Grace is Greater: Wounds
- Button in a tourist shop:to err is human, to forgive is out of the question.
- Many of the Epistles, letters in the back of your Bible, mention something of grace and peace in their opening greetings. 2 Timothy 2, begins with Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
- God’s Riches At Christ Expense = (GRACE).
- But what does this mean in an experiential sense? How can we live according to grace? To be “strong in grace.”?
- The answer is quite plain and simple:
- We grow strong in grace when we understand God’s unconditional forgiveness of us, then learn to unconditionally forgive others.
- WHAT IS FORGIVENESS?
- (SLIDE) Forgiveness = Deliberate release of anger, resentment, and other negative feelings toward someone who has wronged you
- DO YOU WANT TO BE FREED TODAY?
- When Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed!
- The Spirit of God wants to set someone free today—perhaps it is YOU.
- (SLIDE) Hebrews 12:14-15 (tells us what happens when we fall short of grace):
- Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Not forgiving means to fall short of the grace of God, and that results in bitterness.
- A root of bitterness doesn’t destroy the other person, but instead destroys ourselves and those closest to us
- There is no middle ground with forgiveness. We either apply God’s grace or we follow a road toward bitterness.
- MESSAGE:
- (SLIDE) Ephesians 4:30-32
- 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Christians, those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, are called on to ”put away” the things which entangle unbelievers — what used to rule our hearts.
- This includes SINS such as malice (spite and desire to do ill towards someone) wrong, slander, commotion (rage/anger/brawling), and bitterness.
- Instead, being changed by God’s spirit, we should demonstrate a Christ-like attitude of love and forgiveness.
- 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
- DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN?
- Sin is not minor: Sin against God is seen as a grave offense with serious consequences, so much so that it required the death of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, to provide atonement
- Oswald Chambers.
- We trample the blood of the Son of God if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation for the forgiveness of God and for the unfathomable depth of His forgetting is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the atonement which He has worked out for us. It does not matter who or what we are; there is absolute reinstatement into God by the death of Jesus Christ and by no other way, not because Jesus Christ pleads, but because He died. It is not earned, but accepted. All the pleading which deliberately refuses to recognize the Cross is of no avail; it is battering at a door other than the one that Jesus has opened. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement is a propitiation whereby God, through the death of Jesus, makes an unholy man holy.
- “The purpose of the cross,” someone observed, “is to repair the irreparable.”
- (SLIDE) Matthew 6:14-15 (directly after teaching them how to pray ‘Lord’s Prayer’)
- 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
- (SLIDE) Matthew 6:12
- And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
- Imagine that, before we get this warning from Jesus (14-15), Jesus told us to ask God for grace (forgiveness) but only at the same level and frequency as the forgiveness we extend to others. —like John 8
- That can be simultaneously freeing and unnerving.
- As always, Jesus is the model. We are to extend grace, not necessarily because we want to or think it’s “fair”, but because in forgiving others we are recognizing the forgiveness we ourselves have received in Christ.
- I admit that no one can in there power live like that
- But our Lord and Savior says, “YOU MUST!”
- Two aspects of this verse are difficult to process.
- First, human nature struggles to conceive of forgiving those who have hurt us. Human beings can do truly depraved, horrible things to each other. Some atrocities are difficult to describe, or to think about, let alone forgiving someone who has done them.
- All the same, Jesus insists we understand how much God has forgiven us for.
- Read carelessly, this teaching is also difficult to square with the idea that God’s grace is a free gift, one in no way dependent on a person’s works.
- Yet that is the persistent teaching of both the four Gospels and the New Testament. Jesus’ death pays for our sin and His perfect righteousness becomes our own through faith.
- Does this mean those who refuse to forgive others can still be saved? Ultimately, that is the wrong question. God’s intent is for all true Christians—those who have been born again, who have been forgiven by the death of Jesus for their offenses against God—to turn and freely forgive anyone who has wronged them. In other words, this verse speaks to evidence of salvation, not a requirement for salvation itself
- Unforgiveness is inherently contradictory to godliness.
- Reality of many:
- Idleman says we tend to deal with our feelings of hurt, anger and bitterness by
- 1) repression, holding them down or,
- 2) rehearsal – rehashing our least favorite memories over and over.
