Christ Church

More Than Just Forgiveness

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Text

“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Mt. 18:23–35).

Introduction

Certain people have the uncanny ability to drive you crazy. It’s tempting to box them out of our lives, so we won’t have to deal with their antics. Forgiving someone again & again is an unappealing course of action as it means they’ve offended you again & again. However, there’s someone you’re very good at forgiving & treating with great delicacy even though they’re a good-for-nuthin’ scoundrel. That someone? Yourself!

Summary of the Text

After teaching on the process for progressively rebuking a brother who has sinned against you (Mt. 18:15-20), Peter raises the question of how many times should an offending brother be forgiven…“seven times (v.21)?” Jesus’ response shows that keeping a scorecard of your brother’s offenses is contrary to the true spirit of forgiveness. The number he gives is clearly meant to indicate that you’re to forgive your brother regardless of the number of times he offends (v.22).  These numbers hearken back to the vengeance protections against Cain & Lamech (cf. Gen. 4:15 & 23-24).
Jesus illustrates with a parable in three scenes. The first episode is that of a king taking account & forgiving a servant who begged for clemency; even though he owed an insurmountable debt of 10,000 talents (vs.23-27). It would take 20 years for a day-laborer to earn 1 talent. Thus, this servant owed the equivalent of 200,000 years of labor. We’re talking billions of dollars. The second episode sees this same servant hunting down a fellow-servant who owed him 100 days’ wages––not a negligible amount. The forgiven servant refuses to forgive his fellow-servant who was indebted to him. He throws him into prison until the debt is repaid (vs.28-30).
In the third episode, this news travels back to the king who––in great wrath––rebukes the pitiless servant, reverses his decision, & turns him over to tormentors until his debt is paid in full (vs. 31-34). Jesus’ concludes this parable by warning that His Father will do likewise unto those who do not––from the heart––forgive their brother (v. 35).

The Root of Our Forgiveness

We learn from this parable, that the Father, expects His forgiveness to be imitated. Paul’s epistles repeat this:
Ephesians 4:32 
Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Colossians 3:12-13
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, & forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
The root of our forbearance (i.e. patience) & forgiveness of each other is rooted in the Gospel of Christ’s forgiveness of us. The implication in the parable is that our debt to God can’t be “worked off.” Our only hope is gracious forgiveness.
The “imitative” quality of our earthly forgiveness carries boulder-sized ramifications. Imitating God’s forgiveness means that an unbeliever is incapable of truly forgiving as they are unable to imitate God without the new birth. It also means that a child of God who refuses to forgive is going to be all tied up in knots because they have clearly not grasped how great a debt God has forgiven them.

A Variety of Pseudo-Forgiveness

While we must hold one doctrine firmly––that our salvation is secure––we must hear the profound warning which Christ attaches to unforgiveness.
Matthew 6:12, 14-15
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. […] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
As one fellow once shrewdly pointed out: “Refusal to forgive is a decision for vengeance.” Since our forgiveness is imitative of Christ’s forgiveness, unforgiveness indicates a lack of grasping what the Father has done for you. Man always connives to avoid God’s clear command for seeking & giving forgiveness. Christ’s warning about unforgiveness should make us wary of “wild-flowers of forgiveness” that look pretty from a distance, but are, in fact, destructive weeds.
First, modern psychology treats forgiveness therapeutically. You endeavor to drudge up forgiveness-feelings in order to feel better about yourself. In this approach, reconciliation is of no concern. Along this vein, we often think we need to search for forgiveness feelings before forgiving. Biblically, forgiveness is a promise, an act of the will to “remember not” (cf. Ps. 79:8). Forgetting is passive, whereas “remembering not” is active.
A second imposter is the common apology. “I’m sorry” is different from “I was wrong, please forgive me.” Apologizing is offering a defense not seeking forgiveness.
Sweeping things under the rug is a third pseudo-forgiveness. This is just loveless apathy. If you truly would imitate Christ, you must not let things slide, but address them for the sake of the relationship. In fact, this opens to us operate in the realm of objective truth rather than subjective feelings. Ken Sande summarizes this well, “Forgiveness is not excusing. Forgiveness is the exact opposite of excusing. The very fact that forgiveness is needed & granted indicates that what someone did was wrong & inexcusable.”

