A Great Gift to God
Matthew 5:21-26
#Dennis had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home. His father was an outstanding and compassionate attorney. Denis was supported with his father’s prayers and finances through law school.
After graduation from law school Denis worked with his father in his law office. He watched his father counsel the unfortunate and give money to various people with needs that came though his office on a regular basis. Denis thought his Dad had too much of a soft touch and got angry at seeing his father being over generous.
Denis expressed his feelings of concern to his father. He father said, “Son, there is much joy in giving!” He picked up his well worn Bible and read: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” He also read: “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
Denis remained unconvinced. Other people would not take him advantage of him.
As the years went by Denis continued the law practice of his father’s tradition, except for the handouts to the needy.
Then, one day Denis audited the books of the law firm himself in order to determine payroll percentages for employees. He was shocked to find that Max, one of his father’s oldest and most trusted members of the firm, who had charge of the books had padded his personal account for 20 years and had stolen thousands of dollars from the firm.
Denis was angry. Here was a man whom his father had gone out of his way to help. Denis confronted Max with his crime and banished him from the distinguished law firm forever.
Denis could not forget the crime Max committed against his father and the law firm. Deep resentment grew in his heart toward Max.
A short time later his father lay dying. Denis went to his side and his father encouraged him to give his heart to Jesus. All the family, except Denis were committed Christians. Love broke the hardness of Denis’ heart. He knelt by his father’s bed and placed his life in the hands of Jesus.
His life was transformed. He started reading his father’s bible and showing love to those he worked with. Years passed but Denis continued to carry resentment and bitterness toward Max. Denis knew he could not continue to hate and call himself a Christian. One night he prayed: “Dear Lord, I’m sorry for this resentment I have toward Max.” The Lord seemed to speak: “I want you to go to Max and personally ask him to forgive you for the hatred you have felt toward him for all these years.” Denis thought, ‘why should I do that.” Max is the guilty one.” Finally Denis surrendered himself anew to the Lord and made two attempts to see Max. Each time he got cold feet and returned home. Finally on the third try he traveled to the office building where Max was practicing law and knocked on the door. As they met, Max’s mouth dropped open in surprise: “Denis, what are you doing here?
“Max, I’ve hated you all these years for what you did to my father by stealing all that money. I actually wanted to kill you for what you did.
Max said, “Denis you were good to me. You could have sent me to jail.”
Denis continued, “God has placed his love in my heart for you, Max, and I’ve come here today to ask you to forgive me for the hatred that I’ve felt for you all these years.”
Max’s face turned red as tears came to his eyes. “No, Denis, I am the one who needs to be forgiven by you.” In that moment of forgiveness, healing of hatred came. Denis experienced the blessing of God’s healing and love.
In the passages in Matthew 5 Jesus is telling us that one of the greatest gifts we can give to God is forgiveness and reconciliation.
I. Forgiveness and Reconciliation start in our heart.
The bible says, “As a person thinks in his/her heart so they become."
In verses 21-22 Jesus brings in a higher ethical law. The law of the heart comes from God.
Jesus is saying: “Be careful what you say it reveals the condition of your heart.” You may have never murdered anyone, but what about the motives of your heart. Jesus is saying, “What matters is not merely the letter of the law but the spirit.” The law says, “You shall not commit murder.” Jesus says, “If you are angry in your heart with a brother without cause you are guilty under God’s law of murder. To hate, to feel bitter, to have this unpleasant, unkind feeling of resentment toward a person without a cause is murder.
To say, Race, you are a worthless person. You are good for nothing. God will not tolerate character assignation. Words can destroy a person’s reputation or shake somebody else’s confidence in the person by unjust criticism. We are to love the person and get angry against the sin.
We are called to be positive not negative toward other people. There are some people who have the view: “If you can’t say something bad about someone body keep quiet.”
What is it that causes us to get angry? We feel that we have our rights and no one had better take away our rights. If someone gets in my space they’re in trouble. I have my rights.
One of the first ways to deal with anger is to surrender our rights to God. Let me tell you that this is hard for a high D with task orientation to not have to come in first, or not get upset at someone who cuts in front of you or cheats to win.
There are several ways you can deal with anger. You can suppress it. Don’t admit that you are angry. Hide your anger. It is hard for some people to hid their anger when their face turns beat red. Suppressed anger is hazardous to your health. Suppressed anger is like an abscessed tooth. You can take painkiller but the pain does come back.
You can spiritualize your anger and say you are only righteously indignant. My anger is spiritual and yours is not.
Or you can be proud of your anger. “This is the way God made me, and I can’t help it. If you push me too far I’ll explode.
Jesus says, “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Anger without cause is nothing more or less than an adult temper tantrum designed to control or manipulate someone else.
Children learn early how to use anger to get their way. Imagine the parents of a two-year old deciding to go out together for dinner on a Saturday night as a way to have some time together. Everything is all set. The baby-sitter comes over and as the parents are getting ready to go out the door the two-year old runs at the baby sitter kicking and screaming. Then he turns to the mother and cries in his most convincing voice as he hugs her around the legs, crying, “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me! I love you. Don’t leave me.”
