1 00:00:00,532 --> 00:00:02,398 Colossians 3. 2 00:00:02,398 --> 00:00:06,373 It will be just two verses today. 3 00:00:06,373 --> 00:00:13,855 Beginning in verse 12. 4 00:00:13,855 --> 00:00:15,269 "Put on then (Paul says) 5 00:00:15,269 --> 00:00:16,821 as God's chosen ones, 6 00:00:16,821 --> 00:00:20,193 holy and beloved, 7 00:00:20,193 --> 00:00:22,529 compassionate hearts, 8 00:00:22,529 --> 00:00:23,980 kindness, 9 00:00:23,980 --> 00:00:25,018 humility, 10 00:00:25,018 --> 00:00:26,862 meekness, 11 00:00:26,862 --> 00:00:28,966 and patience; 12 00:00:28,966 --> 00:00:32,068 bearing with one another, 13 00:00:32,068 --> 00:00:35,173 and if one has a complaint against another 14 00:00:35,173 --> 00:00:37,711 forgiving each other, 15 00:00:37,711 --> 00:00:41,387 as the Lord has forgiven you, 16 00:00:41,387 --> 00:00:48,281 so you also must forgive." 17 00:00:48,281 --> 00:01:00,745 Let's pray. 18 00:01:00,745 --> 00:01:07,049 Father, You know. 19 00:01:07,049 --> 00:01:13,008 Lord, You know our need this hour. 20 00:01:13,008 --> 00:01:17,525 Father, I believe in the Holy Spirit, 21 00:01:17,525 --> 00:01:20,013 and I pray You'd meet with Your people this hour 22 00:01:20,013 --> 00:01:23,553 and bless Your Word to us all. 23 00:01:23,553 --> 00:01:26,509 I pray You'd use it 24 00:01:26,509 --> 00:01:30,121 to help Your people. 25 00:01:30,121 --> 00:01:32,404 Father, that we would genuinely be helped. 26 00:01:32,404 --> 00:01:34,414 That You would speak to us. 27 00:01:34,414 --> 00:01:36,799 Lord, perhaps there's even one here 28 00:01:36,799 --> 00:01:41,101 who this very subject matter 29 00:01:41,101 --> 00:01:43,309 is what stands between You and them, 30 00:01:43,309 --> 00:01:47,882 and I pray You might bring that wall down 31 00:01:47,882 --> 00:01:51,383 today, Lord, if it would please You. 32 00:01:51,383 --> 00:01:52,769 We ask You to meet with us 33 00:01:52,769 --> 00:01:57,203 and bless us by Your Spirit. 34 00:01:57,203 --> 00:02:00,041 We ask it for Jesus' sake 35 00:02:00,041 --> 00:02:06,139 and in His name, Amen. 36 00:02:06,139 --> 00:02:08,286 Well, the last time we were in Colossians, 37 00:02:08,286 --> 00:02:10,330 we were looking at verse 12 here 38 00:02:10,330 --> 00:02:13,689 where Paul transitions from this putting to death, 39 00:02:13,689 --> 00:02:15,839 or putting off of those things associated 40 00:02:15,839 --> 00:02:19,388 with the old man or the old self. 41 00:02:19,388 --> 00:02:21,087 And we discussed how Paul presents 42 00:02:21,087 --> 00:02:23,876 these five virtues, 43 00:02:23,876 --> 00:02:27,700 as he calls them garments or clothing 44 00:02:27,700 --> 00:02:32,568 that the Christian is called to put on. 45 00:02:32,568 --> 00:02:34,391 And we discovered that these really 46 00:02:34,391 --> 00:02:35,944 are none other than the virtues 47 00:02:35,944 --> 00:02:38,029 of the Lord Jesus Himself 48 00:02:38,029 --> 00:02:41,337 that flow to us and through us 49 00:02:41,337 --> 00:02:42,898 by way of the Holy Spirit 50 00:02:42,898 --> 00:02:45,603 as we set our minds and our eyes 51 00:02:45,603 --> 00:02:48,964 upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 52 00:02:48,964 --> 00:02:52,132 And so Paul continues to build upon these virtues here, 53 00:02:52,132 --> 00:02:55,277 moving from what are primarily attitudes to actions. 54 00:02:55,277 --> 00:02:57,359 Really, that's what we have here in v. 12. 55 00:02:57,359 --> 00:02:58,935 Heart attitudes. 56 00:02:58,935 --> 00:03:01,636 Heart attitudes that really are essential 57 00:03:01,636 --> 00:03:04,794 prerequisites if you will to these actions 58 00:03:04,794 --> 00:03:07,788 or participles that follow in v. 13, 59 00:03:07,788 --> 00:03:12,234 bearing and forgiving. 60 00:03:12,234 --> 00:03:14,166 Bearing with one another 61 00:03:14,166 --> 00:03:16,147 and forgiving one another. 62 00:03:16,147 --> 00:03:22,366 In our text, the ESV says "forgiving each other." 63 00:03:22,366 --> 00:03:24,586 Bearing with another and forgiving each other. 64 00:03:24,586 --> 00:03:29,636 That requires a heart of humility. 65 00:03:29,636 --> 00:03:33,546 That requires a heart of compassion. 66 00:03:33,546 --> 00:03:37,925 It requires a heart of patience. 67 00:03:37,925 --> 00:03:39,922 There's a progression in Paul's teaching 68 00:03:39,922 --> 00:03:41,966 really at the beginning of the chapter, 69 00:03:41,966 --> 00:03:46,867 but particularly from v. 12-13. 70 00:03:46,867 --> 00:03:49,542 Paul takes us from the individual adorning 71 00:03:49,542 --> 00:03:51,795 or putting on of Christ's virtues, 72 00:03:51,795 --> 00:03:54,460 to the public application of them. 73 00:03:54,460 --> 00:03:56,466 More particularly, the application of them 74 00:03:56,466 --> 00:03:59,866 within the church body. 75 00:03:59,866 --> 00:04:03,084 These "one another" statements 76 00:04:03,084 --> 00:04:06,526 we find strewn throughout the New Testament are unique. 77 00:04:06,528 --> 00:04:09,861 They're unique to the church. 78 00:04:09,861 --> 00:04:12,090 We would do well to do our own 79 00:04:12,090 --> 00:04:13,976 little word study of all these 80 00:04:13,976 --> 00:04:15,755 New Testament phrases, 81 00:04:15,755 --> 00:04:17,173 these "one another" phrases. 82 00:04:17,173 --> 00:04:18,593 I think Tim, at one point, 83 00:04:18,593 --> 00:04:21,047 you made a list of those, didn't you? 84 00:04:21,047 --> 00:04:23,279 There was quite a few of them. 85 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,200 There are like 50-something of them. There's a lot of them. 86 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,690 I didn't look them all up. But very significant. 87 00:04:28,690 --> 00:04:30,270 Very significant in church life. 88 00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:32,032 If you thought church life 89 00:04:32,032 --> 00:04:34,789 and your relationship with your brothers and sisters, 90 00:04:34,789 --> 00:04:37,397 it's kind of take it or leave it; 91 00:04:37,397 --> 00:04:38,580 doesn't really matter. 92 00:04:38,580 --> 00:04:39,919 I mean, they're nice people and all. 93 00:04:39,919 --> 00:04:42,054 I like it. I enjoy spending time with them. 94 00:04:42,054 --> 00:04:44,312 But my involvement or interaction with them 95 00:04:44,312 --> 00:04:47,552 is really not all that important. 96 00:04:47,552 --> 00:04:51,469 Well, you'd be sadly mistaken. 97 00:04:51,469 --> 00:04:53,543 We'll discuss that more in a minute. 98 00:04:53,543 --> 00:04:56,077 But these are two huge imperatives 99 00:04:56,077 --> 00:04:58,381 here in v. 13. 100 00:04:58,381 --> 00:05:00,939 These are not secondary items. 101 00:05:00,939 --> 00:05:03,992 These are foundational to Christian living. 102 00:05:03,992 --> 00:05:07,413 They're foundational to church relationships. 103 00:05:07,413 --> 00:05:09,345 That's really what Paul's addressing here. 104 00:05:09,345 --> 00:05:15,182 Although it certainly has broader applications. 105 00:05:15,182 --> 00:05:17,209 These are not optional. 106 00:05:17,209 --> 00:05:18,595 They're commands. 107 00:05:18,595 --> 00:05:21,057 We as the people of God 108 00:05:21,057 --> 00:05:23,265 are commanded by God 109 00:05:23,265 --> 00:05:27,491 to bear and to forgive. 110 00:05:27,491 --> 00:05:30,645 Let's look at this first one briefly. 111 00:05:30,645 --> 00:05:33,802 What exactly does it mean 112 00:05:33,802 --> 00:05:38,000 to bear with one another? 113 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,706 The ESV folks chose to go with the word "bearing," 114 00:05:42,706 --> 00:05:45,206 which has multiple definitions 115 00:05:45,206 --> 00:05:47,164 depending on how it's used. 116 00:05:47,164 --> 00:05:51,969 While the King James guys went with the term "forbearing." 117 00:05:51,969 --> 00:05:54,854 That's the English language for you, right? 118 00:05:54,854 --> 00:05:58,154 Where bearing and forbearing 119 00:05:58,154 --> 00:06:01,267 can mean the same thing. 120 00:06:01,267 --> 00:06:03,398 And they do. 121 00:06:03,398 --> 00:06:06,456 The Greek word here is anecho. 122 00:06:06,456 --> 00:06:08,876 It's a word that literally means 123 00:06:08,876 --> 00:06:10,642 to hold up. 124 00:06:10,642 --> 00:06:13,144 To hold oneself erect and firm 125 00:06:13,144 --> 00:06:16,026 against something. 126 00:06:16,026 --> 00:06:18,185 It's also a word that conveys this idea 127 00:06:18,185 --> 00:06:22,360 of enduring or tolerating. 128 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,489 That is a load bearing wall. 129 00:06:26,489 --> 00:06:30,639 That means it's a wall that holds up 130 00:06:30,639 --> 00:06:35,047 under the weight that's placed upon it. 131 00:06:35,047 --> 00:06:37,627 And it does so in an enduring fashion. 132 00:06:37,627 --> 00:06:40,433 It doesn't give way. 133 00:06:40,433 --> 00:06:43,778 At least, we hope it doesn't. 134 00:06:43,778 --> 00:06:46,365 That's what the Greek word means here. 135 00:06:46,365 --> 00:06:48,151 Relating to one another, 136 00:06:48,151 --> 00:06:51,933 it means to enduringly hold up 137 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:56,619 what another places upon you. 138 00:06:56,619 --> 00:07:01,195 Simply put, tolerating them. 139 00:07:01,195 --> 00:07:04,797 Maybe you might be doing that this morning with me. 140 00:07:04,797 --> 00:07:08,041 In a more negative tone, 141 00:07:08,041 --> 00:07:11,254 to put up with them. 142 00:07:11,254 --> 00:07:13,483 In fact, a handful of translations 143 00:07:13,483 --> 00:07:15,093 including the NASB, 144 00:07:15,093 --> 00:07:17,020 actually use that phrase, 145 00:07:17,020 --> 00:07:20,211 "put up with," in Matthew 17:17, 146 00:07:20,211 --> 00:07:23,052 Mark 9:19, Luke 9:41. 