Forgiveness

Given, Received, and Given Again

Matt.18:23-35 - Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
I do not believe there is anything that kindles God’s anger more than someone who receives His forgiveness but refuses to forgive others. The heart of God beats with redemption, and the entire gospel narrative is all about forgiveness and reconciliation. To cultivate bitterness in our hearts is both to minimize our own sin and to downgrade the eternal expanse of God’s glorious salvation.
And when we look down upon sinners we do despite to the cause of Christ as well as completely misrepresenting the kingdom of God’s Dear Son. A believer’s humility should flow from a heart of gratefulness that realizes that he could never have earned his salvation and that only by God’s grace has he himself been rescued. Any hint of pride or disdain for the lost only reveals how little of a revelation of our own redemption we see.
And how ignorant we must look when we expend time and energy in exploring and castigating the sin of lost people. They are only exhibiting the natural outpouring of their unregenerate hearts. When we act surprised or offended, we reveal a kind of clandestine self righteousness that says, “We ourselves are so holy that sin offends us”. I wonder why the Word, the Son, stepped into this cesspool of sin and walked among the vilest of sinners and, oh yes, loved them enough to give His life as a ransom. Perhaps today Jesus would send out newsletters expounding the evils of today’s culture and the need for “conservatives” to join forces. Perhaps not.
But I wanted to use a present day illustration to hammer this truth home. There was another GOP debate on Saturday night, and it was sponsored by a conservative Christian association. As you know I care not for the politics of such events, but something was reported that caught my attention. The subject of the Occupy Wall Street movement came up.
Now one of the candidates named Newt Gingrich is running for the nomination. By his own admission, he has committed adultery at least twice and is now married to his third wife. He claims he has received forgiveness from God and that his faith has deepened. OK, no one but God can know another man’s heart.
But when asked about the Occupy protesters, Gingrich said, “Tell them to get a job, right after they take a bath”. And here you have another prime example of what Christianity is not. Here is where politics and economics strangle the life out of God’s gospel offer. And here is where the kingdom of darkness invades the church and displaces the true and authentic message of God’s offer of redemption.
To be forgiven of multiple infidelities, and to claim a deepening of your “faith”, and then demean the plight of other sinners is exactly what Jesus outlined in the parable I offered. But it showcases again the incongruous nature of politics, economics, and the gospel of the kingdom. Gingrich is not alone in this, in fact, much of the church and blog world practices this very thing consistently. And in so doing, they think they are representing Christ and battling against the forces of evil.
But they are deceived. And it is most sad because many of them have energies and skills that could be used effectively for the advancement of the gospel and not wasted upon the useless back and forth rhetoric that only stirs the pot without a shred of redemption. And on that GOP panel there were a handful of men and women who claimed to be committed believers but who said not a word of correction to Mr. Gingrich. Why? Could it be that they agreed with him?
I continue to contend that politics and its Siamese twin nationalism are destroying the very fabric of how a Jesus follower should think, speak, and act. And I personally know whereof I speak. I have lived and breathed on both sides of that spiritual fence. I invite all believers to come over to the redemptive side of that fence. I believe that is where Jesus calls us.