The softhearted mother says to her husband, “He just loves us so much. It hurts me to leave him. Why don’t you take the baby-sitter back home, I’ll fix us something here at home? We can go out another time.” What are the chances that child will grow up thinking that anger is a pretty good way to get your needs met? The child as he grows whether 12, 22 or 52 knows how to manipulate with anger.
So, what do you do with anger? Be sure you are getting angry at the right things. Jesus is our model in dealing with the emotion of anger. Jesus knew what it was like to be the subject of anger. Anger nailed Jesus to the cross.
Jesus understood the emotion anger from the inside. Jesus was on His way to visit the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus slid off his donkey and as he walked into the temple heard the sounds that were more like the market than the temple. The temple had been turned into a place to buy and sell merchandise by the temple authorities.
It was more than Jesus would stand for. After braiding some cords into a long ship, he lifted the whip over his head and let go a tremendous crack that shattered the noises of the Temple. Everyone came to a total silence. The Jesus cried out, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.”
Jesus strode forward tipping over the tables of money and broke open crates to let pigeons fly free. He released lambs and steers and ushered them out of the temple. He acted with such authority that no one moved to stop him.
Jesus is clearly an example of anger with cause. Jesus would not tolerate injustices. Jesus hated sin, but loved those who committed sin.
The Apostle Paul gave sound teaching in Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin.” He didn’t say, “don’t get angry.” He said, “do not sin.’ Do not get angry for the wrong reasons or wrong causes.
II. Forgiveness is an Act of Worship.
In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus teaches that forgiveness is an act of worship. Forgiveness in fact is a gift more valuable than worship. In fact before you can adequately worship God you need to ask for those you have wronged to forgive you.
Why do prayers go unanswered? Why does God seem so far and distant? Because we have not make things right with people we have wronged. Before you worship, first be reconciled.
A bitter heart separates a person from God as well as that person. When I was pastor of the Taylor, Michigan Free Methodist Church we added a driveway and enlarged our parking area. We hired a paving contractor whose wife attended our church. From time to time I witnessed to the contractor. On one occasion I asked him if he had the assurance of eternal life. He told me that his brother was a preacher and, “I don’t want to go to heaven, if my brother will be there.” He did something to me that I will never forget or forgive. He cheated me out of some money. He is a preacher, but I would rather go to hell than forgive my brother for what he did to me.”
In the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:12, we pray: “Jesus forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” To refuse to forgive others forfeits our rights to be forgiven. We need to remember that our debt to God is beyond our ability to ever repay.
Ephesians 4:31-32 God’s Word says: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Forgiving and being forgiven are cut out of the same cloth. They cannot be separated.
George Herbert has written: “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need to be forgiven.”
How do we forgive? Not in our own strength. Forgiveness is only possible through a cross. Forgiveness is simply accepting what Jesus has already accomplished for us on the cross. I John 1:9 is a powerful verse: ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Forgiveness cancels the effects of sin.
III. Forgiveness and Reconciliation Bring Healing to Revenge and Resentment.
Jesus said, “First be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
When we fail to forgive others who have hurt us we give in to the spirit of revenge and resentment. The spirit of revenge mushrooms like a cloud of deadly chlorine gas. Resentment is like concrete the longer it goes, the stronger it sets in unwillingness to forgive.
Richard Hoefler’s book Will Daylight Come? Tells how sin enslaves and forgiveness frees.
A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target.
As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead.
The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sall had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s finally he could stand it no longer. He confessed to Grandma that he had killed the duck.
“I know Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you. I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus is saying that when we insist on getting even we bring ourselves down to the level of the one who hurt us and below his level. In getting even we bring more hurt on ourselves. It’s like seeking revenge by shooting yourself with a shotgun in order to hit your enemy with the kick of the gun’s recoil.
In his book, Lee: the Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal Artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss.
After a brief silence, Lee said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root, and poison the rest of our life.
The cure for revenge and resentment is forgiveness. Forgiveness for the Christian is not an option. We are commanded to forgive. Colossians 3:13-14, “Forbearing one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Jesus is our model for forgiveness. Get in your mind Jesus hanging on the cross. Jesus didn’t deserve to hand on the cross. He lived a perfect life. He helped people. He healed people all of his life. He loved the least and the lost. In return for all his love and good deeds he was spat upon, ridiculed, whipped, and crucified. Yet as he hung upon the cross in suffering pain and agony Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
One of the greatest gifts we can give to Jesus is by our living a life of forgiveness.
Let’s pray:
Lord Jesus speak to our hearts. Show us areas in our heart where we may be harboring bitterness and resentments and desiring revenge against others. I ask your forgiveness. And I’m open to asking them for forgiveness also—a mother, father, brother, sister, fellow worker, class mate whoever. You have offered me the give of forgiveness through your death and resurrection. Today I give you back the gift of forgiveness… my forgiveness of others.