147 00:07:23,052 --> 00:07:24,829 When Jesus says, 148 00:07:24,829 --> 00:07:29,301 "How long shall I put up with you?" 149 00:07:29,301 --> 00:07:30,512 The ESV renders it, 150 00:07:30,512 --> 00:07:33,443 "O faithless and twisted generation, 151 00:07:33,443 --> 00:07:35,314 how long am I to be with you? 152 00:07:35,314 --> 00:07:38,251 How long am I to bear with you?" 153 00:07:38,251 --> 00:07:40,229 There it is. That's our term. 154 00:07:40,229 --> 00:07:41,347 Bear with you. 155 00:07:41,347 --> 00:07:44,455 Or put up with you. 156 00:07:44,455 --> 00:07:46,956 Having clothed ourselves with the virtues 157 00:07:46,956 --> 00:07:49,663 of Jesus Christ in v. 12, 158 00:07:49,663 --> 00:07:51,394 Paul says now see to it that you 159 00:07:51,394 --> 00:07:52,807 bear with one another. 160 00:07:52,807 --> 00:07:54,522 Put up with one another. 161 00:07:54,522 --> 00:07:57,369 Put up with each other's faults and shortcomings. 162 00:07:57,369 --> 00:07:59,290 Put up with each other's differences. 163 00:07:59,290 --> 00:08:01,401 Put up with each other's dislikes. 164 00:08:01,401 --> 00:08:04,275 Put up with each other's annoying habits. 165 00:08:04,275 --> 00:08:09,143 Put up with people who are slow to learn. 166 00:08:09,143 --> 00:08:13,829 Put up with people that are just obstinate. 167 00:08:13,829 --> 00:08:19,095 Put up with people that are just plain difficult to deal with. 168 00:08:19,095 --> 00:08:24,004 Put up with them Paul says. 169 00:08:24,004 --> 00:08:31,662 How long, Jesus says, am I to bear with you? 170 00:08:31,662 --> 00:08:35,562 What was the answer? 171 00:08:35,562 --> 00:08:38,971 His whole life, right? 172 00:08:38,971 --> 00:08:46,222 You think about being the holy Son of God on earth. 173 00:08:46,222 --> 00:08:49,195 We're talking about pure perfection 174 00:08:49,195 --> 00:08:51,850 personified in the midst of 175 00:08:51,850 --> 00:08:55,392 just woefully imperfect people. 176 00:08:55,392 --> 00:08:59,833 He calls them faithless and twisted. 177 00:08:59,833 --> 00:09:01,586 Think about it. 178 00:09:01,586 --> 00:09:03,774 This was every day of His life. 179 00:09:03,774 --> 00:09:05,668 Every day of His life He was surrounded 180 00:09:05,668 --> 00:09:08,149 by this constant reminder. 181 00:09:08,149 --> 00:09:09,384 Everywhere He turned, 182 00:09:09,384 --> 00:09:12,139 faithless and twisted. 183 00:09:12,139 --> 00:09:13,967 Twisted and faithless. 184 00:09:13,967 --> 00:09:18,884 Jesus lived daily bearing with the likes of such. 185 00:09:18,884 --> 00:09:23,046 Nobody had to bear more than Jesus. 186 00:09:23,046 --> 00:09:25,904 No wonder He ran off to the mountainside to pray. 187 00:09:25,904 --> 00:09:31,192 Get away from it all. 188 00:09:31,192 --> 00:09:33,302 Get this. The answer to His own question, 189 00:09:33,302 --> 00:09:36,142 "how long shall I bear with you?" 190 00:09:36,142 --> 00:09:41,958 The answer for Him is the same for you and I. 191 00:09:41,958 --> 00:09:44,566 Till we die. 192 00:09:44,566 --> 00:09:46,825 That's how long. 193 00:09:46,825 --> 00:09:48,653 Jesus states in a question 194 00:09:48,653 --> 00:09:50,739 what Paul, by the Holy Spirit, 195 00:09:50,739 --> 00:09:52,391 puts in a commandment: 196 00:09:52,391 --> 00:09:57,011 Bear with one another. 197 00:09:57,011 --> 00:10:00,515 Brethren, it's part of God's purposed 198 00:10:00,515 --> 00:10:03,209 design in your life, 199 00:10:03,209 --> 00:10:07,732 to put difficult people in it. 200 00:10:07,732 --> 00:10:10,552 That doesn't happen by chance. 201 00:10:10,552 --> 00:10:12,547 It doesn't happen by accident. 202 00:10:12,547 --> 00:10:17,685 It happens by divine design. 203 00:10:17,685 --> 00:10:20,489 It's God's methodology of fashioning you 204 00:10:20,489 --> 00:10:25,445 more and more like His Son. 205 00:10:25,445 --> 00:10:29,225 See, that's the problem we have in life, right? 206 00:10:29,225 --> 00:10:33,840 We're not enough like Jesus. 207 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,292 But God, you see, has set us in motion. 208 00:10:36,292 --> 00:10:39,306 He has set us on this life-long mission 209 00:10:39,306 --> 00:10:42,432 of becoming more and more and more 210 00:10:42,432 --> 00:10:44,918 like Him. 211 00:10:44,918 --> 00:10:47,805 And that is wonderful, isn't it? 212 00:10:47,805 --> 00:10:49,416 I trust you can look back 213 00:10:49,416 --> 00:10:50,866 and see from today going back 214 00:10:50,866 --> 00:10:53,794 in your life, you can see those realities. 215 00:10:53,794 --> 00:10:57,791 Though it feels like we've got a long way to go. 216 00:10:57,791 --> 00:11:02,045 It's wonderful, but the process 217 00:11:02,045 --> 00:11:06,488 can be, and I'd say, often is 218 00:11:06,488 --> 00:11:10,349 a painful one. 219 00:11:10,349 --> 00:11:13,227 The command of bearing with one another 220 00:11:13,227 --> 00:11:16,353 necessitates that such types of people 221 00:11:16,353 --> 00:11:18,726 are placed in our life that will require us 222 00:11:18,726 --> 00:11:23,198 to bear or put up with, right? 223 00:11:23,198 --> 00:11:24,607 The same with forgiveness 224 00:11:24,607 --> 00:11:29,179 which we're about to talk about here in a minute. 225 00:11:29,179 --> 00:11:32,285 But that reality of having such people 226 00:11:32,285 --> 00:11:33,565 in our lives, 227 00:11:33,565 --> 00:11:35,359 that's one of the major reasons 228 00:11:35,359 --> 00:11:37,352 why "lone ranger" Christianity 229 00:11:37,352 --> 00:11:39,871 is an unbiblical concept. 230 00:11:39,871 --> 00:11:42,459 I don't need the church. I've got a mission from God. 231 00:11:42,459 --> 00:11:45,102 He's called me to preach or He's called me to do this. 232 00:11:45,102 --> 00:11:48,048 I don't need to commit myself to the church. 233 00:11:48,048 --> 00:11:50,146 That's not biblical. 234 00:11:50,146 --> 00:11:55,037 Isolation is not God's will for His people. 235 00:11:55,037 --> 00:11:57,600 God created us for relationships. 236 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,630 He created us for relationship with Him 237 00:12:00,630 --> 00:12:04,560 and relationship with one another. 238 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:06,972 And the great tragedy of the fall 239 00:12:06,972 --> 00:12:09,055 was that relationship with Him 240 00:12:09,055 --> 00:12:11,865 was completely severed. 241 00:12:11,865 --> 00:12:14,445 And in our broken, fallen condition, 242 00:12:14,445 --> 00:12:16,395 we've replaced that relationship 243 00:12:16,395 --> 00:12:18,543 with everything under the sun, 244 00:12:18,543 --> 00:12:21,406 primarily to self-consumption 245 00:12:21,406 --> 00:12:24,246 and self-worship. 246 00:12:24,246 --> 00:12:27,272 Jesus came to fix that. 247 00:12:27,272 --> 00:12:29,772 In fact, the chief end of the gospel 248 00:12:29,772 --> 00:12:33,116 is to restore that relationship. 249 00:12:33,116 --> 00:12:37,157 To bring estranged, separated sinners 250 00:12:37,157 --> 00:12:38,392 to Himself; 251 00:12:38,392 --> 00:12:47,096 into relationship with God Almighty Himself. 252 00:12:47,096 --> 00:12:50,448 Martin Luther said it was John 3:16 253 00:12:50,448 --> 00:12:51,741 which I won't argue with. 254 00:12:51,741 --> 00:12:53,267 That's a great verse. 255 00:12:53,267 --> 00:12:54,780 But I think one of the greatest 256 00:12:54,780 --> 00:12:56,427 one-verse summaries of the gospel 257 00:12:56,427 --> 00:12:59,089 is 1 Peter 3:18. 258 00:12:59,089 --> 00:13:02,639 "For Christ suffered once for sins..." 259 00:13:02,639 --> 00:13:03,973 Hallelujah! 260 00:13:03,973 --> 00:13:06,661 "...The righteous for the unrighteous." 261 00:13:06,661 --> 00:13:09,187 For what purpose? For what end? 262 00:13:09,187 --> 00:13:10,944 "...That He might bring us to God." 263 00:13:10,944 --> 00:13:13,225 That's it, brethren. 264 00:13:13,225 --> 00:13:15,058 What a glorious reality that is. 265 00:13:15,058 --> 00:13:17,054 You think about eternity. 266 00:13:17,054 --> 00:13:19,272 You think about glory. 267 00:13:19,272 --> 00:13:21,798 What do we know? 268 00:13:21,798 --> 00:13:23,161 Not a whole lot. 269 00:13:23,161 --> 00:13:24,593 We know this though, 270 00:13:24,593 --> 00:13:26,651 God Himself will be there, 271 00:13:26,651 --> 00:13:28,876 and His children will be there, right? 272 00:13:28,876 --> 00:13:29,934 That's what matters. 273 00:13:29,934 --> 00:13:32,239 Not a whole lot we know more than that. 274 00:13:32,239 --> 00:13:34,380 But that's the glorious reality we do know. 275 00:13:34,380 --> 00:13:37,044 That's where God's going to be. 276 00:13:37,044 --> 00:13:38,911 This thing is all about relationships. 277 00:13:38,911 --> 00:13:41,077 Eternal relationships. 278 00:13:41,077 --> 00:13:43,181 Those eternal relationships, however, 279 00:13:43,181 --> 00:13:45,951 they don't start when we physically die 280 00:13:45,951 --> 00:13:49,348 in this life. 281 00:13:49,348 --> 00:13:50,937 They don't start when we pass 282 00:13:50,937 --> 00:13:52,849 into the next realm. 283 00:13:52,849 --> 00:13:55,598 They start the moment we die with Christ 284 00:13:55,598 --> 00:13:57,431 and are given the gift of eternal life 285 00:13:57,431 --> 00:13:59,920 through faith in Him. 286 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:02,248 God in His gospel gives us eternal life 287 00:14:02,248 --> 00:14:04,724 and thereby brings us into eternal relationships 288 00:14:04,724 --> 00:14:06,885 with one another that start right here 289 00:14:06,885 --> 00:14:09,468 in the here and now. 290 00:14:09,468 --> 00:14:12,861 And that's significant. That's very important to grasp. 