SATURDAY JANUARY 29, 2011

Read Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32

How Must I Forgive?

Colossians 3:13

• Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32.

• Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

These two verses make it clear that we are to strive for the same standard of forgiveness that God has given us. This standard is outlined in pages 1-4. Nothing less is acceptable in the Lord’s eyes.

But be wary of Luke 7:47. In Luke 7:40-50 Jesus shows through the prostitute who touches Him that our level of forgiveness for others mirrors how much we understand our own forgiveness by the Lord.

• “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Thus the person who finds it hard to forgive another may need to grow in their understanding and appreciation of the Lord’s forgiveness of him/herself. They need to realise some startling and often hard to accept truths:-

• My sin against God is greater than any other person’s sin against me. (Matthew 18:22-35).


• My own sin drove Jesus to the cross to be cruelly punished and to be separated from His Father (see all the gospel accounts of the death of Christ). My sin caused Jesus more pain than anyone’s sin has caused me (1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 4:10).


• If God can forgive me the greater debt, then I can forgive others the lesser debt.


• God’s grace is far greater than my hurts, my anger, my bitterness etc. God’s grace can change me from the inside out.

Conclusion:

Forgiveness is a complicated and sensitive matter. It is so primarily because when we are sinned against, we are hurt to the core of our being. Forgiveness reaches in and touches both our core and the other person’s with genuine love and acceptance. It is often a painful process involving both the sinner and the one sinned against and even the whole church.

The bottom line of forgiveness is the grace and mercy that has been poured out to you by the Lord Himself. As you understand more and more of His love and grace to you personally you will be quick to repent and quick to forgive (in the full sense of the word). In this sense, forgiveness is not merely a process or a decision but a reflection of Christ’s own love for you. How well or how poorly you reflect Christ’s love and forgiveness depends on how much you appreciate and appropriate it in your own life.

FRIDAY JANUARY 28, 2011

Read Leviticus 19

How Do I Treat Those Who Refuse To Repent?

The practical question arises, How do I treat those who fail to or refuse to repent? How can I move forward in my walk with the Lord? How can I get past the hurt, the hate, the anger, the bitterness...?

Unfortunately we have been fed a lie for a long time. We have been told over and over again that there are only two options - either your forgive someone or you twist up with bitterness and grow to be a cranky old person. This is simply not true! There are many examples of believers (as shown above) who never offered full reconciling forgiveness to the unrepentant and who still did not twist up in bitterness and anger.

Below are several steps that may help you find release from bitterness, pent up anger, hurt and pain and so on. These suggestions are applicable to Christians who refuse to repent, loved ones that have hurt you, aggressors that cannot repent (e.g., that have died) and so on:-

• Turn to God and let God be your deliverer. In all the Psalms listed earlier one truth comes out again and again. The Psalmist turns to God, pleads his case and waits for the Lord to deliver or vindicate him. What you are doing when you turn to the Lord is asking Him who is far greater than your enemy to deliver you, to help you, to escort you etc. In your anger,  hurt and/or bitter moments you must turn to the Lord and cry out to Him.. If you  repeatedly fail to come to the Lord (Hebrews 4:16) you are allowing bitterness and other destructive emotions to build up.

• Make a firm choice and decision that you will not seek revenge neither in deed nor in mind. As you dwell on the revenge and the justification or rightness of your own revenge, you are twisting yourself up in knots. Consciously and consistently decide to let go of the need to get revenge. Leave that to God. This may need lots of prayer, repentance on your behalf and even a mature Christian on whose shoulder you can cry and scream on.


• Realise and know, accept deep within yourself that nothing has happened, is happening, or will happen to you that is not within the Lord’s sovereignty. You must be fully convinced of the Lord’s sovereignty if you are to remain untwisted and unbitter! Take Joseph as an example. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He was taken from freedominto a foreign land and made a slave. He was thrown into jail for years in Egypt. He could have turned out very bitter, very hurt, very resentful. However, he was very clear that God had a purpose in his betrayal, pain and suffering. In Genesis 45:5-8 Joseph says to his brothers,

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be ploughing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Later on (when Joseph’s father died and the brothers feared retribution and sought forgiveness) Joseph says these words on a similar vein, ‘But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.’

says these words on a similar vein, ‘But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.’

