Embracing Forgiveness and Faith in Servanthood

Then he said to his disciples it is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him, through him they do come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones. [00:00:18]

Take heed to yourselves, if your brother sins against you rebuke him and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day returns to you saying I repent, you shall forgive him. The Apostle said to the Lord increase our faith. [00:00:38]

What our Lord is acknowledging at this point is in this world until the Kingdom of God is fully consummated we still struggle with sin. We still struggle with offenses that we commit against God. We still have temptations with which we must wrestle. Jesus acknowledged this to His disciples that that's the way things are but having acknowledged that he then pronounces to them an oracle of doom where He says but woe unto him through whom that offense comes. [00:03:31]

This is a tremendously important point that Jesus makes here when he pronounces this ghastly oracle of judgment. It's one thing He says for you to sin, but the judgment of God will come even greater on those who tempt others to sin. In His letter to the Romans when Paul gives a list of the most egregious offenses given against God at the end of the first chapter of that book, he says knowing that God hates these things and will condemn those who do it, people not only do them, but they encourage others to do them as well. [00:04:33]

If he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day returns to you saying, I repent you shall forgive him. Now there's a point here I don't want us to miss. There's a widespread misconception among Christians that the idea is that if somebody sins against us we're duty bound to give them unilateral forgiveness whether they repent or not. [00:08:04]

He said if we are sinned against we are to rebuke that person and if they repent then forgiveness is not an option. If a person offends us and says they're sorry and acknowledges their sin against us it's not only that we may forgive them we must forgive them no matter how difficult it may be. [00:08:50]

Jesus goes on to say and if that same person commits the same sin fifteen minutes later against you and comes and says I'm sorry you have to forgive him again and if he does it the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time, the seventh time, and he comes and repents you can't say to him no, no, no, no that's number seven too late you're done. [00:09:14]

When you have done all those things which you are commanded say we are unprofitable servants, we have done what is our duty to do. We have added nothing to the assets side of the ledger. If you have lived a life of perfect righteousness, if you have obeyed every commandment that God has ever given which you haven't but if you have Jesus is saying big deal, so what, all you've done is what you were supposed to do. [00:13:28]

Do you get it? If I live a life of perfect holiness, I've done nothing of merit. I've added nothing to the weights and measures of the Kingdom of God because I've simply done what was my duty to do, but we have millions of people in the church who still hold on to the idea that what they've accomplished in this life is what will get them into the Kingdom of God. [00:14:50]

Whereas Christianity says if your whole life has nothing, but good deeds and you have no bad deeds without the righteousness of Christ, you'll go to hell forever because there's nothing that you could possibly do to earn your way into the Kingdom of God. You can't go to the judgment seat of Christ and say I went to church every Sunday for thirty years. I was an elder. I was a minister. I was a deacon. I tithed my money. I fed the poor. I ministered to the sick. God will say well that's what you're supposed to do. [00:15:27]

The only thing I bring to the table is my shame and my guilt and my need and so when you come to the table this morning you bring nothing in your hand, Foul, I to the fountain fly, Savior, wash me or I die. All that has been done to get me into the Kingdom of God is done by Christ. He and He alone is the profitable servant. [00:17:37]

We reap the benefits of His prophet. He takes the prophet that He has achieved and He pours it into my hands and now when I stand before God I've got everything. I've got the whole world. I've got perfect righteousness in my hand, but it's His. It's not mine. I don't add a cent to the profit that is won for me by Christ. [00:18:25]