291 00:14:12,861 --> 00:14:15,362 Church relations are not secondary - 292 00:14:15,362 --> 00:14:19,222 not in God's Word. 293 00:14:19,222 --> 00:14:20,926 Listen to this - Romans 12:5, 294 00:14:20,926 --> 00:14:25,958 "So we, though many, are one body 295 00:14:25,958 --> 00:14:29,276 in Christ and individually members 296 00:14:29,276 --> 00:14:32,244 one of another." 297 00:14:32,244 --> 00:14:33,918 That's pretty intimate. 298 00:14:33,918 --> 00:14:36,218 There are several places in the New Testament 299 00:14:36,218 --> 00:14:37,895 that speak this way. 300 00:14:37,895 --> 00:14:44,415 Christ laid down His life for the church. 301 00:14:44,415 --> 00:14:47,137 God created marriage for that primary reason, 302 00:14:47,137 --> 00:14:48,650 did He not? 303 00:14:48,650 --> 00:14:50,330 To display His love; 304 00:14:50,330 --> 00:14:55,277 to display this inseparable union. 305 00:14:55,277 --> 00:14:57,212 Make no mistake about it, 306 00:14:57,212 --> 00:14:58,420 homosexuality, 307 00:14:58,420 --> 00:14:59,707 transgender, 308 00:14:59,707 --> 00:15:01,281 same-sex marriage, 309 00:15:01,281 --> 00:15:02,392 casual sex, 310 00:15:02,392 --> 00:15:03,442 the porn industry, 311 00:15:03,442 --> 00:15:05,000 divorce rates through the roof, 312 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,595 at the base of it all, 313 00:15:06,595 --> 00:15:07,872 at the bottom of it all 314 00:15:07,872 --> 00:15:11,029 lies one grand satanic design 315 00:15:11,029 --> 00:15:14,858 to mar this beautiful, wonderful picture 316 00:15:14,858 --> 00:15:17,184 of Jesus Christ and His bride; 317 00:15:17,184 --> 00:15:19,305 of Jesus being made one 318 00:15:19,305 --> 00:15:21,697 with those undeserving people, 319 00:15:21,697 --> 00:15:23,440 those undeserving individuals, 320 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:29,626 yet the most privileged in the entire universe. 321 00:15:29,626 --> 00:15:36,866 It's wonderful. 322 00:15:36,866 --> 00:15:38,591 Yes, most certainly, 323 00:15:38,591 --> 00:15:41,658 salvation is personal. 324 00:15:41,658 --> 00:15:44,063 It's at an individual level. 325 00:15:44,063 --> 00:15:46,072 But it doesn't stay there, you see. 326 00:15:46,072 --> 00:15:47,337 It doesn't stay there. 327 00:15:47,337 --> 00:15:48,530 When God saves a sinner, 328 00:15:48,530 --> 00:15:50,059 He deals a death blow 329 00:15:50,059 --> 00:15:51,538 to that old self. 330 00:15:51,538 --> 00:15:52,801 And I emphasize self. 331 00:15:52,801 --> 00:15:55,322 He transfers them out of that kingdom of darkness. 332 00:15:55,322 --> 00:15:57,593 He places them in the kingdom of His dear Son. 333 00:15:57,593 --> 00:16:02,540 In that kingdom, they're pursuing His will. 334 00:16:02,540 --> 00:16:03,728 It's a new realm. 335 00:16:03,728 --> 00:16:05,286 Everything's new. 336 00:16:05,286 --> 00:16:06,698 New life, new clothes, 337 00:16:06,698 --> 00:16:09,390 new community. 338 00:16:09,390 --> 00:16:11,371 God intends for His people 339 00:16:11,371 --> 00:16:14,418 to function together 340 00:16:14,418 --> 00:16:17,913 in this new community He calls the church. 341 00:16:17,913 --> 00:16:20,263 And texts like this one before us right here, 342 00:16:20,263 --> 00:16:23,022 just these few sentences, 343 00:16:23,022 --> 00:16:25,680 are reasons to be convinced 344 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,069 of the importance of church membership. 345 00:16:29,069 --> 00:16:32,295 All of these one another statements in the New Testament, 346 00:16:32,295 --> 00:16:35,950 they point to a clear, identifiable 347 00:16:35,950 --> 00:16:39,664 body of believers committed 348 00:16:39,664 --> 00:16:43,014 and united in fashion to the service, 349 00:16:43,014 --> 00:16:44,507 worship, and commission 350 00:16:44,507 --> 00:16:52,447 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 351 00:16:52,447 --> 00:16:55,361 One of the surest proofs 352 00:16:55,361 --> 00:16:57,927 of regenerate church membership 353 00:16:57,927 --> 00:17:04,743 is found in the ability of the members within it 354 00:17:04,743 --> 00:17:07,837 not to preach, 355 00:17:07,837 --> 00:17:10,828 not to evangelize, 356 00:17:10,828 --> 00:17:12,005 not even to pray. 357 00:17:12,005 --> 00:17:13,232 Now, those things are 358 00:17:13,232 --> 00:17:17,163 absolutely essential and very important. 359 00:17:17,163 --> 00:17:19,906 But the devil has his cohorts doing that 360 00:17:19,906 --> 00:17:23,469 all over the place. 361 00:17:23,469 --> 00:17:25,561 The reality of redemption 362 00:17:25,561 --> 00:17:27,955 is most clearly expressed 363 00:17:27,955 --> 00:17:30,742 in the demonstration of God's grace 364 00:17:30,742 --> 00:17:33,022 being worked out relationally 365 00:17:33,022 --> 00:17:34,826 with His people in the church. 366 00:17:34,826 --> 00:17:37,805 It is. 367 00:17:37,805 --> 00:17:39,738 And so when difficult people are placed 368 00:17:39,738 --> 00:17:42,119 in your pathway, 369 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:44,151 it's not for the purpose of teaching you 370 00:17:44,151 --> 00:17:45,164 how to repel; 371 00:17:45,164 --> 00:17:46,406 how to keep your distance; 372 00:17:46,406 --> 00:17:49,770 how to avoid them; how to run from them. 373 00:17:49,770 --> 00:17:51,346 It's for the purpose 374 00:17:51,346 --> 00:17:53,193 of letting God's grace - 375 00:17:53,193 --> 00:17:56,097 these virtues of Jesus Christ here - 376 00:17:56,097 --> 00:17:57,853 shine like the blazing sun 377 00:17:57,853 --> 00:18:00,388 in the midst of a dark - in Jesus' words - 378 00:18:00,388 --> 00:18:06,830 twisted and faithfless generation. 379 00:18:06,830 --> 00:18:08,682 So the next time you're finding it 380 00:18:08,682 --> 00:18:11,037 hard to bear with someone, 381 00:18:11,037 --> 00:18:13,559 be it your brother or sister, 382 00:18:13,559 --> 00:18:17,101 just remember the kind forbearance 383 00:18:17,101 --> 00:18:21,669 that God has shown you. 384 00:18:21,669 --> 00:18:27,683 Do you remember how patient He was with you? 385 00:18:27,683 --> 00:18:30,320 How long-suffering? 386 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:34,075 Oh, how He tolerated all your ugliness? 387 00:18:34,075 --> 00:18:39,051 All your annoying, backward ways? 388 00:18:39,051 --> 00:18:41,493 Not only did He bear with you 389 00:18:41,493 --> 00:18:43,619 in all your overtly evil ways 390 00:18:43,619 --> 00:18:44,950 prior to your salvation, 391 00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:46,907 His forbearance has continued 392 00:18:46,907 --> 00:18:49,835 throughout all your stumblings and failures 393 00:18:49,835 --> 00:18:52,510 that you have incurred despite all 394 00:18:52,510 --> 00:18:54,653 the innumerable blessings that He's poured 395 00:18:54,653 --> 00:18:57,477 over your head. 396 00:18:57,477 --> 00:18:59,736 God's people have every reason 397 00:18:59,736 --> 00:19:03,028 to bear with one another 398 00:19:03,028 --> 00:19:12,249 in whatever fashion He calls us to do so. 399 00:19:12,249 --> 00:19:14,585 And bearing with one another, 400 00:19:14,585 --> 00:19:18,647 while it most certainly is a virtue of Jesus Christ, 401 00:19:18,647 --> 00:19:20,806 it's not exactly the most flourishing 402 00:19:20,806 --> 00:19:23,119 demonstration of those virtues. 403 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:26,094 Douglas Moo points out in v. 12, 404 00:19:26,094 --> 00:19:33,489 he suggests that "bearing with one another 405 00:19:33,489 --> 00:19:35,805 does not even require the greatest display 406 00:19:35,805 --> 00:19:38,620 of Christian kindness and patience. 407 00:19:38,620 --> 00:19:41,314 But it is a necessary first step 408 00:19:41,314 --> 00:19:43,960 in establishing community." 409 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,693 And it's a step that's followed 410 00:19:46,693 --> 00:19:49,609 by this next progression. 411 00:19:49,609 --> 00:19:53,616 Paul adds, "And if one has a complaint 412 00:19:53,616 --> 00:19:58,929 against another, forgiving each other." 413 00:19:58,929 --> 00:20:00,871 Some translations stick with the common 414 00:20:00,871 --> 00:20:02,826 "one another" phraseology here. 415 00:20:02,826 --> 00:20:04,856 They mean the exact same thing. 416 00:20:04,856 --> 00:20:06,435 I prefer using the "one another," 417 00:20:06,435 --> 00:20:08,974 as the King James does. 418 00:20:08,974 --> 00:20:11,567 But let me just stop here. 419 00:20:11,567 --> 00:20:14,022 I'm going to grab this pen. 420 00:20:14,022 --> 00:20:15,663 I just want to get three or four. 421 00:20:15,663 --> 00:20:16,825 I want you to tell me. 422 00:20:16,825 --> 00:20:18,340 I want to hear somebody tell me 423 00:20:18,340 --> 00:20:20,538 what does it mean to forgive? 424 00:20:20,538 --> 00:20:25,108 I want to write three or four definitions down. 425 00:20:25,108 --> 00:20:27,336 Anyone. What does it mean to forgive? 426 00:20:27,336 --> 00:20:28,497 Even if it's one word. 427 00:20:28,497 --> 00:20:30,339 Yes, brother? 428 00:20:30,339 --> 00:20:31,693 To let go. 429 00:20:31,693 --> 00:20:35,741 Okay. We've got let go. Anyone else? 430 00:20:35,741 --> 00:20:39,256 Reconcile. We've got that. 431 00:20:39,256 --> 00:20:41,824 Two more. 432 00:20:41,824 --> 00:20:43,805 Or one more. 433 00:20:43,805 --> 00:20:49,815 Release a debt. That's a good one. 434 00:20:49,815 --> 00:20:52,457 Release a debt/cancel. Okay. 435 00:20:52,457 --> 00:20:54,299 We're all on the same page. 436 00:20:54,299 --> 00:20:56,577 It's pretty much what we all were thinking 437 00:20:56,577 --> 00:20:59,269 even though we didn't say it. 438 00:20:59,269 --> 00:21:02,508 That's what we understand the term to mean, right? 