Christ. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).

Read Full Article

What It Means to be Forgiven

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

When we are forgiven for our sins, there are two aspects to it. First we are delivered, definitively, all at once, from the penalty of sin. You need to think of this as though the angel of the Lord Himself was appointed as the foreman of your jury, and he entered the heavenly courtroom and read out the verdict. Pointing to the altar where Jesus sprinkled His own blood, he says, in a bright clear voice that the whole cosmos hears, “not guilty.” This is forgiveness proper.

But we are also delivered from the power of sin. There is a stark break with what might be called reigning sin (Gal. 5:24), which is followed by a progressive and unrelenting campaign against all remaining sin (Col. 3:5; Rom. 8:13).

The Text

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lordhath spoken it (Is. 1:10-20).

Summary of the Text

The message I have entrusted to deliver to you is a message of free grace, radical grace, nothing but grace. The message of the cross of Jesus, and the resurrection of the Christ, is a message of everlasting and undeserved kindness. That being the case, and because our thought processes are so corrupted by sin, we have a hard time getting our minds around what God is offering us.

Either we say that God is the only lifeguard, and so He must be saving us from drowning by leaving us on the bottom of the pool, or we acknowledge that we must be saved from drowning by getting out of the pool, and concluding that we must by our own efforts help the lifeguard to save us. Being saved by grace means being saved by grace from sin (Rom. 6:14). Being under law means being under condemnation for those sins that have you in bondage. Being under grace means you are liberated from that.

Consider how the prophet Isaiah presents this glorious reality. First, he addresses the Jews under the figure of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 10). He asks the first what their intentions were in bringing Him sacrifices (v. 11). He asks them (sarcastically) who required you to show up here in my courts (v. 12). He tells them to pack up all their liturgical gear, and get out (v. 13). Solemn meetings and iniquity do not go together. God hates their religiosity (v. 14). When they spread out their hands in a pious gesture, God turns away. Their hands are covered with blood (v. 15). Repent, turn away, learn a different way (vv. 16-17). And then comes the glorious promise—a promise that only God could fulfill (v. 18). God makes them a most reasonable offer. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though their sins be like crimson, they shall be like wool. The sins are blood red; the salvation is blood red; the forgiveness is pure white.

If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land (v. 19). If you are stubborn and kick, then you will be destroyed (v. 20).

Forgiven Means Forgiving

A sheep bleats because it is a sheep. But you don’t become a sheep bybleating. An apple tree produces apples because it is an apple tree. But a bramble bush can’t become an apple tree bygrowing apples. A person rescued from the bottom of the pool will be dried off, but we don’t hand him a towel on the bottom of the pool.

And forgiven people forgive. That is just what happens.

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even asGod for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).

This is how absolute forgiveness is simultaneously absolute grace, free grace, and at the same time is morally rigorous. This is because God does not just give us cleansing from the defilement of sin, but also from the power of sin to defile. He gives us more, not less.

What It Is Like

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord” (Is. 54:17).

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressionsfor mine own sake, and will not rememberthy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: Declare thou, that thou mayest be justified” (Is. 43:25–26).

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, And passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, Because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18–19).

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressionsfrom us” (Ps. 103:12).

Read Full Article