Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 17; forgiveness giving; John 15:18.

Title: Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 17; forgiveness giving; John 15:18.

 

Forgiveness:

 

Like a legal pardon, forgiveness is a personal pardon in which an individual is never penalized for their sin by the thoughts, words, or actions of the victim.

 

No one ever sins against you anyway. All sin is against God.

 

Ps 51:4

Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned,

And done what is evil in Thy sight,

So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak,

And blameless when Thou dost judge.

 

He took Bathsheba, raped her, and then had her husband murdered. Under the law of volitional responsibility he suffered tremendously for this.

 

Naturally, arrogance has no ability to forgive.

 

The one forgiving is demanded by honor, integrity, and loyalty to doctrine to forget whatever was done and never to recall it to mind.

 

In order to forgive one must know that he is perfectly forgiven.

 

In order to love one must know that he is perfectly loved.

Give ... graced out; patience ... kindness ... comfort ...

 

HEB 10:17-18

"And their sins and their lawless deeds

I will remember no more."

Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

 

Ps 103:3

Who pardons all your iniquities;

Who heals all your diseases;

 

Ps 103:12

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

 

ISA 43:25

"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;

And I will not remember your sins.

 

MIC 7:18

Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity

And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?

 

Acts 13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

 

Acts 13:39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

 

All virtues are perfectly and graciously given to the believer by God with the result that the believer can share them with others.

 

Matt 18:21 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

 

It was a maxim among the Jews to never forgive more than three times, so in fact, Peter thinks he is being gracious.

 

Matt 18:22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

 

Man is naturally vindictive and therefore the world system allows revenge motivation. The world hates grace.

 

What follows is the parable of the man who was forgiven of tens of millions of dollars but would not forgive another who owed him a few hundred.

 

The point to this parable is that the man has a legal right to put his debtor in prison, but not after being forgiven by his master an impossible amount of money.

 

EPH 4:32

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

 

COL 3:13

 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

 

The impact that forgiveness can have on another is demonstrated by our Lord. Arrogance does not forgive but love covers a multitude of sins.

 

Jesus had recently taught before this night at Simon the Pharisees house in which He was invited for a banquet:

 

Matt 11:28

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. [take My yoke upon you…]

 

This woman took it literally and went straight to Him. She would not have been allowed into the house, but there are no locked doors, so at the risk of being ostracized she heads straight to the feet of Jesus, washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.

 

Luke 7:47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

 

Simon the Pharisee was just as spiritually bankrupt as this woman and neither could pay for their sins, only Simon doesn’t see his sin.

 

Divine love and forgiveness are intricately connected:

 

Prov 10:8

Hatred stirs up strife,

But love covers all transgressions.

 

Prov 17:9

He who covers a transgression seeks love,

But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.

 

It was love that motivated God’s plan for forgiveness at Calvary:

 

1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

Luke 23:34

But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

 

 

The example of Joseph’s forgiveness:

GEN 50:15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!"

 

GEN 50:16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying,

 

GEN 50:17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. "And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

 

GEN 50:18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."

 

GEN 50:19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?

 

GEN 50:20 "And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

 

GEN 50:21 So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

 

Peter and John’s forgiveness:

 

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

 

Acts 3:2 And a certain man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

 

Acts 3:3 And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

 

Acts 3:4 And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, "Look at us!"

 

Acts 3:5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

 

Acts 3:6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene —  walk!"

 

Acts 3:7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

 

Acts 3:8 And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

 

Acts 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;

 

Acts 3:10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

 

Acts 3:11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

 

Acts 3:12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, [see, we were right, jerks] "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

 

Notice how many titles Peter uses for Jesus:

Acts 3:13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

 

Acts 3:14 "But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

 

Acts 3:15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.

 

Acts 3:16 "And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

 

Acts 3:17 "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. [And then he gives them a wonderful gospel message]

 

Grace in giving:

 

In a time such as this, when the economy staggers and news reports indicate that things will not recover, and world unrest results in violence which adds to uncertainty, there is a tendency to hoard what one has rather than give it.

 

This doesn’t only refer to the local assembly, though it does include it, but what God commands us to have is an attitude; an attitude of gratitude.

 

1 Cor 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

 

1 Cor 16:2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

 

Prov 3:9-10

Honor the Lord from your wealth,

And from the first of all your produce;

So your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

 

One does not honor the Lord from what is left over, but from the first of the produce, which agriculturally is the best produce. The promise, as will be seen in several passages is further prosperity, not because you gave to the Lord, but because of the mental attitude of graciousness which leads to capacity for blessing.

 

God desires a gracious heart in the believer so that he may have the capacity to be blessed, which is God’s heart eternally.

 

 

 

ISA 30:18

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.

 

We have seen in 1PE 4:18 that we should entrust our souls to God in doing what is proper in His plan when we are experiencing tribulation and here we see the same attitude in giving. Entrust your materialism to the Lord and your gracious attitude, not the gift itself, will give you the capacity to be blessed by Him.

 

Luke 6:30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

 

Luke 6:31 "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

 

Luke 6:32 "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

 

Luke 6:33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

 

Luke 6:34 "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

 

Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

 

God gave all of Himself in the person of Christ knowing fully that many would hate Him and reject His precious sacrifice.