439 00:21:02,508 --> 00:21:04,421 To pardon, to cancel, to excuse, 440 00:21:04,421 --> 00:21:08,461 to let go, reconcile. 441 00:21:08,461 --> 00:21:10,583 Forgiving here in our text - 442 00:21:10,583 --> 00:21:12,946 the word translated forgiving - 443 00:21:12,946 --> 00:21:16,576 is the Greek work charizomenoi, 444 00:21:16,576 --> 00:21:19,883 which I'm probably not pronouncing correctly. 445 00:21:19,883 --> 00:21:22,123 Charizomenoi. 446 00:21:22,123 --> 00:21:24,409 And it might surprise you - 447 00:21:24,409 --> 00:21:27,472 it did me, it took up a good part of my day - 448 00:21:27,472 --> 00:21:31,875 the meaning of this Greek word is this: 449 00:21:31,875 --> 00:21:35,773 to gratify. 450 00:21:35,773 --> 00:21:39,742 To bestow in kindness. 451 00:21:39,742 --> 00:21:43,226 Grant as a free favor. 452 00:21:43,226 --> 00:21:47,911 That comes directly out of my Mounce Greek Dictionary. 453 00:21:47,911 --> 00:21:51,656 Thayer's Lexicon: "to do something pleasant 454 00:21:51,656 --> 00:21:54,625 or agreeable to one. 455 00:21:54,625 --> 00:21:57,604 To do favor to; 456 00:21:57,604 --> 00:22:00,858 (again), gratify, 457 00:22:00,858 --> 00:22:04,540 universally to show oneself gracious, 458 00:22:04,540 --> 00:22:10,667 kind, and benevolent." 459 00:22:10,667 --> 00:22:13,202 Now, I didn't realize before I got into this text 460 00:22:13,202 --> 00:22:15,093 that there's actually three Greek words 461 00:22:15,093 --> 00:22:20,030 that get translated "forgive, forgiving, forgiven, forgiveness." 462 00:22:20,030 --> 00:22:27,746 And the primary one is the word aphiemi. 463 00:22:27,746 --> 00:22:30,058 That's our word forgive in about 80% 464 00:22:30,058 --> 00:22:33,216 of the times in Scripture you see it. 465 00:22:33,216 --> 00:22:37,095 And that's the word that primarily means 466 00:22:37,095 --> 00:22:39,955 to send away, but it conveys the same idea 467 00:22:39,955 --> 00:22:41,674 that was just aired, right? 468 00:22:41,674 --> 00:22:45,145 Let go, reconcile, pardon, cancel, clear. 469 00:22:45,145 --> 00:22:50,198 It's forgive as we know the term forgive. 470 00:22:50,198 --> 00:22:53,834 But that's not our word here in the text. 471 00:22:53,834 --> 00:22:57,936 It's the word charizomenoi. 472 00:22:57,936 --> 00:23:00,082 And it's a word that shows up 23 times 473 00:23:00,082 --> 00:23:01,165 in the New Testament, 474 00:23:01,165 --> 00:23:04,298 half of which are translated forgive, 475 00:23:04,298 --> 00:23:06,983 depending on the translation. 476 00:23:06,983 --> 00:23:09,054 Most of the other times, 477 00:23:09,054 --> 00:23:14,269 it's give or grant. 478 00:23:14,269 --> 00:23:16,715 And that's what this word primarily conveys. 479 00:23:16,715 --> 00:23:19,055 To give or bestow kindness. 480 00:23:19,055 --> 00:23:21,167 To grant free favor. 481 00:23:21,167 --> 00:23:23,842 To do something pleasant, gracious, 482 00:23:23,842 --> 00:23:26,416 kind to another. 483 00:23:26,416 --> 00:23:29,176 As one Greek scholar stated, 484 00:23:29,176 --> 00:23:32,013 "while it's not the common word 485 00:23:32,013 --> 00:23:34,614 for remission and forgiveness, 486 00:23:34,614 --> 00:23:36,882 it is one of richer content, 487 00:23:36,882 --> 00:23:39,262 emphasizing the gracious nature 488 00:23:39,262 --> 00:23:42,700 of the pardon." 489 00:23:42,700 --> 00:23:45,593 Jesus uses this term 490 00:23:45,593 --> 00:23:47,700 in sharing the story of forgiveness 491 00:23:47,700 --> 00:23:48,856 with Simon the Pharisee 492 00:23:48,856 --> 00:23:52,165 as he's sitting in his house, reclining at table, you remember that? 493 00:23:52,165 --> 00:23:53,973 Where He talks about the money lender 494 00:23:53,973 --> 00:23:54,975 who had two debtors. 495 00:23:54,975 --> 00:23:56,302 One who had a massive debt, 496 00:23:56,302 --> 00:23:57,803 and one who had a small debt. 497 00:23:57,803 --> 00:23:58,999 And he forgave them both, 498 00:23:58,999 --> 00:24:01,073 and He asked him who's going to love most, 499 00:24:01,073 --> 00:24:04,192 and of course, the one who was forgiven most. 500 00:24:04,192 --> 00:24:07,444 And using that word, Jesus was underscoring 501 00:24:07,444 --> 00:24:12,392 the gracious nature or kind bestowal 502 00:24:12,392 --> 00:24:15,334 that the money lender 503 00:24:15,334 --> 00:24:18,004 had towards these debtors. 504 00:24:18,004 --> 00:24:19,160 (unintelligible) 505 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,994 It wasn't just a legal act of removing debt. 506 00:24:21,994 --> 00:24:23,573 It was heartless. 507 00:24:23,573 --> 00:24:26,197 But a very gracious, kind act 508 00:24:26,197 --> 00:24:28,477 of removing the obligation 509 00:24:28,477 --> 00:24:31,003 for those men to pay him back. 510 00:24:31,003 --> 00:24:32,828 And the response, of course, was 511 00:24:32,828 --> 00:24:34,480 the one who owed the most, 512 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,681 loved the most. 513 00:24:36,681 --> 00:24:38,392 And he was using that illustration 514 00:24:38,392 --> 00:24:41,006 because a prostitute was wiping her hair on his feet. 515 00:24:41,006 --> 00:24:43,278 And the Pharisees in their self-righteousness 516 00:24:43,278 --> 00:24:45,734 were having some problems with that. 517 00:24:45,734 --> 00:24:50,416 But Paul uses this word in Romans 8:32. 518 00:24:50,416 --> 00:24:51,707 Well known verse. 519 00:24:51,707 --> 00:24:55,608 "He who did not spare His own Son, 520 00:24:55,608 --> 00:24:57,325 but gave Him up for us all, 521 00:24:57,325 --> 00:24:59,246 how will He not also with Him 522 00:24:59,246 --> 00:25:02,660 graciously give us all things?" 523 00:25:02,660 --> 00:25:06,658 There's our word: give. 524 00:25:06,658 --> 00:25:11,981 The word "give" is charizomenoi. 525 00:25:11,981 --> 00:25:17,134 Charizomenoi. 526 00:25:17,134 --> 00:25:18,737 In other words, how will God 527 00:25:18,737 --> 00:25:19,884 not also with Christ, 528 00:25:19,884 --> 00:25:26,462 graciously charizomenoi us all things? 529 00:25:26,462 --> 00:25:28,709 And while the word there in that context 530 00:25:28,709 --> 00:25:32,380 of that verse is not communicating forgiveness, 531 00:25:32,380 --> 00:25:34,872 it is communicating the magnitude 532 00:25:34,872 --> 00:25:36,297 of the giving. 533 00:25:36,297 --> 00:25:38,130 The magnitude of the kindness 534 00:25:38,130 --> 00:25:41,026 and gracious favor God is extending 535 00:25:41,026 --> 00:25:44,876 in this open-ended promise. 536 00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:47,630 Another instance is Paul's letter 537 00:25:47,630 --> 00:25:49,027 to the Galatians. 538 00:25:49,027 --> 00:25:50,820 In Galatians 3:18, Paul says, 539 00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:55,426 "For if the inheritance comes by the law, 540 00:25:55,426 --> 00:25:58,398 it no longer comes by promise, 541 00:25:58,398 --> 00:26:01,539 but God gave it to Abraham 542 00:26:01,539 --> 00:26:03,666 by a promise." 543 00:26:03,666 --> 00:26:08,589 The word gave - that's our word. 544 00:26:08,589 --> 00:26:11,028 Gave what? 545 00:26:11,028 --> 00:26:13,089 The inheritance. 546 00:26:13,089 --> 00:26:15,574 Again, the word's being used to convey 547 00:26:15,574 --> 00:26:18,753 an unbelievable bestowal of favor 548 00:26:18,753 --> 00:26:20,896 and gifting. 549 00:26:20,896 --> 00:26:22,923 Something that is just freely 550 00:26:22,923 --> 00:26:25,598 and wonderfully given. 551 00:26:25,598 --> 00:26:27,565 And I share those verses to help us 552 00:26:27,565 --> 00:26:29,206 get a better taste of the breadth 553 00:26:29,206 --> 00:26:33,150 and depth of this term here: forgiving. 554 00:26:33,150 --> 00:26:35,430 And it is translated "forgiven" 555 00:26:35,430 --> 00:26:37,412 even in this letter. 556 00:26:37,412 --> 00:26:39,046 If you look over to chapter 2:13, 557 00:26:39,046 --> 00:26:40,806 Paul says, "And you who were dead 558 00:26:40,806 --> 00:26:42,095 in your trespasses, 559 00:26:42,095 --> 00:26:44,337 in the uncircumcision of your flesh, 560 00:26:44,337 --> 00:26:47,425 God made alive together with Him, 561 00:26:47,425 --> 00:26:53,738 having forgiven us all our trespasses." 562 00:26:53,738 --> 00:26:57,383 Paul here elects to use the word: 563 00:26:57,383 --> 00:26:59,012 charizomenoi, 564 00:26:59,012 --> 00:27:02,493 instead of aphiemi - 565 00:27:02,493 --> 00:27:04,472 the word standardly used for forgiveness, 566 00:27:04,472 --> 00:27:06,438 and I think he does so to underscore 567 00:27:06,438 --> 00:27:09,025 the incredible kindness of God 568 00:27:09,025 --> 00:27:10,924 in such an act as forgiving 569 00:27:10,924 --> 00:27:18,758 all our trespasses. 570 00:27:18,758 --> 00:27:20,626 Okay, so now we have a clearer scope 571 00:27:20,626 --> 00:27:22,658 of this word "forgiving," 572 00:27:22,658 --> 00:27:24,148 used in the text before us. 573 00:27:24,148 --> 00:27:26,756 Let's look again at what Paul has to say here. 574 00:27:26,756 --> 00:27:30,346 "And if one has a complaint against another, 575 00:27:30,346 --> 00:27:33,417 forgiving each other." 576 00:27:33,417 --> 00:27:35,530 Paul rightly assumes there's going to be 577 00:27:35,530 --> 00:27:38,035 problems in the church. 578 00:27:38,035 --> 00:27:40,393 You gather a few hundred people together 579 00:27:40,393 --> 00:27:42,426 on a regular basis, 580 00:27:42,426 --> 00:27:46,519 and they're still dwelling in their mortal flesh, 581 00:27:46,519 --> 00:27:54,251 you're probably going to have a problem or two pop up, right? 