Forgiving One Another

Westhill Community Church

Sunday October 25^th

Forgiving One Another

Reading: Matt 5: 17-26

Our reading this morning contains some of the toughest words Jesus had to say. Tough because they are so difficult to understand. Tough because we find it very difficult, if not impossible, to live by them.

Why are they difficult to understand? Because Jesus said that the Old Testament Law will continue to apply as long as the Earth itself remains, until everything in it is accomplished. And just in case we might be tempted to qualify what he said and limit his words to just part of the Law, he made it clear that it was the entire body of the Law and the Prophets that he was referring to. And just in case we might be tempted to rationalise this and argue that he was only referring to the most important laws, he added that if you set aside even the very least significant rule in the Law you are not conforming to the principles of God’s kingdom. Which is quite ironic, given that so many Bible teachers today argue that the OT Law splits very neatly into two parts – the smaller part being those rules that you should keep, like “thou shalt not steal” and the greater part being those rules that you don’t have to take too seriously, like “do not eat food with blood in it.”

And why do I say these words of Jesus are difficult to live by? Because Jesus said that in order to follow them you have to be even more meticulous than the Pharisees. So just how righteous were the Pharisees with regard to the Law of Moses? Listen to what the apostle Paul said about his own personal lifestyle as a Pharisee: “As for righteousness based on the Law I was faultless” (Phil 3: 6). Jesus wasn’t offering words of comfort here, saying that anyone who sets their mind to it could do better than the Pharisees. No, on the contrary he was emphasising a devastating truth: nobody does the law better than the Pharisees, and yet in order to enter God’s Kingdom you must surpass them! You can perhaps sympathise with his disciples when, on another occasion, they gloomily said – “Well, if that’s the case then who can be saved?”

Why then, if the apostle Paul was indeed faultless regarding the Law, did he also describe himself as the chief of sinners? Because in spite of adhering to the rules he discovered to his dismay that he had missed the whole point. The Law was not given to provide a way for people to be righteous; it was given to reveal to people the extent of their unrighteousness. And there is a big difference.

Let me illustrate with a familiar example. This week I had my temperature taken before I was allowed in my dentist’s surgery. I’m sure many of us have had a similar experience in recent times. Now as a general rule the average internal body temperature of a healthy human being should be 37°C. But this is not a rule or law to be obeyed in order to keep ourselves healthy. Suppose you get infected with Covid-19 and your temperature rises significantly higher than 37°C, will you restore good health by covering yourself with ice packs or sitting in a fridge in order to bring your temperature down again? Of course not. The increased temperature is not the root problem; rather it is a symptom of the problem. And of course no-one should assume that just because their temperature is normal that they don’t have an infection. A blood test may reveal a condition that is presently dormant but that may soon overwhelm your system.

So it is with God’s Law. As Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands; the law simply shows us how sinful we are” (Romans 3: 20). In the passage we read from Matthew’s gospel Jesus effectively said, you might by one means or another keep yourself from breaking the seventh commandment – “Thou shalt not murder” – but this doesn’t mean you are not infected with sin deep within. Let’s conduct a more rigorous test, he said. Perhaps you get angry with another person but manage to keep it contained. Maybe you complain to someone else, “I can’t forgive that person.” Perhaps you even let your guard down and express your contempt directly to them. All of these reveal the serious infection that lies within, said Jesus. You see in the final analysis the act of murder is not itself the sin; it is instead a symptom of the sin that lies within, as indeed are such reactions as anger, unforgiveness and contempt.

Jesus taught us that sin has to do with our relationships. Our relationship with God, and our relationships with others. If you were to sum up the entirety of God’s Law, he said, it would reduce to two thermometers: the one measuring the temperature of your love for God, and the other measuring the temperature of your love for others. And Jesus’ message – the message of the entire Bible – is particularly sobering. All of us, every single one of us, is infected with a condition that spoils our relationships. The account in Genesis of the very first human family – that of Adam and Eve – speaks of broken relationships that affect us as well as them. As they hid from God so we hide from God, whether by pretending to ourselves that He does not exist, or keeping ourselves at a distance from Him, or turning our backs on Him in order to practice what displeases Him. And as murder was committed within that very first earthly family, so we too ignore one another, reject one another, hurt one another, and destroy one another.

