Restoring the Neglected Virtue, Part 1B

At times, human logic breaks down. We face a scenario, we look at it, we evaluate it, we make a decision based on what we think is the best decision to make.

What's best for us. What's best for those round about us and in our well-ed society, in our age of technology? our reason begins to be in control, and we follow what we think is the best thing. And yet, we've made a colossal error. Because, for all practical purposes, we as the children of God cannot afford to think logically. We must always think the. For thinking logically will cause us to rest on human reason. Thinking theologically will cause us to rest on the precepts of God. And thus, listening to God, understanding His Word, we can make the proper decision based on what God has revealed to us in His Word.

My prayer for you and my prayer for me is that we would begin to think theolog every single day of our lives, especially when it comes to the topic we've been discussing the last couple of weeks, the issue. of forgiveness. For so many times when it comes to forgiveness, we think logically. We think that because someone has wronged us in such a way that it was so bad that God excus us In the area or the realm of forgiveness. That somehow we can hold the grudge and it's okay. That somehow we can seek revenge and that's okay too.

That's because we think logically and we don't think theologically. The Bible tells us that in the last days, 2 Timothy chapter 3, perilous times will come. And Paul begins to explain to Timothy the characteristic of those peril times. And one of the characteristics is that man will be un. Unforgiving. That seems to mark our society and our attitude. And yet that's logical thinking, not theolog thinking. So, we need to understand what the word of the Lord says. If God is real, God's word is relevant.

If God's Word is relevant, God's Spirit is reliable. And if God's Spirit is reliable, God's way is always right. Last week we talked about forgiveness, whether it was optional. Or essential. The conclusion was that it was essential. Turn back with me, if you would, to that passage of scripture in Luke chapter 17. As one author put it, forgiveness is not an elective in the curriculum of life. It's a required course. And the exams are always tough. To pass. That's true, isn't it? What I want to do is go back and review with you Luke 17 and to help you understand some things that we didn't cover so that you might come to a clearer understanding of it.

By way of introduction to forgiveness, we looked at the problem that we all fear, and that is that we would find ourselves in a death trap. The Lord said it this way in Luke 17, verse number 1. It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come. It is inevitable. But there's a problem we all fear, and that is we would be the object of someone else's transgression, and that we would be caused to fall into a death trap. What happens to us is so profound and so great that it would be better, we would think, to be dead than to live in that situation.

And Christ says, it is inevitable that when you go through life, you're going to find yourself in situations that are going to cause you to stumble.

Christ said it this way to his men. If they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you. If they come at me, they're going to come at you. So, therefore, you must understand that it is inevitable that stumbling blocks are going to come your way. It's a problem we all fear. That something might happen to us. Something might take place in our life that is so great that we can't forgive our brother. That it's so great that it causes us. To experience a death-like existence. Yet Christ says, it is inevitable that they will come your way.

Inevitable. And then it says, but woe to the one through whom the stumbling block comes. Another fear we face is that That we would cause another brother to sin, that we would cause another brother to turn away from God, that we would be used in the life of another brother to lead them further into sin. And Christ would go on to say, It would be better that a millstone were hung about your neck and you were thrown into the depths of the sea than to cause one of my little ones to suffer, to sin. To stumble.

That's a problem we all fear. So there's a process that we are to face. And Christ says it this way: Luke 17.

Be on your guard. There's a process personally, there's a process spiritually, and there's a process ultimately that every one of us must face. Be on your guard, be alert, stand awake, be steadfast. Why? Because you don't want to be one of those people who causes another brother's sin, right? And number two, you need to be on your guard.

Because it is inevitable that stumbling blocks are going to come your way. You got to be on your guard so that when they come, you can respond theologically, that you can respond in God's way, not logic's way. Be on your guard personally. Be awake. Be alert. Number two, spiritually: if your brother sins, rebuke him.

