Developing Commitment to Others

Lately I've had some meaningful discussions around the concept of biblical forgiveness.  More than "saying sorry" or "accepting an apology," forgiveness is all about releasing the offender of wrongdoing in obedience to God coupled with a desire to restore relationship with a brother or sister.  Forgiveness involves both parties, for a person must admit they have erred to receive the benefits of it.  I can forgive an offender before he admits he has done wrong, but there must be submission in love to receive that forgiveness in moving forward together.  If we are unwilling to press on in unity with a brother or sister who has admitted doing wrong and asked for forgiveness, it is a fair question to consider whether the forgiveness we are offering is genuine.

The reality is offences even among people in the body of Christ can be allowed to simmer.  Like festering wounds without antiseptic, the spiritual gangrene of unforgiveness and bitterness can begin to consume what was once a healthy limb.  Ephesians 5:15-21 says concerning our need to walk in the light of Christ: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God."  Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the way our lives will bear fruit of the Spirit manifested in love, joy, patience and meekness.  Being "Spirit-filled" is not primarily shown by speaking in tongues or interpretation but with a joyful attitude of thanksgiving and submitting to one another in the fear of God.

In his book God in You, pastor David Jeremiah made this useful observation I agree with:

"I have bumped around the evangelical church almost all of my life, and I am ready to go on record with this observation:  most of the difficulties we have in church, if you do a postmortem on them, arise from the fact that people have not developed a real commitment to one another.  Our commitment to each other is so shallow!  We are much more committed to our own interests.  As a result, we're ready to go to war over the most trivial things.  We're ready to die for green carpet or padded pews or the type of music that gets played during communion.

Yes, you and I may disagree about certain things.  But don't we love the same LORD?  Aren't we both committed to the power of the Spirit in our lives?  Don't we have the same goal to reach the world for Christ?  We can disagree about some of the peripheral things, but we had better stay focused on the things that bind us together.  We can't have a submissive attitude if we don't do that." (Jeremiah, David. God in You. Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, 1998. page 183.)

I don't know if there has been an age that has glorified the right of the individual against what God says more than today.  We must be willing to develop commitment to one another--not an agenda or church brand--and this means laying aside differences to embrace people.  It is easier to divide over disagreements rather than submitting to one another because this requires us to humble ourselves and extend grace to others.  God's word stands supreme and says what wisely walking in the power of the Holy Spirit looks like:  redeeming the time, speaking with praise to God, making melody in our hearts to the LORD, giving thanks always for all things to God, and submitting to one another.  People are encouraged to know they are loved, accepted and forgiven even when mistakes are made, and forgiving one another as we have been forgiven by the LORD is a huge part of daily living out our personal decision to follow Christ.  This commitment to our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ is all of grace, and may we learn to humbly extend and receive forgiveness we need to walk in agreement with God.