Oh, of course we do not commit gross offences, do we, most of us? But here’s the bottom line. If you are infected with Covid-19, it doesn’t matter whether your symptoms are extremely serious or so mild that you hardly notice them: if you are infected then you must self-isolate and quarantine until you no longer pose a threat to others. And Jesus said it is much the same with the infection of sin; if you have it then you cannot enter God’s kingdom, but instead must stay in self-isolation.

The leaders of the nations are desperately trying to hold back the tide of Covid-19 infections, hoping that some time soon an effective vaccine will be produced. Can you imagine the worldwide rejoicing if and when such a vaccine is announced? Well even that will be nothing compared to the rejoicing in heaven and on earth when Jesus dealt with the infection of sin through his death on the cross. We rightly call it the Gospel, the Good News. For through Christ’s sacrifice God takes our hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh.

He has solved the greatest conundrum of the Universe: how can I, how can you, a being with free will, live for eternity without ever making a choice that displeases God? If I’m free to make decisions, what’s to stop me making the wrong decision? And God says, that is really not going to happen when what motivates you is what motivates me, when your heart burns with the same stuff that burns in my heart. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Eze 36: 27).

So Paul writing to the Philippians said, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Phil 2: 13). Think of it: everything you choose to do in heaven will be exactly what your heavenly Father approves of, because the same fire of love that burns in his heart also burns in your heart. And that process starts the very moment you open your heart to him and invite him to come in. We used to sing a beautiful hymn: “It is a thing most wonderful,” the last verse of which says

And yet I want to love Thee, Lord;
O light the flame within my heart,
And I will love Thee more and more,
Until I see Thee as Thou art.

This process of transformation hasn’t finished yet, and indeed won’t be finished until we meet Jesus in heaven, when John says we shall be like him because we will see him face-to-face. But in the meantime it is quite possible for us to revert back to our old ways, in which sin mars our relationships with God and one another. And perhaps the most challenging issue we face regarding one another is that of forgiveness. The preacher R T Kendall called it “God’s Greatest Challenge.”

Unforgiveness can manifest itself in many different ways, from having a judgemental attitude towards another, criticising another, feeling angry with another, bitterness, speaking ill of another, insisting on retribution, all the way to taking vengeance. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, all of these things grieve the Holy Spirit whom God has placed in your heart. So instead let Him control you, and forgive each other just as God has forgiven you (Eph 4: 30-32). Jesus indeed saw this as so important that he placed it at the heart of the prayer he taught his disciples: “Forgive us our trespasses even as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And then, perhaps in case we might be tempted to water down his words, after teaching them this prayer he returned to the matter of forgiveness. If you forgive others, God will forgive you, he said, but if you don’t forgive others God won’t forgive you. (Matt 6: 14).

What on earth did he mean? Was he saying that we earn our own forgiveness by forgiving other people? It sounds like it, doesn’t it? But if that’s the case why did Christ have to die for our sins? The right understanding I believe is this. Our attitude to forgiving others is a litmus test of whether we truly have God’s Spirit within us, whether indeed that transforming work of forgiveness and sanctification has commenced in our lives. If it has, then just as we embrace God’s forgiveness for us with thankfulness and joy so too we will long that others receive that same blessing of forgiveness from God and from us as well.

Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiveness, a question that showed he had been thinking deeply about the implications of forgiving someone who has wronged you. The problem is, if we truly forgive and don’t insist on appropriate retribution then what’s to prevent them going ahead and doing it again? It’s a powerful argument, and one that many use to insist on getting their pound of flesh. But Peter had a pretty shrewd idea of what Jesus would say; that is, forgive him regardless of whether he might do it again. So I think Peter said to himself, there must be a limit to how many times. Eventually it’ll become clear that the guy is never going to change his ways, in which case the time for forgiveness is past. I bet Jesus will say seven times, because seven is the perfect number in the Bible. So he asked the question: how many times should we forgive someone – seven times? I wonder how taken aback he was by Jesus’ reply. Seven times – come off it Peter! More like seventy-seven!