Rebuke him. If your brother sins, You need to go to him and rebuke him. And we told you last week that when you rebuke your brother, you rebuke him how? According to the word of God, the word of the Lord says this. And with long-suffering and patience. 2 Timothy 4, verse number 2. And if he repents, you are to forgive him. You are to forgive him. Ultimately, you are to be a forgiving kind of person. Now, I'm going to stop right there because there are some of you who think that every time somebody sins against you, your job is to go and rebuke that person.

So, you've got to realize that we have to have an attitude of forgiveness. Does it mean that every little sin that comes my way by someone else, I am to go to that brother and rebuke him? No. It doesn't mean that, folks, listen, we have to have the attitude of forgiveness. Let me show it to you this way: listen to what the Bible says in 1 Peter 4, verse number 8.

Keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Proverbs 17, verse number 9. He who, here's the word again, covers a transgression seeks love. What does that mean? Does that mean that when a person sins against you, you cover it up? You hide it? You don't deal with it? Uh-uh. No, not at all. When you cover another person's transgression, you know what you're doing? You are willingly, eagerly, and gener for that individual. Without ever going to them and rebuking them and requiring that there be repentance on their part.

That's important. Because we miss that. To cover another person's sin is to freely forgive that person. Let me read this to you: Psalm 8, verse number 2.

You forgave the iniquity of your people. You covered all their sin. Forgiveness and the covering of sin is the exact same thing. Remember James 5, 20? He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Turn with me in your Bible to Mark chapter 11 for a moment.

As you recall the story, Christ had seen a fig tree, and he told the fig tree, listen. You're cursed. It's over. They come back the next day and listen to what happens. Verse number 20, Mark 11. And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed has withered. And Jesus answered, saying to them, Have faith. God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted to you. Stop right there. Now, here's a verse of scripture that can be taken out of context. But you've got to understand exactly what the Lord is saying. He says, Peter, you've got to have faith in me. If I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do something. So, when you pray, you've got to pray and ask according to the will of God. Because if you're praying the words of God, guess what?

These things are going to happen exactly as I have said they were going to happen. Now, listen, there are some of us who pray for things to happen, believe in it's the will of God, but they never take place. And we wonder why. We ask ourselves, what is happening here? Read further. Next verse. And whenever you stand praying, what's the next word? Forgive. Forgive. If you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions. Listen, you have got to go to prayer having already forgiven your brother because the attitude of the believer To be one governed by a forgiving kind of spirit.

And there are many people who pray today, asking God to do many things, but because they harbor bitterness, and anger, and malice, and wrath. In their hearts, God does not answer their prayer because they stand unforgiven, not forgiving. You see that? But you must understand that we have to have an attitude that forgives. When you stand praying, make sure you stand with a forgiving spirit. Make sure you stand willing to forgive your brother no matter what they have done to you because if you have an unforgiving spirit, God.

Is not going to answer your prayers. He won't. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So simple. If I have an unforgiving spirit, I've harbored resentment and bitterness in my life. And God says, I'm not going to hear you.

It's not that he doesn't hear, he hears the prayer. But because your sin has separated you from your God, there's not going to be that ready answer. That you so desperately need to have happen. Now, let's bring it home all the more. Because the reason we started this series on forgiveness was because of the life of Joseph, right? We're going verse by verse to the book of Genesis. Do you know that Joseph freely forgave his brothers without ever rebuking his brothers? Did you know that? In fact, do you know that there is no record in the book of Genesis of his brothers ever repenting of their sin to Joseph?

And yet, Joseph freely forgave them. When he saw his brothers come to him that day and he faced them off for the very first time, he recognized who they were.

They didn't recognize him. And at that moment, remember his two boys? Manasseh, Ephraim. Manasseh, God has caused me to forget. Ephraim, God has caused me to be fruitful. Fruitfulness in the present demands a forgetfulness of my past. It demands it. In Joseph. Had forgotten. He hadn't forgotten the fact that his brother sold him into slavery. He didn't forget that Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him and lied about him. He didn't forget the fact that Butler forgot about him, left him in prison. He didn't forget those events.

