Matthew 5:3-9 – ”

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in giving the greatest sermon ever given, is laying out the heart of a Christian in need of forgiveness, and God’s response.  These days, you’ve got a lot of people calling themselves Christians who have no idea what that actually means.  We have a President who when asked if he’d ever asked God for forgiveness said “I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so,” he said. “I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”  Although this response is pretty far down the spectrum of what most professing Christians would say, nevertheless that spirit of self-righteousness is present in many.

The Lord again says in Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Again the Lord gives the parable of the tax collector and the pharisee in Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

No one will be saved apart from believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the core, foundational belief of the gospel is that we need to be saved the just punishment of God for our sin.  How many among us feel the weight of that on a day to day basis?  Look back at the beatitudes above – do you mourn your own personal sin?  Are you meek before God and others, knowing that before God, you are a wretched sinner?  Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?  When was the last time you fasted from food, to seek God?  Are you a merciful person?  Do you see that nothing anyone can ever do to you compares to the wrong you have committed against God in your sin?  Does seeing the infinite mercy of God towards you, produce in you the fruit of a merciful heart towards others who have wronged you?  I could continue, but I’ll stop there, because today’s message is about forgiveness.  Those things above build upon one another.

A merciful and forgiving heart is as much of an indicator of someone who is a new creation in Christ as is someone who can recite the gospel.  The lack of a merciful and forgiving heart is as much of an indicator of someone who is not a new creation in Christ as is someone who cannot recite the gospel.

Immediately after teaching the disciples to pray with the Lords prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gives this warning in vs. 14-15 – “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Right now, a great many readers are tempted to consider themselves above this, as they have no doubt forgiven people in their past.  This means nothing.  Even a non-Christian can be moral and forgiving, especially to people he/she likes.  What about people you don’t like?  What if the wrong against you was significant?  Do you still have a heart that yearns to extend forgiveness to those people because you feel the weight of God’s great forgiveness to you through Jesus?

Let’s come up with perhaps the worst example people can think about – lets say you have a child, and someone rapes and murders your child.  I’m not trying to be shocking for its own sake, but in your flesh, there is no way you would ever forgive that person.  You would desire to murder that person and perhaps torture them prior to doing so.  That rage against that sin is just and righteous, and unless that person repents and trusts on Christ, the vengeance of the Lord for that sin in eternity will be greater than you can possibly imagine.  Nevertheless, we did the same to God’s Son, Jesus.  It was your sin, my sin, that betrayed Jesus and saw Him flogged, tortured, and nailed to a cross to endure the most painful death invented by man.  We were the ones mocking Him from the crowds.  We were the ones yelling to crucify Him, and taunting Him along the way.  Nevertheless in the midst of our sin, the Love of God extended mercy and forgiveness to us.  As he was crucified, the Lord Jesus interceded for us (Luke 23:19) – “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This does not mean we allow ourselves or others to be abused, it means we have hearts that desire forgiveness and reconciliation and follow the steps outlined by our Lord in scripture in Matthew 18:15-18 when someone sins against us.  It also means that we seek peace and reconciliation with others, perhaps even when the world would say they don’t deserve it.

Matthew 18:21-35 – ”

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.  So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’  And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’  So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.  Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’  And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

No sin committed against us is worthy to be compared to our sin against Christ.  Apart from Christ, we perish in our sins, but in Christ, the love and forgiveness of God covers us.  My exhortation is to never seek to minimize your own sin, but to see it clearly and bring it to the cross of Jesus.  As Christians broken over our own sin daily, the Lord is cultivating in us hearts of mercy and forgiveness for others in a world that is desperately in need of it.  My own goal is to be so broken over my own sin, that I can agree with Paul in saying (1 Timothy 1:15) – “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”  yet also, (2 Cor 5:17) – “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  

Let the Lord challenge you in these teachings to grow your heart, but remain encouraged.  We all are pursuing greater measures of this in our hearts, and the Lord is with us in our pursuit of Him.

Grace and Peace,

Adam