Joseph gave up the right to judge his brothers or to take revenge and saw the Lord’s sovereign hand in all that happened to him. If you do not see and accept the Lord’s sovereignty in your life and pain, you will probably always be bitter. Accepting the Lord’s sovereignty shows purpose and meaning in all you suffered. It allows you to have hope for the future, your future.

• Along these lines, you must know deep down inside yourself that Romans 8:28 is true for you and your situation:-

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

This statement/promise from God is true no matter what happens to you. As a Child of God, you can rest assured that everything (even the sins and hurts committed against you) have been worked out by your sovereign God for the good of those who love Him. Even if you can’t see the truth, you can still rest assured that this promise is true. Memorise this verse. Learn to believe it. When you doubt or are bitter or feel like exacting revenge, repeat this verse and dwell on it.

• Whether or not you remain angry is really your choice. Even though complete forgiveness is not given to the other party, you can choose not to harbour the anger and the bitterness of being hurt (James 1:19-20, Philippians 4:8). This happens as you immerse yourself in God’s grace and allow Him to work in your life. Prayerfulness is compulsory for getting rid of your anger.  As you leave room for the wrath of God, your anger will dissipate more and more. However, giving up your anger does not mean changing the way you see sin. What was done was sinful and will always remain sinful. We are never called to call sin ‘good’ and something good ‘sinful’. By choosing to give up your anger you are not choosing to condone the sin or to call it anything but sinful.
  
  
  
  • Whether someone repents or not is ultimately between them and God. While you may be involved in calling them to repentance you will not be judged according to their repentance or lack of it. You will be judged on  how YOU act/react/speak etc. Even when you are sinned against, you are still called to be holy and righteous. Thus make up your mind to act and speak in ways that please God so that you can be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
  
  
  
  

• Make time to pray for repentance for the other person (2 Timothy 2:24-26). The more you argue and quarrel with that person the angrier/more bitter you will become.

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the

hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the

devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

• As you have opportunity, do good to those who have hurt you. This is often very difficult and painful but as mentioned earlier can help with their repentance or will concrete their condemnation.

• James 4:6 (read in context and note the words ‘more grace’), Hebrews 13:9, Hebrews 4:16 and 2 Peter 1:3-4 show that God’s grace is what changes us. If you have been sinned against and hurt by others, your natural reaction will be to hate, seek revenge and so on. But God promises you more grace so that you can be godly and righteous, so that you can heal, so that you can love again! Turn to God and lavish yourself in His grace and let it heal your wounds. Let His grace dissolve your anger and free you from bitterness.

• Continue to harbour what we have called the spirit of forgiveness, trusting God to bring repentance and full restoration of that relationship.

Many people will argue that the above points represent forgiveness. But as page four outlines, forgiveness involves far more and cannot and should not be separated from repentance, reconciliation and restoration of relationships.

THURSDAY JANUARY 27, 2011

Read Deuteronomy 6:1-7

Reaching a Conclusion?

So what can we conclude about the scenario between a Christian and non Christian who fails or refuses to repent? The Scripture is clear that forgiveness (in the full sense outlined on page 4) is not offered to the unrepentant (be they believers or unbelievers). As you re-read through the summary of what full forgiveness entails, you quickly realise that it is impossible to apply many of these things to the unrepentant. It is especially difficult, if not impossible, to love freely those who refuse to repent.

Indeed, there is very little said about forgiving those who refuse to come to the Lord (i.e. unbelievers) in repentance. What is talked about is their eternal damnation and/or condemnation by the Lord. What is said is that we are to hold out the offer of forgiveness without being yoked to them.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2011

Read Matthew 3

Jesus.

Did Jesus continue with the pattern of the Old Testament or did He instigate a radical new truth that leaves the Old Testament unusable to New Testament believers?