But he forgot the sting and the pain of those events because Manasseh means God has caused me to forget. And God had taken away the sting of any kind of bitterness or anger that was there. And Joseph was a forgiving man. And yet, in his whole ordeal with his brothers, and we're right in the middle of that, and everything that he took them through. There is no record in Genesis that they ever came to Joseph and said, Joseph, we have sinned against you. There's no record where Joseph said, I'm going to rebuke you.

No record of that. Why? Because Joseph would stand praying with a forgiving spirit. And the closest the brothers ever came to asking for forgiveness is in Genesis chapter 50. After Jacob is already dead. Genesis chapter 15, verse number 15. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him? So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, Your father charged before he died, saying, Thus you shall say to Joseph, Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they Did you wr?

That was the closest the brothers ever came to asking Joseph to forgive them. It was by way of messing. And it says this. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept. When they spoke to him, why did he weep? Because he didn't understand. He had already forgiven them. It's not about forgiveness, that's already happened. It goes on to say this, Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, Behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?

And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve. Many people alive. So, therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones. So, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Isn't that good? But see, Joseph had the attitude of forgiveness. And so I wanted to go back and review with you Luke 17, lest you leave this place thinking, you know what, every time somebody looks at me the wrong way, Every time somebody knocks me off the road because of their road rage, I got to go and rebuke them and confront them on their sin.

Uh uh uh uh uh no You confront the death trap experience, the scandal on. That's the one you confront. But you know what? It's always the glory of a man to pass over a transgression. It's always better to say, you know what? I'm just going to forgive him. For in the long run, it makes no difference at all. You know, that's important. That's the attitude we need to have, right? And unfortunately, we don't have it. And so we looked at the problem that we all fear and the process that we all need to face.

Every single day, which led to the plea for the disciples for faith. Oh, Lord, increase our faith, Lord. He says, if your brother sins against you seven times a day, you forgive him. And we said that's every two hours and 15 minutes in a 16-hour day, right? You forgive him. I like what the text says. If he comes back to you and he says he repents, it doesn't mean he necessarily was truly repented. If he does it seven times in a day, it doesn't mean that he was truly biblically repentant, does it?

That's why the text says: if he comes back to you sane, I repent. You forgive him. You forgive your brother. And that would cause the disciples to say, Lord, increase our faith. We need more faith. And Christ said, You don't need more faith. It's a matter of obedience. Obedience to me. And then he gives a parable on faithfulness, right? Which of you? Having a slave when he comes in. Say to him, take care of yourself. In fact, let me take care of you.

Sit down. Rest your feet a while. No, you don't do that. What do you do? You get him to work. Change your clothes. Take care of me. When I have eaten, when I have drunk, then you can take care of yourself. And which of you is going to thank the slave? No, you don't thank a slave for doing a slave's job. That's what slaves do. And Christ would say, listen, so you too, when you've done that which is your duty to do, say, We are unprofitable servants. Oh, that's so good. So good. Because forgiveness is not optional, it is essential.

And when you forgive your brother their sin. You've only done that which is your duty to do. That means, listen carefully to what I'm going to say. That means for the person who has gone through life and suffered severe abuse, when they forgive their abuser, They've only done that which was their duty to do. They haven't gone over and above and beyond anything. They are still an unprofitable servant. That means that the woman whose son is killed by a drunk driver, when she extends forgiveness to that drunk driver, she hasn't gone above and beyond a servant's responsibility.

She is still unprofitable. She has done only that which was her duty to do. Forgiveness is essential. In the life of the believer. Why? And we told you last week: because we are the slaves of God. And we are to be obedient to God. And you know what? People have a problem with that. They really do. They really have a problem with the whole slave concept we talked about last week. But let me add to it this week.

By 11, you understand that the whole bonds thing was shown to us at the incarnation, right? When Christ will took on the form of a servant, that is, he became a servant. It wasn 't like a coat he would put on and take off and put on and take off. Well, today I'll be a servant, so I put on my coat today and a servant. Well, tomorrow I't be a servant, so I take off my coat and won't be a servant. No, he Took on the form. It was the essence of his character. It was the essence of his nature. He was a servant.