582 00:27:54,251 --> 00:27:56,704 There's a pretty good chance that someone's 583 00:27:56,704 --> 00:27:58,581 going to have a complaint 584 00:27:58,581 --> 00:28:00,568 as Paul calls it against another. 585 00:28:00,568 --> 00:28:01,915 Legitimate or not, 586 00:28:01,915 --> 00:28:06,316 complaints or going to happen. 587 00:28:06,316 --> 00:28:08,182 If and when they do, 588 00:28:08,182 --> 00:28:09,205 Paul doesn't say, 589 00:28:09,205 --> 00:28:11,303 just seek to avoid that person 590 00:28:11,303 --> 00:28:14,160 as much as you can. 591 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:19,628 No, he says forgive each other. 592 00:28:19,628 --> 00:28:24,246 Have a charizomenoi mindset 593 00:28:24,246 --> 00:28:26,007 with one another. 594 00:28:26,007 --> 00:28:28,548 Be gracious. 595 00:28:28,548 --> 00:28:30,488 Bestow kindness. 596 00:28:30,488 --> 00:28:37,047 Forgive that thing and move on. 597 00:28:37,047 --> 00:28:42,071 Not separate. Move on together. 598 00:28:42,071 --> 00:28:44,601 Don't begrudgingly or mechanically 599 00:28:44,601 --> 00:28:47,707 say the words, "I forgive you," 600 00:28:47,707 --> 00:28:50,380 and yet your heart is still holding on to that thing. 601 00:28:50,380 --> 00:28:53,288 That's not biblical forgiveness. 602 00:28:53,288 --> 00:28:57,741 That's biblical bitterness. 603 00:28:57,741 --> 00:29:00,048 The biblical term here is telling us 604 00:29:00,048 --> 00:29:03,650 to return that complaint or offense 605 00:29:03,650 --> 00:29:07,414 with something pleasant. 606 00:29:07,414 --> 00:29:10,017 Freely give it. Don't withhold it. 607 00:29:10,017 --> 00:29:12,418 Graciously grant the pardon. 608 00:29:12,418 --> 00:29:14,572 Release that thing. Let it go. 609 00:29:14,572 --> 00:29:19,044 Meet it with kindness. 610 00:29:19,044 --> 00:29:23,896 Yeah, but if you only knew brother... 611 00:29:23,896 --> 00:29:25,409 I don't. 612 00:29:25,409 --> 00:29:27,037 But the Lord knows. 613 00:29:27,037 --> 00:29:30,843 And He says let that thing go. 614 00:29:30,843 --> 00:29:32,826 In fact, not only let it go, but do it 615 00:29:32,826 --> 00:29:35,367 in such a fashion that it communicates 616 00:29:35,367 --> 00:29:39,993 a gracious and a kind spirit. 617 00:29:39,993 --> 00:29:41,850 Yeah, but this isn't the first time 618 00:29:41,850 --> 00:29:45,669 they've done this to me. 619 00:29:45,669 --> 00:29:51,983 "Seventy times seven," Jesus tells Peter. 620 00:29:51,983 --> 00:29:53,249 When he asked Him, Lord, 621 00:29:53,249 --> 00:29:58,494 how many times shall I forgive my brother? 622 00:29:58,494 --> 00:30:00,517 Okay, well, maybe that's for little sins. 623 00:30:00,517 --> 00:30:02,151 What about when they're big sins? 624 00:30:02,151 --> 00:30:04,066 And they're multiple times? 625 00:30:04,066 --> 00:30:05,753 Paul has the answer for that 626 00:30:05,753 --> 00:30:07,472 right here in our text. 627 00:30:07,472 --> 00:30:12,698 "As the Lord has forgiven you..." 628 00:30:12,698 --> 00:30:14,746 "As the Lord has forgiven you, 629 00:30:14,746 --> 00:30:19,841 so you also must forgive." 630 00:30:19,841 --> 00:30:22,811 Wow. 631 00:30:22,811 --> 00:30:26,478 That's a stunning statement. 632 00:30:26,478 --> 00:30:28,014 You know, in a verse like this, 633 00:30:28,014 --> 00:30:30,564 we're apt to focus on the conclusion of the matter. 634 00:30:30,564 --> 00:30:33,210 Okay. You also must forgive. 635 00:30:33,210 --> 00:30:35,757 I need to be a forgiving person. I get it. 636 00:30:35,757 --> 00:30:37,631 Not so fast. 637 00:30:37,631 --> 00:30:40,414 Look at the beginning of the statement. 638 00:30:40,414 --> 00:30:41,985 It's really most remarkable. 639 00:30:41,985 --> 00:30:46,958 Notice the "as so" construction here. 640 00:30:46,958 --> 00:30:50,619 As the Lord has forgiven you, 641 00:30:50,619 --> 00:30:55,754 so you also must forgive. 642 00:30:55,754 --> 00:30:59,629 As - in the same manner; 643 00:30:59,629 --> 00:31:03,490 to the extent that God has forgiven 644 00:31:03,490 --> 00:31:05,084 your sins against Him, 645 00:31:05,084 --> 00:31:07,700 so you need to likewise 646 00:31:07,700 --> 00:31:12,365 forgive other sins against you. 647 00:31:12,365 --> 00:31:17,785 That's what's being said here. 648 00:31:17,785 --> 00:31:22,090 This short phrase here: "As the Lord has forgiven you..." 649 00:31:22,090 --> 00:31:24,715 That phrase represents the basis 650 00:31:24,715 --> 00:31:28,093 and foundation for all Christian forgiveness. 651 00:31:28,093 --> 00:31:31,453 Christians forgive 652 00:31:31,453 --> 00:31:33,581 because they're a forgiven people. 653 00:31:33,581 --> 00:31:36,688 Forgiven people forgive. 654 00:31:36,688 --> 00:31:39,058 In fact, that's what I titled my message. 655 00:31:39,058 --> 00:31:42,805 Forgiven people forgive. 656 00:31:42,805 --> 00:31:45,593 You want an acid test as to who's real; 657 00:31:45,593 --> 00:31:46,851 who's not. 658 00:31:46,851 --> 00:31:49,733 Let a man or woman be wronged. 659 00:31:49,733 --> 00:31:52,526 Before long, you'll find out the extent 660 00:31:52,526 --> 00:31:57,028 to which they've been forgiven. 661 00:31:57,028 --> 00:31:58,403 People who get all hung up 662 00:31:58,403 --> 00:32:00,633 over little insignificant matters of life 663 00:32:00,633 --> 00:32:02,680 and can't seem to let such things go 664 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,114 have a very, very small view of God, 665 00:32:07,114 --> 00:32:10,183 and a very, very small view 666 00:32:10,183 --> 00:32:12,248 of themselves before a holy God; 667 00:32:12,248 --> 00:32:17,279 their sin before a holy God. 668 00:32:17,279 --> 00:32:19,128 Now, I'm not saying - 669 00:32:19,128 --> 00:32:20,994 I'm not even suggesting forgiveness 670 00:32:20,994 --> 00:32:24,623 is an easy thing. 671 00:32:24,623 --> 00:32:28,547 And I'm not saying it's an automatic thing. 672 00:32:28,547 --> 00:32:30,989 But by Scriptural authority, 673 00:32:30,989 --> 00:32:34,129 I can assure you that forgiven people 674 00:32:34,129 --> 00:32:38,100 do forgive. 675 00:32:38,100 --> 00:32:41,420 We perform what we call 676 00:32:41,420 --> 00:32:44,463 the adhesion tape test at work. 677 00:32:44,463 --> 00:32:47,757 We build ground support equipment 678 00:32:47,757 --> 00:32:49,431 for military aircraft. 679 00:32:49,431 --> 00:32:51,311 And unfortunately, they fall under 680 00:32:51,311 --> 00:32:53,123 the same specifications the aircraft does. 681 00:32:53,123 --> 00:32:55,912 And some of the stuff we do, especially the paint and finishes, 682 00:32:55,912 --> 00:32:58,178 so we have all these hoops we have to jump through 683 00:32:58,178 --> 00:33:00,060 and all these certain tests we've got to run. 684 00:33:00,060 --> 00:33:03,000 And so, basically, what it is is you get a test panel, 685 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:04,219 you mix up your paint. 686 00:33:04,219 --> 00:33:06,114 There's all kinds of variables that can throw this thing off. 687 00:33:06,114 --> 00:33:09,169 The whole point of the test is to determine 688 00:33:09,169 --> 00:33:12,958 if there's true, genuine adhesion 689 00:33:12,958 --> 00:33:15,511 of the paint to the component. 690 00:33:15,511 --> 00:33:16,702 You've got to have that. 691 00:33:16,702 --> 00:33:18,419 You can't have that flaking off. 692 00:33:18,419 --> 00:33:20,635 It's got to be quality. 693 00:33:20,635 --> 00:33:22,550 It's got to meet a certain quality. 694 00:33:22,550 --> 00:33:27,681 So what they do is you spray this panel, 695 00:33:27,681 --> 00:33:31,540 let it dry, apply this military grade 696 00:33:31,540 --> 00:33:33,887 masking tape basically, 697 00:33:33,887 --> 00:33:35,512 and you take a razor blade 698 00:33:35,512 --> 00:33:37,653 and you start scoring that masking tape, 699 00:33:37,653 --> 00:33:39,280 and you let it sit for awhile. 700 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,552 You come back and you pull that tape up. 701 00:33:42,552 --> 00:33:43,979 You pull that tape up. 702 00:33:43,979 --> 00:33:48,443 And if there's any paint on that tape, 703 00:33:48,443 --> 00:33:50,905 it's not proper adhesion. 704 00:33:50,905 --> 00:33:53,950 That piece needs to go back and get blasted. 705 00:33:53,950 --> 00:33:55,276 You start all over. 706 00:33:55,276 --> 00:33:57,888 You pull that tape up and it's clean, 707 00:33:57,888 --> 00:34:00,230 you have perfect adhesion. 708 00:34:00,230 --> 00:34:04,369 A good, quality approved part. 709 00:34:04,369 --> 00:34:05,864 It can move on. 710 00:34:05,864 --> 00:34:08,777 I was thinking about that in relation to the Christian life, 711 00:34:08,777 --> 00:34:12,696 particularly this - forgiveness. 712 00:34:12,696 --> 00:34:15,805 It seemed like a good analogy 713 00:34:15,805 --> 00:34:21,173 of whether we have genuine adherence 714 00:34:21,173 --> 00:34:27,148 to Christ. 715 00:34:27,148 --> 00:34:30,375 When the Lord presses on you 716 00:34:30,375 --> 00:34:35,453 the tape test of forgiveness, 717 00:34:35,453 --> 00:34:40,057 and allows you to be scored and cut deeply 718 00:34:40,057 --> 00:34:43,342 by another person, 719 00:34:43,342 --> 00:34:47,292 are we adhered to Christ? 720 00:34:47,292 --> 00:34:49,469 When the tape's pulled back, 721 00:34:49,469 --> 00:34:52,474 what's the story? 722 00:34:52,474 --> 00:34:54,894 When the tape's pulled back, the testing's over, 723 00:34:54,894 --> 00:34:57,956 are we holding fast to Christ? 