I would encourage you to read or re-read the book R T Kendall wrote entitled “Total Forgiveness.” It is remarkably honest, extremely challenging, and very faithful to what God says in the Bible. He says this: “I am convinced that this theme of total forgiveness is perhaps more crucially needed at this present moment than nearly any other teaching in the Bible.” And he points out, astonishingly, that for generations – hundreds of years - the Church in the West has barely paid lip service to this fundamental and central teaching of Jesus and his apostles.

Even today we are more familiar with and accepting of the statement “I can’t forgive” rather than “I will forgive.” I wonder if Jesus were visiting Zacchaeus the Tax Collector in our community today how many of us would be outside with everyone else questioning his actions? Brothers and sisters this call to a lifestyle of forgiving is such a fundamental part of Jesus’ teaching and is so intrinsically linked to his work of salvation that we ignore it or disregard it at our peril. For the Christian this is not an option.

Here are a few of the things R T Kendal says about total forgiveness.

It is being fully aware of the evil done to us and yet still forgiving the perpetrator.

It is choosing neither to keep a record of, nor to recall, the wrong done to us.

It is refusing to seek punishment or retribution for the wrongdoer.

It is refusing to talk to others about the wrongdoer’s actions.

Now it needs to be pointed out that we are only called to forgive offences in so far as they are against us or affect us personally. There are offences against God, and it is God who is responsible for forgiveness in such cases. And there are offences against the State, the government that God has established to maintain justice and to keep order. It is for the State to decide whether forgiveness is appropriate in such cases, and our responsibility is to comply fully with its requirements.

I am not pretending this is easy. It is one thing to forgive someone who accidently drops something heavy on your toe and is deeply apologetic. It is another thing entirely to forgive someone who treats you or your loved ones in the worst possible way without any contrition, and would do it again if they could. On the cross Jesus asked his Father to forgive his tormentors, in spite of the fact that they showed no contrition, and in the knowledge that many of these same individuals would subsequently pursue and persecute his disciples.

Paul wrote to the church at Colossae “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col 3: 13)

The bottom line is this – we are called to forgive as God has forgiven us. And how does God forgive us? Listen to these Bible verses.

Isa 6: 7: Your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for.

Psalm 103: 12: As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Heb 8: 12: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

Our heavenly Father says to us who put our trust in Jesus, no matter how great our sin, “I forgive you unconditionally. I no longer consider you as guilty. I have put the offence behind me, and I won’t bring it up again. I long for us to be reconciled.”

So we, too, must say to those who hurt us, no matter how great the offence, “I forgive you unconditionally. I no longer consider you as guilty. I have put the offence behind me, and I won’t bring it up again. I long for us to be reconciled.”

I wonder if you noticed something curious about Jesus’ words in the passage we read this morning. He starts off speaking of something someone else has done to offend us. Someone has behaved despicably and this has made us angry. Or someone habitually offends us and we think of them and speak of them with contempt. Or somebody maybe offends us by making a mistake, and we consider them and call them a fool. But then Jesus turns it round, and speaks about the other person now having something against us! How can this be? What can we have done to hurt them? The answer is, of course, our anger, our contempt, our hurtful words, our refusal to forgive them.

Jesus was quite clear about the consequences. We put ourselves in prison, a prison in which bitterness and resentment hold us in chains and peace vanishes. R T Kendal put it this way. “I began to see that I was the great loser – the impoverished one – by not forgiving. My bitterness wasn’t damaging anyone but myself.”

The first words of encouragement that Peter writes at the commencement of his first epistle are these: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” There are two things in particular God wants for you today – not just a tiny bit but an abundance: grace and peace. Peter is not primarily talking about us benefitting from God’s grace, although that of course must happen. He is talking about grace that is ours; grace we have received, yes, but grace that is now ours, that we express, that we share with others, that directs all our responses and relationships. And what is at the heart of grace? Total undeserved forgiveness. And when an abundance of that grace is yours, so too is an abundance of peace.

So, may grace and peace by yours in abundance! Amen