God's Free Forgiveness

"Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" ²² Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Matthew 18:21-22

Peter thought his offer of forgiving a brother up to seven times was generous, but the response of Jesus revealed how feeble the goodwill, grace and patience of man is in comparison with God.  Jesus was not saying people are to limit their forgiveness to those who sin against them to 490 times.  His point was we are to forgive and keep forgiving beyond keeping track.  Our forgiveness is not to be limited to our friends or family and ought to be multiplied, extended to our enemies as well.  Since we have been forgiven by God more times than we can count, we are to remained inclined to forgive others as God has freely forgiven us.

Forgiveness of those who wrong us, believe it or not, is an often overlooked step of faith in God He commands we take as followers of Jesus.  Those who refuse to forgive a brother can justify nursing a grudge for many reasons.  They may point to the severity of the offence, the pain we suffered, the fact the sin was repeated multiple times, that the offender really wasn't sorry, or out of fear their sin will continue because they have not changed.  Unless we embrace forgiveness as an act of obedience by faith in God who has freely forgiven us, we cannot forgive as we ought.  We will continue to demand others pay an arbitrary price (one we determine) to convey to our satisfaction until they realise the pain they have caused, and even when they have done so it may not be enough to satisfy our contempt.  Without forgiveness and complete, free release from wrongdoing, there will aways be more to pay.

The refusal to forgive as God forgives us is a reason why some reconciliation attempts between people fall flat.  No amount of meeting present demands can undo the wrongs of the past, and both parties must agree to lay aside their justifications for holding a grudge.  Jesus went on to share a parable with Peter and His hearers that illustrated how someone who intensely recongises their personal need for forgiveness in light of their guilt can remain adamantly opposed to forgiving others in the most trivial matters.  The Christian who refuses to forgive is in perpetual bondage to wrongs suffered, a victim of their own bitterness, pride and disobedience.  Those who sin face eternity in hell, and those who refuse to forgive are presently trapped in a hell of their own making.  This need not be the case, for Jesus came to set such prisoners free.

God's inclination to forgive repentant sinners is seen in 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  We are to forgive because we have been freely forgiven by God when we confessed and repented of our sins, the God Who also commands us to forgive others.  Jesus did not forgive us our sins motivated in this manner, nor was He simply following a command:  we have been forgiven by God's grace.  It is by confessing our sin and repenting we can receive forgiveness by faith.  Jesus voluntarily lay down His life on Calvary to satisfy the justice of God to provide atonement for all who have sinned against God in every possible way.  God said to His people in Isaiah 43:25:  "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins."  God does not stick our nose into our sins He has forgiven like some might a dog in his mess, for He chooses to remember our sin no more for His own sake.

Knowing we are guilty as sin and deserving of wrath, now having been forgiven of all guilt and transgression before our gracious LORD, we are guided and helped to freely forgive others--without self-righteously keeping tabs on how forgiving we are.  When it comes to forgiveness, we naturally resemble slavers who have people in their employ who are always working to pay off a debt that gains interest faster than it can be paid off.   The strings attached to our forgiveness tangle us and others with bitterness, rage and malice from which we can never be free.  The Bible teaches the free forgiveness of God did not originate in us, but it is a gift of God we receive and is to be freely shared with others.

Messages We Send

We cannot help how other people interpret the things we say, but we should think carefully about the message we can be unintentionally sending by what we do say.  During seasons of political campaigning and the recent Voice Referendum in Australia, these unintended messages can negatively influence people.  For instance, when supporters of the Voice urged voters to be "decent for once" or "show kindness" or "be on the right side of history" the message is a moral judgement that those who are leaning towards voting "no" are usually unsatisfactory, unkind and entrenched in being wrong.  On the flip side, if we say the reason for voting "no" is that people "need to get a job" it is an unfounded accusation of laziness or freeloading.  Without knowing it, things we say can be offensive and provide justification for us and our point of view to be rejected.  In trying to build a bridge to bring people together, we can erect a wall to divide.

Just this morning I was given an illustration of how close this hits to home.  It was brought to my attention that I demonstrate the characteristics of being a "food snob" by my offhand comments.  Somehow my way of sharing personal preferences of food and drink make (at least one person in my household!) feel like because their preferences are different, it is a condemnation of them personally.  Now I do not want this ever to be the case.  I believe it is wrong for me to make a moral judgment of someone who prefers drinking skim milk over full cream.  I don't want to accidently send the message that I am against people who have embraced a vegetarian diet or who eat meat with every meal.  As the LORD uses others to bring our own blind spots and messages we convey through our careless words, we ought to double our efforts to speak plain truth in a loving, edifying way--and give space for differences of opinion.

If by expressing our views concerning politics or food send messages that makes others feel negatively judged or condemned, it follows we can do the same concerning our views of Jesus Christ, the Bible and the church.  It is likely many times with religious fervour we have turned people off from the Gospel or Christians because of a judgmental or personally condemning message that (unknown to us) came through our words loud and clear.  Thus we do well to carefully examine our motivation behind the words we use and how we say them, considering the message we send and how it could be received by our hearers.  It is possible people may read into what we say, make incorrect assumptions or be influenced more by their own feelings and bias than our words, but let us not be guilty of attacking, belittling, embarrassing or hating others by the unintended messages we send.