724 00:34:57,956 --> 00:35:00,326 Are we holding fast to Him? 725 00:35:00,326 --> 00:35:04,795 And proving so by letting all those offenses go 726 00:35:04,795 --> 00:35:06,639 as Christ let ours go? 727 00:35:06,639 --> 00:35:11,329 Or are we fixated back here on the tape? 728 00:35:11,329 --> 00:35:15,836 Are we hanging on to the cuts? 729 00:35:15,836 --> 00:35:23,169 Are we not properly bonded to Christ? 730 00:35:23,169 --> 00:35:24,451 Christian, mark this down 731 00:35:24,451 --> 00:35:27,343 and be fully persuaded of this in your mind. 732 00:35:27,343 --> 00:35:29,124 Because there's not any situation - 733 00:35:29,124 --> 00:35:30,724 I mean any - 734 00:35:30,724 --> 00:35:33,227 not any situation that could ever occur, 735 00:35:33,227 --> 00:35:35,248 not one act of providence 736 00:35:35,248 --> 00:35:36,942 that could ever befall you, 737 00:35:36,942 --> 00:35:38,281 no matter how bad, 738 00:35:38,281 --> 00:35:39,685 no matter how horrific, 739 00:35:39,685 --> 00:35:45,491 that does not demand your forgiveness. 740 00:35:45,491 --> 00:35:46,659 We had a woman - 741 00:35:46,659 --> 00:35:48,064 I've told this story before. 742 00:35:48,064 --> 00:35:50,410 We had a woman going to Fatty's on a regular basis, 743 00:35:50,410 --> 00:35:51,576 and we were helping her. 744 00:35:51,576 --> 00:35:53,259 She lived over in our neighborhood. 745 00:35:53,259 --> 00:35:54,735 And you know, you spend time with somebody 746 00:35:54,735 --> 00:35:56,228 and you get to know them. 747 00:35:56,228 --> 00:35:57,684 We start digging a little bit, 748 00:35:57,684 --> 00:35:59,902 and we finally got to the issue 749 00:35:59,902 --> 00:36:03,534 that was keeping her from Christ. 750 00:36:03,534 --> 00:36:06,608 It was a horrific story, horrific background. 751 00:36:06,608 --> 00:36:09,032 As a child, she was molested 752 00:36:09,032 --> 00:36:11,047 and horribly, horribly abused 753 00:36:11,047 --> 00:36:14,274 by her step-dad. 754 00:36:14,274 --> 00:36:20,117 She told me with much sorrow and tears. 755 00:36:20,117 --> 00:36:22,571 "I cannot do it. 756 00:36:22,571 --> 00:36:28,612 I cannot forgive him." 757 00:36:28,612 --> 00:36:31,041 And I told her, you have to, 758 00:36:31,041 --> 00:36:38,496 or you'll never know the forgiveness of God. 759 00:36:38,496 --> 00:36:41,011 And I realize, I've been around enough, 760 00:36:41,011 --> 00:36:43,526 in a room this size, 761 00:36:43,526 --> 00:36:47,221 some of you have gone through similar things. 762 00:36:47,221 --> 00:36:51,030 So, I'm not belittling it. 763 00:36:51,030 --> 00:36:58,297 And I understand that is incredibly wicked and evil. 764 00:36:58,297 --> 00:37:00,279 I'm sure it's an absolute nightmare 765 00:37:00,279 --> 00:37:03,865 for anyone to have to go through. 766 00:37:03,865 --> 00:37:05,865 But let me tell you, 767 00:37:05,865 --> 00:37:08,876 it's not even close, 768 00:37:08,876 --> 00:37:10,138 dear brother or sister, 769 00:37:10,138 --> 00:37:12,810 it's not even close to the wickedness 770 00:37:12,810 --> 00:37:16,533 and evil that you have willfully expressed 771 00:37:16,533 --> 00:37:21,806 against a pure and holy God. 772 00:37:21,806 --> 00:37:25,479 It's not. 773 00:37:25,479 --> 00:37:27,276 You see, "I can't forgive him." 774 00:37:27,276 --> 00:37:30,118 That flows from a heart that's never seen 775 00:37:30,118 --> 00:37:34,514 its own filth and wickedness before a holy God. 776 00:37:34,514 --> 00:37:39,640 Because if it had, such a person, 777 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:44,427 they would see themselves no different than that man. 778 00:37:44,427 --> 00:37:46,865 They would quickly conclude 779 00:37:46,865 --> 00:37:49,345 they're just as evil. 780 00:37:49,345 --> 00:37:52,009 They're the same lump. The same guilt. 781 00:37:52,009 --> 00:37:54,732 The same need. 782 00:37:54,732 --> 00:37:57,507 You see, when the scales of self-deception 783 00:37:57,507 --> 00:38:01,349 fall off and you see yourself in such a light, 784 00:38:01,349 --> 00:38:04,690 when you become aware that such a thing as that can be forgiven, 785 00:38:04,690 --> 00:38:06,749 such wickedness and sin can be forgiven, 786 00:38:06,749 --> 00:38:09,477 such rebellion, such self-absorption, 787 00:38:09,477 --> 00:38:12,117 one who is so guilty of really 788 00:38:12,117 --> 00:38:14,265 the greatest treason in the universe; 789 00:38:14,265 --> 00:38:17,736 if they can be forgiven, that's a game changer. 790 00:38:17,736 --> 00:38:22,529 That changes everything. 791 00:38:22,529 --> 00:38:25,930 Mark it down. The failure to forgive 792 00:38:25,930 --> 00:38:28,101 is a failure to see the enormity 793 00:38:28,101 --> 00:38:30,520 of our own sin 794 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,773 and the enormity of God's incredible mercy 795 00:38:33,773 --> 00:38:37,424 toward us. 796 00:38:37,424 --> 00:38:40,581 Christian, if you're struggling here, 797 00:38:40,581 --> 00:38:42,922 here's why. 798 00:38:42,922 --> 00:38:45,150 You've got to get your eyes off you. 799 00:38:45,150 --> 00:38:47,361 You've got to get your eyes off that person. 800 00:38:47,361 --> 00:38:51,659 You've got to get them on Jesus Christ. 801 00:38:51,659 --> 00:38:53,513 And as you do that, 802 00:38:53,513 --> 00:38:55,956 you will see in Him 803 00:38:55,956 --> 00:39:02,859 reason upon reason upon reason 804 00:39:02,859 --> 00:39:06,527 to shed any and all offenses toward you. 805 00:39:06,527 --> 00:39:08,217 Like my dad used to say, 806 00:39:08,217 --> 00:39:11,421 like water off a duck's back, 807 00:39:11,421 --> 00:39:16,056 offenses will just roll. 808 00:39:16,056 --> 00:39:20,827 The cross has the power to do such things. 809 00:39:20,827 --> 00:39:21,969 This is huge. 810 00:39:21,969 --> 00:39:24,942 Forgiveness is a really, really big issue. 811 00:39:24,942 --> 00:39:27,070 So big, Jesus touches on it several times 812 00:39:27,070 --> 00:39:30,233 in His ministry, especially in His Sermon on the Mount. 813 00:39:30,233 --> 00:39:32,157 Let's turn there. We'll scan through 814 00:39:32,157 --> 00:39:35,240 the Sermon on the Mount. 815 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:37,956 Just look at the places where Jesus 816 00:39:37,956 --> 00:39:40,691 at least makes reference to the concept 817 00:39:40,691 --> 00:39:42,110 of forgiveness. 818 00:39:42,110 --> 00:39:49,540 Matthew 5:7 819 00:39:49,540 --> 00:39:51,717 "Blessed are the merciful, 820 00:39:51,717 --> 00:39:56,827 for they shall receive mercy." 821 00:39:56,827 --> 00:40:01,321 Here we find Jesus certainly implying forgiveness, right? 822 00:40:01,321 --> 00:40:04,342 If we are extending mercy to others, 823 00:40:04,342 --> 00:40:06,446 we're showing kindness and compassion 824 00:40:06,446 --> 00:40:09,484 to an offender, right? 825 00:40:09,484 --> 00:40:12,218 Merciful. 826 00:40:12,218 --> 00:40:19,071 That kind of rings with our word charizomenoi, right? 827 00:40:19,071 --> 00:40:21,625 Verse 23, "So if you are offering your gift 828 00:40:21,625 --> 00:40:24,132 at the altar and there remember 829 00:40:24,132 --> 00:40:26,725 that your brother has something against you, 830 00:40:26,725 --> 00:40:29,432 leave your gift there before the altar 831 00:40:29,432 --> 00:40:31,680 and go, be reconciled to your brother, 832 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,980 and then come and offer your gift. 833 00:40:33,980 --> 00:40:36,071 Come to terms quickly with your accuser 834 00:40:36,071 --> 00:40:38,084 while you're going with him to court, 835 00:40:38,084 --> 00:40:40,748 lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, 836 00:40:40,748 --> 00:40:42,462 and the judge to the guard, 837 00:40:42,462 --> 00:40:44,465 and you be put in prison. 838 00:40:44,465 --> 00:40:46,530 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out 839 00:40:46,530 --> 00:40:50,177 until you've paid the last penny." 840 00:40:50,177 --> 00:40:51,756 This is the same language 841 00:40:51,756 --> 00:40:53,591 Jesus uses in another parable 842 00:40:53,591 --> 00:40:56,363 we might look at here in a minute. 843 00:40:56,363 --> 00:41:04,823 Is that time right? 844 00:41:04,823 --> 00:41:08,336 But the simple teaching here in v. 23, 845 00:41:08,336 --> 00:41:11,405 if you have an issue with a brother or sister, 846 00:41:11,405 --> 00:41:12,647 if there's an offense, 847 00:41:12,647 --> 00:41:14,477 you need to get that thing dealt with. 848 00:41:14,477 --> 00:41:15,627 And right now. 849 00:41:15,627 --> 00:41:17,938 That's an A1 number one priority. 850 00:41:17,938 --> 00:41:21,502 Leave your gift at the altar, He says. 851 00:41:21,502 --> 00:41:23,224 Forget about worship. 852 00:41:23,224 --> 00:41:26,908 Forget about God even hearing your prayers. 853 00:41:26,908 --> 00:41:28,485 As long as this thing's present, 854 00:41:28,485 --> 00:41:31,679 that's an obstruction to God. 855 00:41:31,679 --> 00:41:33,477 Go clear up the matter, He says, now. 856 00:41:33,477 --> 00:41:34,734 Forgive. Reconcile. 857 00:41:34,734 --> 00:41:37,822 Then, you're good to go. 858 00:41:37,822 --> 00:41:39,500 But this thing of offense 859 00:41:39,500 --> 00:41:41,812 has to be taken care of. 860 00:41:41,812 --> 00:41:45,239 V. 39, "But I say unto you, 861 00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:48,422 do not resist the one who is evil, 862 00:41:48,422 --> 00:41:51,059 but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek 863 00:41:51,059 --> 00:41:53,170 turn to him the other also, 864 00:41:53,170 --> 00:41:54,578 and if anyone would sue you 865 00:41:54,578 --> 00:41:55,635 and take your tunic, 866 00:41:55,635 --> 00:41:59,105 let him have your cloak as well." 867 00:41:59,105 --> 00:42:00,564 Wow. 868 00:42:00,564 --> 00:42:03,502 Those are challenging verses. 