It is clear that Jesus taught about forgiveness and loving one’s enemies. These have been discussed in detail. Several other factors about Jesus’ ministry must be pointed out in regard to forgiveness.

1. Jesus proclaimed the Kngdom of God and called people to repentance (Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15). Repentance would lead to forgiveness. Those, we assume, who do not repent are not forgiven.

Jesus denounced the cities that saw His miracles and failed to repent, showing that judgement day would be a terrible ordeal for them (Matthew 11:20-26). Those who failed to repent are judged and condemned showing that they are not forgiven.

2. When He was confronted by the hypocrisy and ungodliness of the Pharisees Jesus literally blasted them. (Matthew 23:13-29) No mention of forgiveness is made. If we are called to automatically forgive those who sin against us (Didn’t the Pharisees etc, seek to kill Jesus and thus sin against Him?), then we should imagine that the Pharisees would have been told about their forgiveness. Quite the opposite occurs! They are condemned in the strongest language.

3. There is no mention of Judas being forgiven for his sin. Jesus plainly says that he has gone to where he belongs (John 17:12). Judas was a non Christian (John 6:64) and he is clearly not forgiven by Jesus.

5. The repentant thief on the cross is offered paradise while the other thief, who was unrepentant, was not offered life eternal in paradise (Luke 23:40-43). The Greek of vs 43 can NOT be misconstrued to be talking about more than only 1 person. Only the penitent thief is offered forgiveness, not the unrepentant one!

TUESDAY JANUARY 25, 2011

Read Acts 7:1-60

However, it is feasible and believable that some would be brought to repentance by your doing good deeds to non Christians.

When they come to the Lord and are forgiven by Him, you are called to offer your forgiveness and to be reconciled to them. See Acts 9:26-27 when Saul (i.e. Paul) was converted.

But we must study those verses that might appear to mandate forgiveness to non Christians.

Luke 23:34

• Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

Acts 7:60

Then he [Stephen] fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

From the context of the two verses it is clear that both Stephen and Jesus are talking about non Christians.

However, as discussed earlier this is not a mandate to forgive all non Christians who hurt us or sin against us. It is, rather, a mandate, to have what we have called a ‘Spirit of Forgiveness’ towards these non Christians. We need to be ready and willing to forgive in the full sense of the word as soon as they repent.

The Psalms:

There are many Psalms where God’s people (who are deemed wise, holy, righteous etc) specifically tell us that they HATE evil doers, their sin and they actively and constantly pray for their destruction.

Nowhere are these desires or prayers chided or rebuked by the Lord. The people who pray these things (eg David) are used by God to judge and condemn those they pray against, often through Holy War. In other places, these men and women who prayed thus are considered to be righteous, holy men and women close to God (Acts 13:22), eg, Psalm 140, Psalm 94, Psalm 79, Psalm 70, Psalm 69, Psalm 59, Psalm 52, Psalm 35, Psalm 31, Psalm 28 etc.

We must remember what is being reflected in these Psalms. It is God’s own anger and hatred and wrath for the ungodly, the sinners, the unrepentant! This Psalmody is taken up elsewhere in the Scriptures through Holy War. God takes up the battle against His enemies and destroys them. In the New Testament, this Holy Warfare culminates when God will send all His enemies (the unrepentant) to hell for all eternity.

Other Holy Men and Women:

There are literally dozens of examples of other Holy Men and women who hated the enemies of the Lord and cried out for their destruction. The same point as made above still holds.

¨ Moses hated the Egyptians and their practices.

¨ The judges of Israel hated the enemy and were called to destroy them through holy war.

¨ Nehemiah and Ezra hated those who worked against God’s plans and actively sought to stop them. Again no mention of forgiveness is made. Reconciliation is openly avoided as shown in Nehemiah’s ousting of Tobiah from the Temple of the Lord. Nehemiah 13:7-8.

¨ The prophets often denounced and decried those who continued to sin, be they kings of God’s people or the enemy nations.

