A brother comes up to me and mentions the fact that my brakes are making a noise and I probably need to get new brake pads. A few days later he pointed out that my front wheel rotors were badly worn and needed to be replaced.
What is the proper response to such criticism?
“You should not be so judgmental. Don’t you know the Bible says “Judge not lest ye be judged”? This truck is doing the best it can. After all, when it was being produced in the factory a forklift abused it. It’s not the truck’s fault. So, don’t be judgmental about this truck.”
His response would be, “If you don’t replace the wheel rotors you are going to cause permanent damage to the truck.”
He was absolutely right. He wasn’t being mean or judgmental or legalistic, rather he was reaching out in love and concern about a problem I didn’t know was developing. He saw what I could not see.
If only we would take this attitude toward spiritual things. Why is it that we take better care of our vehicles than we do our own attitudes in life?
This past week the Internet service at the church was interrupted for two days. On the first day there was some problem in the area that affected the Internet service. I was instructed to unplug everything from the router, wait a few moments, then plug it back in. Inadvertently, one of the plugs was put back in the wrong place causing it not to function.
I called the service to come and check it out. Everything checked out fine. The line coming into the church was working just fine. The router itself was working fine. Then the technician noticed that the plug was put in the phone socket and not the Internet socket.
Everything was in order but not everything was in place.
This is something like our life.
Yes, we are Christians, born again and happily on our way to heaven. We believe the right things and have embraced correct doctrine. However, something’s not working in our life. There doesn’t seem to be a real connection in our life. Things are not working. The engine is running but we are not going anywhere.
Amazing how many people will go for years and years living in this situation when all they really need is to switch the plug and put it in the right socket. Spiritually speaking, of course.
The reason we don’t do these things is because we are unwilling to accept criticism. The reason we are unwilling to accept criticism is because we do not have confidence in our relationship with God. Some people feel that any amount of criticism is unacceptable and unchristian.
We go to a doctor and after his examination he becomes very critical and tells us all the things that are wrong with us. Few people get angry at their doctor for being so critical. Few people accuse the doctor of being judgmental. They know his criticism, although harsh at the time, has a healing element to it.
Forgiveness is based upon the ability to accept criticism, which is probably the most difficult thing any of us can do. We all have a rather high opinion of ourselves which hinders any significant and consistent spiritual progress in our life. This self-centeredness, keeps us from discovering the power of forgiveness in our daily life.
Daily Forgiveness frees me from the spiritual debris cluttering my life and prohibiting me from clearly seeing Christ in my present situation and living in His power.
May I remind you that kingdom living is simply living under the authority, absolute authority, of a king. Our King is none other than Jesus Christ. Day by day we are bringing our life into harmony with Him and His commands.
Kingdom Living is explained to us through the parables that Jesus gives in the Gospels. We come to another parable here in the gospel of Luke. This parable reveals to us truths crucial to living for Christ in this world of ours.
The focus of this parable today is forgiveness. I want to lay out for you how forgiveness works for us in Kingdom Living.
This passage breaks down into two parts.
1. The potency of our sin (41-43).
2. The power of our forgiveness (44-50).
As we embrace the dynamics of daily forgiveness we begin to experience kingdom living as God really wants us to experience it.
I. The Two Debtors (41-43) The Potency Of Our Sin.
In order to understand the power of forgiveness we need to understand and appreciate the potency of our sin. Too many people underestimate the power of sin in their life.
Our greatest error is in the area of categorizing our sin.
Not all sin is the same, according to us.
This is where we have our problem.
Yes, we will admit that we have committed a sin, but it is not as bad as… and then we talk about some other sin we think is a lot worse than something we have done.
We fail to realize that sin is sin. No matter how you slice it sin will always be sin in God’s eyes.
Here is where the real issue is. I need to begin looking at sin as God looks at it.
I’m talking now about Christians, not unbelievers. The unbeliever is not able to look at sin as God looks at sin. That’s an altogether different perspective. But as Christians we need to look at sin as God looks at it and views sin as God views it.
Look at how Jesus viewed sin.
Matthew 5:21-22
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
[Raca… O empty one, i.e. thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification).]
Matthew 5:27-28
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
We have the idea that sin is an action we do. Jesus explains sin is that in the heart causing us to do. You may be able to subdue the action but the seed of sin is still in the heart. Jesus sees no difference between the lust and the act.
When we understand sin from God’s point of view we will begin to feel towards sin as God feels towards it.
One of the things this aspect of the parable is teaching us is that it takes as much of God’s grace to forgive one sin as any sin. This we don’t really comprehend.
We believe each sin has a certain value to it. One sin is worse than another sin, and so forth.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sin, He died once. When He died He died for all sin. The same blood of Jesus that cleanses one sinner also cleanses another sinner. The same blood that washes away one sin, washes away all sin.
Here is where Christians get into trouble. We do not believe “our sin” is really that bad. After all, we’re going to heaven when we die and that’s really all that matters.
Many have lost the horror of sin especially their own sin. On the cross when Jesus died the sin that he bore was so horrific the Father had to turn his back. Sin will keep you from everything God once you to be.
II. The Woman (44-50) The Power Of Our Forgiveness.
Here is the practical application of being forgiven. It brings us into a relationship with Christ that is more than technical. To understand that I have been forgiven is to begin a journey of appreciation of my forgiveness that will be reflected in my relationships.
Simon represents the Christian who doesn’t realize what he has been forgiven from.
Like many Christians he had an elitist idea of himself. All of his sin is in the past and he has not to deal with it any longer. Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true.
Other people have to deal with sin, but not me.
Simon’s attitude is reflected in his relationship with Jesus. He took for granted so many things, so many things that are normal to do in such relationships.
• “water for my feet”
• “no kiss”
• “anoint my head with oil”
These were things a good host did in welcoming somebody into his home. Simon did not have the courtesy to treat Jesus respectfully. There was a coarseness in that relationship.
The woman represents the Christian who understands how much God has forgiven.
Real forgiveness brings into the heart the spirit of servant hood. Being a servant means that you prefer others over yourself. The man who knows what he has been forgiven of will never elevate himself over a single person.
If you ever find someone that is more of the sinner than you, it is because you don’t understand what sin really is, and you don’t know your own heart.
The apostle Paul said it this way,
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Paul’s attitude was the result of knowing what he had been saved from. He understood and appreciated the depth of his forgiveness.
I earnestly believe that the secret of real joy is understanding and knowing what you have been saved from. To know that within you is the seed of sin that only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse. And this seed of sin within me is within every person born of women.
My joy comes in experiencing each day the forgiving power of God’s grace. Yesterday was wonderful, but it is past. Today’s grace is what brings God’s forgiveness to my heart.
“It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Conclusion…
The power of forgiveness is seen in my day-to-day relationships with people, especially brothers and sisters in the Lord. MI modeling a servant attitude each day?
The probing question is simply this.
Have you had a spiritual cleanup recently?
Have you dealt with the spiritual debris that has collected in your life? Spiritual dust bunnies. Spiritual viruses.
This does not take care of itself automatically. It is something we need to do on a regular basis.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The essence of this verse is a continuous process. It is not something that we do one time and then forget about it.
Yes, salvation is a one time experience but there is a progressiveness to our salvation. We are growing more and more like Christ day by day. A key element in this growth is confessing our sin and cleansing ourselves from spiritual debris that is collected. Then, living each day in the power of forgiveness.