869 00:42:03,502 --> 00:42:07,313 Now that is the spirit of charizomenoi, 870 00:42:07,313 --> 00:42:08,578 is it not? 871 00:42:08,578 --> 00:42:09,975 That's somebody who's seen 872 00:42:09,975 --> 00:42:11,127 something of themselves 873 00:42:11,127 --> 00:42:15,458 in the blazing light of God's glory. 874 00:42:15,458 --> 00:42:21,373 Mere flesh and blood can't do those things right there. 875 00:42:21,373 --> 00:42:24,641 Matthew 6:9, 876 00:42:24,641 --> 00:42:25,944 "Pray then like this..." 877 00:42:25,944 --> 00:42:27,928 Jesus gives instruction on how to pray. 878 00:42:27,928 --> 00:42:31,742 Down to v. 12, "Forgive us our debts, 879 00:42:31,742 --> 00:42:36,818 as we also have forgiven our debtors." 880 00:42:36,818 --> 00:42:41,637 You see how Jesus ties forgiveness to prayer here? 881 00:42:41,637 --> 00:42:45,049 Praying with an unforgiving spirit, 882 00:42:45,049 --> 00:42:51,643 you might as well be praying to that wall. 883 00:42:51,643 --> 00:42:54,408 This thing is so important. 884 00:42:54,408 --> 00:42:57,212 After Jesus finishes His instruction on prayer, 885 00:42:57,212 --> 00:42:59,127 He continues on with the subject. 886 00:42:59,127 --> 00:43:02,537 V. 14, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, 887 00:43:02,537 --> 00:43:03,974 your heavenly Father 888 00:43:03,974 --> 00:43:05,477 will also forgive you, 889 00:43:05,477 --> 00:43:07,994 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, 890 00:43:07,994 --> 00:43:13,919 neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." 891 00:43:13,919 --> 00:43:16,582 Whoa. 892 00:43:16,582 --> 00:43:19,516 Now Jesus has a number of stunning, 893 00:43:19,516 --> 00:43:22,458 blow-you-away statements in this sermon, 894 00:43:22,458 --> 00:43:29,626 but this has got to be one of the most shocking ones of all. 895 00:43:29,626 --> 00:43:32,035 If those folks were sitting there 896 00:43:32,035 --> 00:43:34,454 eating bread and fish and He was preaching, 897 00:43:34,454 --> 00:43:37,223 I'd venture to say several men stopped chewing. 898 00:43:37,223 --> 00:43:41,651 Or some might even start choking. 899 00:43:41,651 --> 00:43:44,233 This world is full, and I mean full 900 00:43:44,233 --> 00:43:46,642 of people like the woman I just mentioned 901 00:43:46,642 --> 00:43:48,950 that used to go to Fatty's 902 00:43:48,950 --> 00:43:52,191 whose father she could not forgive. 903 00:43:52,191 --> 00:43:54,520 People are full of bitterness and anger 904 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:57,443 and resentment. 905 00:43:57,443 --> 00:44:02,653 And they're people that feel fully justified in it. 906 00:44:02,653 --> 00:44:04,835 These words spoken by our Lord here, 907 00:44:04,835 --> 00:44:09,129 they seem utterly absurd to them. 908 00:44:09,129 --> 00:44:11,828 "What is that? 909 00:44:11,828 --> 00:44:14,972 Surely He doesn't mean that. 910 00:44:14,972 --> 00:44:16,698 I mean, I love God - 911 00:44:16,698 --> 00:44:18,560 nobody's telling me any different. 912 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:20,564 Me and God, we got a thing going. 913 00:44:20,564 --> 00:44:22,846 I was sick back in '98 914 00:44:22,846 --> 00:44:24,714 on my deathbed in the hospital, 915 00:44:24,714 --> 00:44:26,214 God brought me out of it. 916 00:44:26,214 --> 00:44:27,374 He saved me from it. 917 00:44:27,374 --> 00:44:32,735 I know I'm on good terms with Him. 918 00:44:32,735 --> 00:44:35,009 I've always believed. 919 00:44:35,009 --> 00:44:37,454 I believe John 3:16, you know. 920 00:44:37,454 --> 00:44:38,558 I believe God. 921 00:44:38,558 --> 00:44:42,940 And it says whosoever believes shall not perish, but have eternal life. 922 00:44:42,940 --> 00:44:46,821 Once saved, always saved." 923 00:44:46,821 --> 00:44:50,121 I would say this verse does not at all 924 00:44:50,121 --> 00:44:52,726 conflict with John 3:16 925 00:44:52,726 --> 00:44:55,746 in any way, shape, or form. 926 00:44:55,746 --> 00:44:58,129 And I would say, once saved, yes, 927 00:44:58,129 --> 00:45:01,396 you are always saved. Hallelujah! 928 00:45:01,396 --> 00:45:03,467 The problem is not with the Scripture. 929 00:45:03,467 --> 00:45:06,081 The problem is with the assumption. 930 00:45:06,081 --> 00:45:08,296 An assumption that my belief, 931 00:45:08,296 --> 00:45:10,768 my believing, my "faith" 932 00:45:10,768 --> 00:45:13,211 trumps all other realities 933 00:45:13,211 --> 00:45:15,908 and truth of Scripture. 934 00:45:15,908 --> 00:45:19,729 And the reality is, as Jesus so clearly expresses here, 935 00:45:19,729 --> 00:45:22,546 if you do not forgive others, 936 00:45:22,546 --> 00:45:26,548 you will not know the forgiveness of God. 937 00:45:26,548 --> 00:45:29,856 That's serious. 938 00:45:29,856 --> 00:45:31,720 If you're sitting here this morning 939 00:45:31,720 --> 00:45:33,370 and you're holding on to something 940 00:45:33,370 --> 00:45:35,369 you can't forgive, you need to hear this. 941 00:45:35,369 --> 00:45:38,585 Hear it again: Jesus says you will never know 942 00:45:38,585 --> 00:45:40,004 the forgiveness of God, 943 00:45:40,004 --> 00:45:42,047 if you don't let that thing go. 944 00:45:42,047 --> 00:45:43,119 Is it worth it? 945 00:45:43,119 --> 00:45:50,076 Is it worth your never-dying soul? 946 00:45:50,076 --> 00:45:51,971 And the reason why a person 947 00:45:51,971 --> 00:45:55,512 who can never come to the place of forgiveness in their heart - 948 00:45:55,512 --> 00:45:57,696 the reason why they can't be forgiven, 949 00:45:57,696 --> 00:45:59,930 it's not because God forgave them at one time 950 00:45:59,930 --> 00:46:01,642 and now they've come to this place 951 00:46:01,642 --> 00:46:03,128 where now they can't forgive this person, 952 00:46:03,128 --> 00:46:04,609 so He takes away their salvation. 953 00:46:04,609 --> 00:46:06,585 No, that's not it at all. 954 00:46:06,585 --> 00:46:09,044 The reason why they'll never know the forgiveness of God 955 00:46:09,044 --> 00:46:12,361 is because they've never truly seen 956 00:46:12,361 --> 00:46:16,802 the forgiveness of God themselves. 957 00:46:16,802 --> 00:46:18,625 And that's because they've never, 958 00:46:18,625 --> 00:46:21,909 as I said, never really seen themselves 959 00:46:21,909 --> 00:46:25,873 in light of who they really are 960 00:46:25,873 --> 00:46:30,261 before a holy God. 961 00:46:30,261 --> 00:46:33,395 They've simply laid hold of a feel-good gospel 962 00:46:33,395 --> 00:46:34,800 which is no gospel at all, 963 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:39,957 and ironically, it has them feeling quite miserable 964 00:46:39,957 --> 00:46:45,195 and discontent and full of hate. 965 00:46:45,195 --> 00:46:47,982 Again, forgiven people forgive. 966 00:46:47,982 --> 00:46:49,729 Those who understand something 967 00:46:49,729 --> 00:46:52,152 of the magnitude of their offense towards God, 968 00:46:52,152 --> 00:46:56,682 they learn to forgive. 969 00:46:56,682 --> 00:46:59,287 Matthew 7, "Judge not, that you be not judged. 970 00:46:59,287 --> 00:47:01,971 For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; 971 00:47:01,971 --> 00:47:04,812 with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." 972 00:47:04,812 --> 00:47:09,389 This kind of echoes back to the verse we just read, right? 973 00:47:09,389 --> 00:47:11,105 If you can't forgive that brother 974 00:47:11,105 --> 00:47:15,385 for speaking ill of you, 975 00:47:15,385 --> 00:47:17,726 you will drown 976 00:47:17,726 --> 00:47:20,019 in the absolute fury of God 977 00:47:20,019 --> 00:47:22,762 poured out on you for profaning His name 978 00:47:22,762 --> 00:47:24,724 with all manner of blasphemies 979 00:47:24,724 --> 00:47:29,903 and perverted speech. 980 00:47:29,903 --> 00:47:31,773 Verse 12, "So whatever you wish 981 00:47:31,773 --> 00:47:33,297 that others would do to you, 982 00:47:33,297 --> 00:47:35,171 do also to them." 983 00:47:35,171 --> 00:47:40,907 Again, this is the spirit of charizomenoi. 984 00:47:40,907 --> 00:47:43,917 An others- mindedness. 985 00:47:43,917 --> 00:47:46,547 An others-mindedness to do them good. 986 00:47:46,547 --> 00:47:49,123 And to shower them with kindness. 987 00:47:49,123 --> 00:47:53,567 Verse 24, "Everyone who hears these words of Mine..." 988 00:47:53,567 --> 00:47:55,921 Jesus closes the message. 989 00:47:55,921 --> 00:47:58,584 "Everyone then who hears these words of Mine 990 00:47:58,584 --> 00:48:01,226 and does them will be like unto the wise man 991 00:48:01,226 --> 00:48:06,392 who built his house on the rock." 992 00:48:06,392 --> 00:48:10,097 And the ones who don't do these words of Jesus, 993 00:48:10,097 --> 00:48:12,907 well, you know, they just won't get as many rewards 994 00:48:12,907 --> 00:48:16,625 when they get into heaven. 995 00:48:16,625 --> 00:48:20,151 That's not what Jesus teaches. 996 00:48:20,151 --> 00:48:22,759 No, He likens those people 997 00:48:22,759 --> 00:48:24,982 who do not do His words - 998 00:48:24,982 --> 00:48:27,396 He likens them to houses that are built 999 00:48:27,396 --> 00:48:32,844 on a shoreline in the aftermath 1000 00:48:32,844 --> 00:48:36,168 of a massive hurricane. 1001 00:48:36,168 --> 00:48:38,743 We've all seen those pictures, right? 1002 00:48:38,743 --> 00:48:40,182 Complete devastation. 1003 00:48:40,182 --> 00:48:43,446 Complete destruction. 1004 00:48:43,446 --> 00:48:46,644 That's how serious forgiveness is. 1005 00:48:46,644 --> 00:48:49,501 So serious Jesus draws attention to it again in Matthew 18. 