In neither these people, nor in the Psalms is there any hint of forgiveness being offered to those who sinned and refused to repent.

Yet, look at how gracious God really is. For the foreigner who comes to God and humbly accepts His ways we read these gracious words.

Leviticus 19:34

• The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Exodus 12:49

• The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you.

The picture is getting clearer. Those who repented and came to God for forgiveness were forgiven and were treated as God’s people. All nine points of page 3 were applied to these people. If we are called to forgive as the Lord forgave us, then we are to apply these nine points to others when they repent and seek our forgiveness!

What about the Prophet Hosea?

Hosea was called to show love towards, and to even marry, a prostitute (1:2-3). Do we see here an example of how we are to unconditionally love and forgive and be reconciled to an unrepentant sinner?

Several reasons tell us no.

• The introduction of Hosea makes it clear that this is a command to Hosea a prophet through which God shows His people a living parable. Isaiah was called (Isa 20:3) to walk around barefoot and naked for 3 years. No one argues that we should  follow suite.


• Hosea’s wife Gomer is specifically called to repent in 3:3.


• Gomer represents Israel in the living parable and Israel is called to repentance (or face judgement!!) in chapter 14.

MONDAY JANUARY 24, 2010

Read Matthew 5:38-48

The Christian and Non Christian

The Biblical position between a non Christian and a Christian is much more opaque. There is no simple solution or guideline to follow. Rather several principles or truths need to be studied and considered and then the big picture needs to be applied.

In Matthew 5:38-48 we are told to love our enemies.

• "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Our motivation according to this passage is the Lord’s perfection (vs 48). God is perfect and His perfect love causes the sun to rise on the righteous and the unrighteous (vs 45). However, these unrighteous people are still hell bound! The Lord has not lavished them with His saving and forgiving love. While Christ has died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, these unrighteous have not yet been forgiven. If they fail to repent (Acts 2:38) they too will be sent to hell. Even though God ‘loves’ these unrighteous people, He is not imperfect or unrighteous in Himself when He sends them to hell. Love and judgement are not mutually exclusive.

Even at a cursory reading of Scripture it is clear that the Lord has different levels or degrees of love towards the repentant and the unrepentant. The former are lavished with deep affection and are adopted as Sons of the living God while the latter receive rain and crops and provisions but still are sent to eternal damnation!

If our love for our enemies is to mirror the Lord’s perfection and righteousness, then our love must mirror His. We are to provide for their needs. We are to give them our cloak, go an extra mile with them and so on but we are never to be yoked with them (2 Corinthians 6:14).

How do we overcome this apparent contradiction?

The Lord longs for all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). His love for the lost is meant to bring them to repentance (Romans 2:4, Acts 14:15-18). But if they fail to repent they will be condemned. In all of this the Lord our God is righteous and just.

How can you and I mirror that kind of love?

Romans 12:19 is instructive.

• Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

As we deal with our enemies, we are not to harbour desires or thoughts of

revenge. Rather, we are to leave judgement to God. This can be a difficult and ongoing process where you constantly repent of vengeful thoughts. But

remember, no matter what happens God will still deal with the other person’s sins. You do not have to exact revenge! As you deal with your enemy, you provide for their needs. In heaping burning coals on their head, you are confirming their judgement. Burning coals are a symbol of judgement! (2 Samuel 22:9-15, Psalm 18:7-14, Psalm 119:1-4, Psalm 140:10,   Ezekiel 10:1-19).

Prayer:-

• Spend time praising God for his love and forgiveness towards you       personally.


• Ask God to bless the children’s ministry and youth ministry this year. Pray for Jane and Brad as they head up children’s work and youth work respectively. Pray that God would grant them wisdom in planning, ability to execute plans and godliness in all things.

SATURDAY JANUARY 22, 2011

Read Matthew 18:15-35

Forgiveness Among Christians:

The above will become clearer as we make yet another distinction - forgiveness between Christians and forgiveness between a Christian and a non Christian.