Dead Lions and Living Dogs

The book of Ecclesiastes has great wisdom for people living life under the sun today.  One of the statements which struck me recently was, "A living dog is better than a dead lion."  The preacher (whom many identify as king Solomon) explained in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6:  "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun."  Those who are living today have hope and knowledge those in the grave no longer share, and their memory will fade in time.

Lions have long been revered as an apex predator, and thus lions have been given the acclaimed moniker of the "King of Beasts."  The bark of a large dog can travel a couple of kilometres, but the roar of a lion can be heard some 8 kilometres away!  A lion is larger, more powerful and a more fearsome hunter than a stray dog, yet a living dog is better than a dead lion.  The dog and lion comparison was an illustration to demonstrate the value of people who live today.  There are many famous and powerful people who have gone to the grave, and while their monuments and memories remain there is nothing more they can do.  It is the living who possess the opportunity to live in light of their mortality and make the most of life today.

In the Bible and our lives there are many people we respect and admire, heroes of the faith through whom God did marvellous things.  We would like to have their mantle upon us; we would desire a double portion of their spirit and effectiveness in ministry!  There have been leaders and prophets like Moses whose shoes were impossible to fill, yet that is not what God called Joshua or any of us to do.  Joshua was not to pattern his life after Moses, but to lead the children of Israel by faith in God and obedience to Him.  Moses the servant of God who lead the Hebrews out of Egypt was dead, and Joshua was called by God to lead them into the land of promise.  Joshua could do what Moses could not do because he was alive and still had a share in life under the sun.

The same is true for believers in Jesus Christ today.  We might see ourselves as a timid toy poodle in comparison to lions of the faith in Scripture or people used mightily by God who have preceded us into eternity, but a living dog is better than a dead lion.  Because of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Jesus Christ, we have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit Who empowers us to by Christ's witnesses and do God's will.  The world does not need another Paul or Barnabas but for us to yield to Christ and be the person He created us to be.  By God's grace, our lives can supply a personal testimony for Jesus Christ that has more influence on those around us than all the biographies, documentaries and quotes of the fathers of faith who have finished their race on this earth.  Let us make the most of this brief season of influence we have upon the earth for God's glory because of the living hope we have in Jesus Christ.

The Folly of Presumption

People can be funny sometimes, and not always "ha-ha" funny.  Of all the creatures God has designed, only man was made in His own image with the capacity for reason, understanding and with a conscience that guides our moral choices.  Despite our intelligence and our natural gifts that exceed single-celled organisms, plants and animals, at times we can be as dense as a wet post to the truth God has revealed and make foolish decisions when we know better.  God's people are no exception to this, and every Christian can testify of this ironic reality from personal experience.  The Bible also has no shortage of examples of mankind's foolish tendency to go our own way rather than trusting and obeying God.

God promised to give the children of Israel land flowing with milk and honey in Canaan, land God gave to Abraham before them.  Miraculously God brought them out of slavery in Egypt with many signs and wonders, fed them with manna from heaven and satisfied with water from a rock, yet they continued to look back with fondness upon centuries of oppression and slavery after God set them free.  After He led them to the border of the promised land and 10 of the 12 spies from each tribe brought back a evil report of the land, the people mourned and wept over their supposed predicament.  They shuddered in fear at the thought of strongholds and giants who dwelt in the land, and had they looked a bit higher they would have seen the almighty God who remains faithful and powerful to keep His promises.

Influenced by the bad report rather than the word of God and His faithful servants, the people sought to choose a new leader to take them back to Egypt rather than enter Canaan.  This decision proved disastrous.  God said the generation who would not believe Him would perish over 40 years in the wilderness, one year for every day the 12 spies had spent in the land.  From the generation 20 years old and above, only Caleb and Joshua would set foot in the promised land.  Suddenly the Hebrews changed their tune.  In light of their death sentence in the wilderness, they impulsively decided they were going to enter the land of Canaan anyway--despite the protests of Moses who warned God would not be with them in their foolish venture.

Numbers 14:44-45 tells us what happened:  "But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah."  The people presumed to go up to the mountain without the leading of God's presence or by Moses (which was the way God had led them since the exodus from Egypt), and what resulted was a terrible but predictable outcome.  Rejecting God's way and presumptuously going their own way led to disaster and death.  This incident provides an example we in the church today do well to consider and heed so we do not act presumptuously as the Hebrews did.  We ought to pray God would lead us individually and corporately and wait for His guidance before we do what we think needs doing our way.  The promises of God are true, but let us not imagine we can begin to do His work without His guidance, wisdom and help.

Unbelief prevented the children of Israel from entering into the land of promise, and unbelief was also the cause of their presumptuous foray into Canaan that rendered them helpless prey.  God is for us as born again followers of Jesus, yet let us be sure we are on His side in humility, patience and obedience.  Unbelief and presumption did not die out with those who fell in Canaan all the way to Hormah, and the just shall live by faith in God.