A Glory Beyond Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not an end in & of itself; it is a means unto something far grander. The arc of all history shows that God’s aim in redeeming mankind is more than merely forgiving him for his crimes in Eden; God is preparing a Garden City whose glory outshines the sun. God is restoring what was lost in Eden, but in an incomprehensibly glorified way.
In our earthly relationships, this means that merely forgiving the offense is not the end goal. A restored & glorified relationship is the goal. In essence, forgiveness is a means to a more glorious marriage, friendship, relationship, society.
All the various weeds of pseudo-forgiveness––which are all of the genus known as bitterness––will quickly overshadow & strangle the fruits of grace. Thus, keeping short accounts with your fellow-servants is vital for the health of the garden of your life. Bitterness would turn your garden into an eyesore. Redemptive grace takes your garden & glorifies it into a full-fledged farm with a gourmet restaurant.
When we forgive the 100 pence our brother owes us, our imitation of what God has forgiven us is on display. In this way, you not only enjoy the blessings of a restored relationships & clear consciences; you also enjoy the great privilege of displaying to the onlooking world the reconciliation found in the Gospel: God the Father reconciling Himself with fallen man through Christ. We mustn’t forget: our overarching aim––in forgiving our brother––is glorifying God.

Read Full Article

What Kind of Friend Are You?

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Text

“And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22-26).

Read Full Article

Unity in Two Forms

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

As the church of God grows and increases in the world, there will be problems that are associated with that increase. You cannot have growth in this fallen world without having the associated growing pains.

The Text

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13).

Summary of the Text

The therefore in v. 1 is the hinge of the book. Because of all the grand indicatives, Paul says that we are to therefore walk worthy of our vocation (v. 1). We are to walk in patient humility, in meekness, and in love (v. 2), which is how we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit (v. 3) in the bond of peace. This is the kind of unity that is kept by personal godliness. It is the kind of unity that is disrupted by personal ungodliness.

After Jesus ascended into Heaven, He gave gifts to men. He did this, equipping the church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and then pastor/teachers (v. 11). They were given in order that the saints might be perfected, and the body of Christ might be edified (v. 12). The end result of this process of maturation and edification is that we all come into the unity of the faith (v. 13). This unity is not yet here, and it is not supposed to be here yet. A premature insistence on this kind of unity has been, ironically, one of the greatest sources of disunity in the church to date.

Two Sorts of Unity

The book of Ephesians is divided into two great sections. The first three chapters describe our position in Christ, and gives us scarcely anything to do. The only thing we can do with the great indicative statements there is to believe them. The last three chapters are filled with imperatives, with commands. These are the things we are to obey. They are commands, but they are commands built on the foundation of the first three chapters. And as the commands are grounded that way, so should your obedience be.

The fourth chapter contains a reference to two different kinds of unity, and consequently two different kinds of commands are associated with them. The first sort of unity is simply given by the Spirit, and we are commanded to preserve it. The second kind of unity is set before us as an eschatological goal, and we are commanded to strive for it, leaning into the long process of edification.

Two Paths

So we have two kinds of unity, and two paths are given for us to walk. For the first kind of unity, the task we have is that of preserving it. We already have it, and we do in fact have it here in our church community. The way to keep it that way, the way to preserve it, is the way of humble confession when you have done wrong, and humble forgiveness when you have been wronged.

The second path is the way of godly cooperation and competition. This may require explanation, so I will say a few words about that shortly.

Confession and Forgiveness

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). Remember the humility Paul urged earlier in our text. Patience. Love. Meekness. Humility. Deal with sin when you sin. And deal with sin when you are sinned against.

And in a community like ours, where so much good is going on, the great sin to guard against is the sin of envy and striving. “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; But who is able to stand before envy?” (Prov. 27:4). One of the more common manifestations of this is the idea that you can participate in the Moscow Christian community by means of hooky bobbing. That way you can get down the street without being associated directly with that Wilson character.

Cooperation and Competition

In the early church, the first thing that happened as they began to grow is that a conflict developed. “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration” (Acts 6:1). But because the church handled it in a godly and responsible way, selected godly deacons to oversee the work, what was the result? The result was more growth. “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

Many of you have heard me say that our congregation has grown to the size of a small town. I mean, look around you. And consider this number over against the total size of Moscow’s population. Not only so, but because of the Puritan hustle that is involved, we have all the problems that come with growth and multiplication, and we are going to continue to have them. With regard to Christian education, we are now an educational boom town—Logos School, Logos Online, Kepler, New St. Andrews, White Horse, Jubilee, and I am sure some others. Do you think there are any opportunities for cooperation and competition there? Why, yes.

When it comes to distributing the biblical worldview by other means (publishing, video, etc.), we have Canon Press, CCM, Gorilla Poet, Roman Roads, New St. Andrews, Blog and Mablog, and you get the picture.

And then a number of you—wanting to feed your families and all—have started a number of other ventures. We are talking about restaurants, realty companies, medical practices, software companies, light manufacturing, and so on.

Given this glorious set up, if a bunch of you don’t bonk heads, I will be greatly disappointed in you. But I will be even more disappointed if you don’t handle it the way Christian disciples are called to do. Whenever disciples quarrel on the road about who is to be the greatest, just remember that Jesus is just there ahead of us on that same road.

Read Full Article