Throughout the New Testament it is assumed that forgiveness is to be offered to a Christian only when they repent.

Let’s study several passages to see what is said:-

Luke 17:3-4

• So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

The sequence is very clear. When and if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. You are to go to your Christian brother with a spirit of love and forgiveness to show him his sin. The goal is to win your brother over and to restore the relationship. The goal is to apply the nine points of forgiveness in section one.

This passage is NOT and CAN NOT be twisted to be saying that we must forgive first and then go to our brother. Read the passage again and again until you see the sequence clearly.

Matthew 18:15-17

• If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Before we begin, let me point out a common misconception. Many people read this passage as being about reconciliation and as having nothing to do with forgiveness.

They argue, in some instances, that forgiveness comes first, then you take up Matthew 18:15-17. However, such arguments fail to take account of the context. Jesus was speaking these words to Peter and he clearly understood that forgiveness was an integral part of this process in Matthew 18:15-17. In vs 21 of the same chapter Peter, being somewhat astounded by Jesus’ teaching, asks a question. Have a look at what Peter asks.

• Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

If Peter were to use the words of Jesus he might have asked ‘How many times must I go to my brother, be reconciled through forgiveness?’ or again, ‘How many times, Jesus, must I go through this process of calling my brother to repent, winning him over and forgiving him?’

The point is clear. Forgiveness and repentance and reconciliation are so closely and intimately united that they form an integral part of the whole process. Repentance is mandated before forgiveness is complete. Reconciliation occurs after repentance and forgiveness have occurred. Separating them can be dangerous and hurtful and can lead to unscriptural processes.

In this passage, notice again the chain of events -

1. When your Christian brother/sister sins against you, you are to go and show them what they have done wrong. (Matt 18:5). Go with a gentle heart (Galatians 6:1), with a view to restoring the relationship. If you are vengeful or angry or seeking to slam-dunk the other person, do not approach them until you have cleared your own heart. Take the plank out of your own eye first.

2. If your Christian brother repents, you have won them over. You are called to forgive them there and then (Matt 18:5). From our earlier distinction it is here that the Spirit of Forgiveness becomes the Word of Forgiveness offered to another.

3. But if the other person will not listen to you, take one or two others along (preferably mature Christians or elders respected by the other party) so that they can adjudicate the matter (Matt 18:16).

4. If your Christian brother repents, forgive him and let the relationship be restored there and then. Be reconciled together.

5. However, if the Christian brother refuses to repent, you are to tell it to the whole church (vs 17). The idea is that the people in the church are to have less and less to do with the unrepentant person until godly sorrow overwhelms them and they repent.

6. If they refuse to listen to the church then we are to treat that person as a pagan or tax collector. These people were considered unclean and were ousted from the love and community of the church. Again the idea is that the person misses the love, fellowship and blessings of the church and they repent, coming back into fellowship and godliness. Then we are to complete the process of forgiveness.

From a careful reading of Scripture it is clear that this process was applied in the early church. See 2 Corinthians 2:1-11. Read it very carefully, noting how Matthew 18:15-20 has been applied and worked out. Satan outwits us if we fail to go through this process, not just if we fail to forgive. Taking this verse (10) out of context leads to serious errors that deny the need for repentance or lessen its role in the process of forgiveness.

Throughout the early church we see that many people were removed from the fellowship of the church because they refused to repent of their ways. It would be both ludicrous and offensive to Scripture to assume that they were forgiven (in the sense of a reconciled relationship) but then still kicked out of the fellowship!

1 Corinthians 5:11-13

But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Titus 3:10

Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time.

After that, have nothing to do with him.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. have nothing to do with them.

We will consider later what to do if a person refuses to repent or is unable to repent (e.g., due to death, serious illness etc).

Prayer:-

• Pray for the ministry of Creation Ministries in 2011. Pray that God would use them powerfully to bring many sceptics to believe in the historicity of Genesis 1-11 and to faith in Christ Jesus. Ask God to bless them with all the ministry resources and finances they need to impact the world for Christ.