1006 00:48:49,501 --> 00:48:51,587 I was going to have us turn there, but I'm not 1007 00:48:51,587 --> 00:48:53,782 for the sake of time. 1008 00:48:53,782 --> 00:48:54,967 But read that account, 1009 00:48:54,967 --> 00:48:56,632 where the man owes the king 1010 00:48:56,632 --> 00:49:00,355 a great sum of money. 1011 00:49:00,355 --> 00:49:02,480 In his hypocrisy, he goes to strangle 1012 00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:09,104 and throw those who owe him far less money. 1013 00:49:09,104 --> 00:49:10,830 In the same statement He used 1014 00:49:10,830 --> 00:49:12,826 in that other verse we looked at. 1015 00:49:12,826 --> 00:49:15,363 You won't get out until you've paid the last penny. 1016 00:49:15,363 --> 00:49:17,577 And the implication there is that some amount, 1017 00:49:17,577 --> 00:49:20,216 100 thousand talents - 1018 00:49:20,216 --> 00:49:22,675 you try to compare the currencies on google 1019 00:49:22,675 --> 00:49:24,967 and you get all kinds of conflicting results, 1020 00:49:24,967 --> 00:49:27,094 but it is a massive sum of money. 1021 00:49:27,094 --> 00:49:29,454 Well into the billions. 1022 00:49:29,454 --> 00:49:31,489 The idea Jesus is trying to get across 1023 00:49:31,489 --> 00:49:33,607 is you'll never pay it. 1024 00:49:33,607 --> 00:49:36,087 You're never getting out. 1025 00:49:36,087 --> 00:49:38,595 You go in with the unforgiveness, 1026 00:49:38,595 --> 00:49:39,785 you get in that prison, 1027 00:49:39,785 --> 00:49:42,003 you get locked up with an unforgiving heart, 1028 00:49:42,003 --> 00:49:43,936 you're never getting out. 1029 00:49:43,936 --> 00:49:47,132 So while you're not in, let it go. 1030 00:49:47,132 --> 00:50:03,210 That's the message. 1031 00:50:03,210 --> 00:50:04,642 Jesus ends it by saying, 1032 00:50:04,642 --> 00:50:07,848 "So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you 1033 00:50:07,848 --> 00:50:11,366 who does not forgive your brother from your heart." 1034 00:50:11,366 --> 00:50:13,388 Wow. 1035 00:50:13,388 --> 00:50:14,518 From the heart. 1036 00:50:14,518 --> 00:50:17,877 He's looking at the heart. 1037 00:50:17,877 --> 00:50:20,479 It kind of makes complaining, 1038 00:50:20,479 --> 00:50:21,975 a complaining brother or sister 1039 00:50:21,975 --> 00:50:26,098 rather insignificant, doesn't it? 1040 00:50:26,098 --> 00:50:28,260 It makes that seemingly large offense 1041 00:50:28,260 --> 00:50:31,995 not so large at all. 1042 00:50:31,995 --> 00:50:35,766 It kind of makes Jesus' debt that He paid for me, 1043 00:50:35,766 --> 00:50:37,514 that He delivered me from 1044 00:50:37,514 --> 00:50:41,977 rather glorious. 1045 00:50:41,977 --> 00:50:43,873 It ought to provoke our minds 1046 00:50:43,873 --> 00:50:47,730 to start counting all of the hundreds of thousands of talents 1047 00:50:47,730 --> 00:50:49,585 that have been tossed into the sea 1048 00:50:49,585 --> 00:50:51,984 of God's forgetfulness. 1049 00:50:51,984 --> 00:50:54,385 Sent away as it were 1050 00:50:54,385 --> 00:50:58,979 as far as the east is from the west. 1051 00:50:58,979 --> 00:51:02,306 (I'm sorry, that's the east and that's the west, isn't it? 1052 00:51:02,306 --> 00:51:04,025 So far, the Scripture says, 1053 00:51:04,025 --> 00:51:08,084 has He removed our sins from us. 1054 00:51:08,084 --> 00:51:10,606 That truth ought to melt our hearts 1055 00:51:10,606 --> 00:51:14,835 into this charizomenoi - that Greek term - 1056 00:51:14,835 --> 00:51:16,954 that kindness and graciousness 1057 00:51:16,954 --> 00:51:19,390 and it should pour out into the lives 1058 00:51:19,390 --> 00:51:21,916 of God's people in relationships with others. 1059 00:51:21,916 --> 00:51:23,639 There's so much more that could be said 1060 00:51:23,639 --> 00:51:25,088 about the subject of forgiveness. 1061 00:51:25,088 --> 00:51:27,093 I just can't get it all in in one message. 1062 00:51:27,093 --> 00:51:28,515 But I do want to wrap up here 1063 00:51:28,515 --> 00:51:30,397 by just appealing to anybody, 1064 00:51:30,397 --> 00:51:33,240 anybody in here who might be struggling with this 1065 00:51:33,240 --> 00:51:36,025 letting go of offenses. 1066 00:51:36,025 --> 00:51:39,897 Perhaps you are holding a grudge against someone. 1067 00:51:39,897 --> 00:51:43,292 And you know if you are. 1068 00:51:43,292 --> 00:51:47,095 I encourage you to take a fresh look at the cross. 1069 00:51:47,095 --> 00:51:50,525 And the wonderful person 1070 00:51:50,525 --> 00:51:54,092 who was nailed there to it. 1071 00:51:54,092 --> 00:51:58,130 For crimes far, far worse 1072 00:51:58,130 --> 00:52:01,088 than those you're holding on to. 1073 00:52:01,088 --> 00:52:03,813 I stand before you today as one 1074 00:52:03,813 --> 00:52:08,479 who wrestled and struggled with forgiveness 1075 00:52:08,479 --> 00:52:11,237 at a very deep level. 1076 00:52:11,237 --> 00:52:13,203 And by God's grace alone, 1077 00:52:13,203 --> 00:52:16,182 through some of these realities I'm sharing with you today, 1078 00:52:16,182 --> 00:52:20,580 the Lord was pleased to help me through it. 1079 00:52:20,580 --> 00:52:22,546 And I'm convinced this is one of those 1080 00:52:22,546 --> 00:52:27,353 working out your salvation with fear and trembling. 1081 00:52:27,353 --> 00:52:31,870 Forgiveness has to happen. 1082 00:52:31,870 --> 00:52:33,438 It has to be a reality. 1083 00:52:33,438 --> 00:52:41,436 It has to be worked out within you or else. 1084 00:52:41,436 --> 00:52:42,833 Oh, how everying in our flesh 1085 00:52:42,833 --> 00:52:47,616 cries out for vengeance and self-pity. 1086 00:52:47,616 --> 00:52:52,422 We want people to know we were wronged! 1087 00:52:52,422 --> 00:52:54,376 We want payback for that 1088 00:52:54,376 --> 00:52:56,391 which made us suffer. 1089 00:52:56,391 --> 00:52:57,473 Listen to these words: 1090 00:52:57,473 --> 00:53:01,235 "Consider Him who endured from sinners 1091 00:53:01,235 --> 00:53:05,779 such hostility against Himself. 1092 00:53:05,779 --> 00:53:07,899 When He was reviled, 1093 00:53:07,899 --> 00:53:10,754 He didn't revile in return. 1094 00:53:10,754 --> 00:53:13,098 When He suffered, He did not threaten, 1095 00:53:13,098 --> 00:53:14,926 but continued entrusting Himself 1096 00:53:14,926 --> 00:53:17,829 to Him who judges justly." 1097 00:53:17,829 --> 00:53:22,671 That's how Jesus handled the injuries of others. 1098 00:53:22,671 --> 00:53:25,126 He didn't throw a pity party. 1099 00:53:25,126 --> 00:53:27,151 He didn't hold a grudge. 1100 00:53:27,151 --> 00:53:30,385 He didn't broadcast it to others. 1101 00:53:30,385 --> 00:53:33,992 He knew His Father knew 1102 00:53:33,992 --> 00:53:37,729 and trusted Him. 1103 00:53:37,729 --> 00:53:40,527 And that was enough. 1104 00:53:40,527 --> 00:53:42,265 See, when we're wronged by others, 1105 00:53:42,265 --> 00:53:45,200 it answers the question: 1106 00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:52,007 just how precious and sufficient is the Lord to me? 1107 00:53:52,007 --> 00:53:55,660 Is it enough that God knows I was wronged? 1108 00:53:55,660 --> 00:53:59,906 Or do I need to let others know about it? 1109 00:53:59,906 --> 00:54:02,582 That's a real test, isn't it? 1110 00:54:02,582 --> 00:54:08,835 Dying to our own woundedness. 1111 00:54:08,835 --> 00:54:12,859 Praise be to God the cross dispels it all. 1112 00:54:12,859 --> 00:54:16,193 I'm going to end by quoting Isaiah 53 here. 1113 00:54:16,193 --> 00:54:17,497 Just listen to this: 1114 00:54:17,497 --> 00:54:22,277 This is what the Lord Jesus subjected Himself to 1115 00:54:22,277 --> 00:54:26,674 for the sole purpose of forgiving sin. 1116 00:54:26,674 --> 00:54:28,667 "He was despised 1117 00:54:28,667 --> 00:54:30,905 and we esteemed Him not. 1118 00:54:30,905 --> 00:54:33,085 Surely, He has borne our griefs 1119 00:54:33,085 --> 00:54:35,502 and carried our sorrows, 1120 00:54:35,502 --> 00:54:37,639 yet we esteemed Him stricken, 1121 00:54:37,639 --> 00:54:41,809 smitten by God and afflicted. 1122 00:54:41,809 --> 00:54:46,485 He was pierced for our transgressions. 1123 00:54:46,485 --> 00:54:51,414 He was crushed for our iniquities. 1124 00:54:51,414 --> 00:54:54,329 Upon Him was the chastisement 1125 00:54:54,329 --> 00:54:57,379 that brought us peace, 1126 00:54:57,379 --> 00:55:02,715 and with His wounds, we are healed. 1127 00:55:02,715 --> 00:55:07,380 All we, like sheep, have gone astray. 1128 00:55:07,380 --> 00:55:10,768 We've turned every one to his own way. 1129 00:55:10,768 --> 00:55:13,296 And the Lord has laid on Him 1130 00:55:13,296 --> 00:55:16,586 the iniquity of us all. 1131 00:55:16,586 --> 00:55:19,019 He was oppressed 1132 00:55:19,019 --> 00:55:21,236 and He was afflicted. 1133 00:55:21,236 --> 00:55:22,917 He opened not His mouth, 1134 00:55:22,917 --> 00:55:25,793 like a lamb is led to the slaughter, 1135 00:55:25,793 --> 00:55:28,578 like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, 1136 00:55:28,578 --> 00:55:34,905 so He opened not His mouth." 1137 00:55:34,905 --> 00:55:37,955 That reality afresh within our minds 1138 00:55:37,955 --> 00:55:41,408 helps us die to our own woundedness. 1139 00:55:41,408 --> 00:55:45,421 That reality when it's registered within 1140 00:55:45,421 --> 00:55:48,949 helps kill an unforgiving heart. 1141 00:55:48,949 --> 00:55:50,855 Thank you. 1142 00:55:50,855 --> 00:55:56,114 Father, we ask You to bless Your Word to us. 1143 00:55:56,114 --> 00:56:00,178 We thank You for being such a forgiving God. 1144 00:56:00,178 --> 00:56:02,361 Oh, that those that know it not 1145 00:56:02,361 --> 00:56:04,093 might know it today. 1146 00:56:04,093 --> 00:56:05,733 We pray in Jesus' name, 1147 00:56:05,733 --> 00:56:06,573 Amen.