He came to serve man. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Then it's important to understand why. Because not only was it at the incarnation that Christ emphasized servanthood, but it was also in his instruction. To his men, that he emphasized servanthood because they would argue about who was the greatest in the kingdom, and Christ would say, Wait a minute, wait a minute, the least among you is the greatest in the kingdom. And he would give them that statement about the Son of Man coming not to be served, but to serve.

He wanted his men to understand: listen, I'm serving. You, if you're going to be like me, you too need to serve. You see, servanthood is a major theology. It's not a minor theology. It's a major theology. It's one we don't like to emphasize. Why? We like to emphasize equality. We're all the same, and we are in the mind of God and in the body of Christ. But we are servants of Almighty God. And we are to serve one another in what? In love. And so we begin to understand that forgiveness is that neglected virtue that we have forgotten all about because it stems in the root of our identity.

Listen, as a believer, your identity is wrapped up in the fact that you are a servant. Let me say it to you this way: if Christ came in the inc, And he emphasized his servanthood by willing to give his life away.

And then, in his instruction to his men, periodically throughout his ministry, he would do that same emphasis on servanthood. It's no wonder that when he died and went to heaven, the Bible says that we now have become partakers of his divine nature.

2 Peter 1:4. Therefore, we are servants by virtue of the impartation of the Spirit of God in our lives. So the id of the believer is wrapped up in one aspect. We are a servant people. That's our identity. That's who we are in Christ. The group before I spoke today sang about having the mind of Christ. Meaning that if we're going to have the mind of Christ and we're going to be like Christ, we can only do that because the Spirit of God has taken up residence in our life, and we, as Peter says, have become partakers of the divine nature.

What's the divine nature? A nature of servanth, where I come to serve my God and to serve my fellow man. So, when Christ says, when you have done All that was commanded you, you are unworthy sl because you have done that which was your duty to do.

You see that? You see, for most of us, we have an identity crisis. We don't know who we are in Christ. And the Bible is very clear. This is who you are in Christ. You are a servant of Almighty God. You live to serve your fellow man, just as he did. That's why Paul said, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That's what you need to have. And that causes us to restore the neglected virtue. Because if truth be known, forgiveness is that neglected virtue, isn't it? And we, of all people, Need to be able to exemplify that to our fellow man.

So important. So, point number two: the importance of forgiveness. I'll just introduce it for you. The importance of forgiveness, very simple as this. It's a pattern we are commanded to follow. It is a pattern that we are commended to follow. Ephesians 4, verse number 32, says, very simply, that we are to be a forgiving kind of people. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Isn't that good? Be kind to one another, tender, forgiving one another.

Over in Colossians chapter 3, Paul says it this way. Verse number 12. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Wow. Just as the Lord forgave you, so you too should forgive your fellow man. Just as the Lord was eager, willingly came to this earth that he might provide forgiveness for you from your sins, so you too need to follow that pattern in dealing with your brother.

It is a neglected virtue. But you know what? We at Christ's commun don't want it to be a neglected virtue among us. So we're going to spend some weeks talking about it. How we can make forgiveness paramount in our lives. Why? Because you are most like Christ. When forgiveness is at stake, how much do you want to be like Jesus Christ? How much do you want to follow in His footsteps? How much do you want to follow the pattern that He set? Then you need to be a forgiving kind of person. As God Himself in Christ Jesus forgave you.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this glorious day. The time that we come together to worship you and praise your name and seek your face. Lord, we cannot be a forgiving people if it not be for your grace and mercy. And we, of all people who name the name of Christ, need to be the kind of people. who reach out, fervently loving one another for love covers, forgives a multitude of sins. Lord, I pray for every person in this room today that God, you would do a mighty work in their lives. Cause them to be a forgiver.

Cause them to pattern their lives after the Lord Jesus Christ. H them to have that mind that Christ had and be a servant of man and say, I forgive you. So that when they stand praying, they stand with a forgiving spirit. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.