- Now, TODAY, it’s time to release.
- Grace and forgiveness can be painful and messy.
- When we are the wound-er, we hope for grace — I’d say we often apply it ourselves
- When we are the wounded—we tend to want justice.
- “Often it is the case that we judge others by their worst actions, and we judge ourselves by our best intentions.”
- Obviously, this can be a very difficult topic, particularly, for those of you who have experienced some kind of abuse…
- And perhaps many of you are holding unforgiveness towards because they have wounded you/sinned against you
- “To sin against” creates a wound
- Physically
- Emotionally
- Mentally
- Relationally
- Typical responses that we cling to:
- “But you don’t know what I’ve been through.”
- “Not after what he/she’s done to me.”
- “He/she has destroyed my life.”
- “It’s too painful to even think about.”
- Types of wounds:
- Father
- Mother
- Marital
- Church
- Enemy
- Family
- Self/Shame
- You may be asking, “Does a person need to be completely healed of the effects of wounding/offense before they must/can extend grace???”
- Short answer: NO
- Illustration—Found in the clothing of a dead child at Ravensbruck concentration camp.
- (SLIDE) O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.
- The grace of forgiveness takes obedience + courage + humility
- It does not mean tolerance and acceptance OR that what happened is OK — but it does mean truly forgiving
- Kyle Idleman Grace is Greater:
- (SLIDE) Grace is only grace is it goes both ways. Receiving it from God but refusing to give it to others isn’t an option.
- Often the church is known for its outrage toward people outside of our community who need grace rather than outrage for the people inside our community who refuse to give it.
- Stop thinking about what’s been done to you and start thinking about what’s been done for you.
- John Stott (pastor and theologian)
- “Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offence against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own.”
- (SLIDE) Colossians 3:13
- Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
- · God holds back His anger a very long time when we sin against Him. He bears with us a long time, even when we sorely provoke Him.
- · God reaches out to bad people to bring forgiveness to them; the habit of man is to not reconcile if the offending person is a person of bad character.
- · God makes the first move towards us in forgiveness; the habit of man is to only be reconciled if the offending party craves forgiveness and makes the first move.
- · God forgives often knowing that we will sin again, sometimes in the exact same way. It is the habit of man to forgive only if the offending party solemnly promises to never do the wrong again.
- · God’s forgiveness is so complete and glorious that He grants adoption to those former offenders. In the habit of man, even when forgiveness is offered, he will not lift again the former offender to a place of high status and partnership.
- · God bore all the penalty for the wrong we did against Him. In the habit of man, when he is wronged, he will not forgive unless the offender agrees to bear all the penalty for the wrong done.
- · God keeps reaching out to man for reconciliation even when man refuses Him again and again. In the habit of man, one will not continue to offer reconciliation if it is rejected once.
- · God requires no probationary period to receive His forgiveness; in the habit of man, one will not restore an offender without a period of probation.
- · God’s forgiveness offers complete restoration and honor; in the habit of man, we feel we should be complimented when we merely tolerate those who sin against us.
- · Once having forgiven, God puts His trust in us and invites us back to work with Him as co-laborers. In the habit of man, one will not trust someone who has formerly wronged him.
- Just as we don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, someone you know may not deserve yours. It doesn’t matter: We are still commanded to forgive them.
- CONCLUSION:
- Bitterness hinders revival/God’s purposes in and through your life
- Unforgiveness actually keeps us from gaining an audience with God – hinders intimacy.
- Are you struggling to experience JOY and PEACE in Christ?
- THE LITMUS TEST FOR GRACE
- Have you extended the grace of God, the grace of forgiveness, towards the person who has hurt you the most and least deserves it?
- You say, ‘That isn’t fair!”
- GRACE ISN’T FAIR — THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT GRACE!!!!!!
- Ask yourself, how am I doing in THAT area/relationship with forgiveness?
- Perhaps it will show how far you have to go in really realizing how merciful God has been to you.
- Friends, if you cannot grasp the mercy of God in Christ towards YOU, then you do not have the capacity to forgive others the wounds that they have done to you.
- IT IS ONLY BY EXPERIENCING THE FULLNESS OF THE GOSPEL + IN TURN RECEIVING A NEW SPIRIT – THE HOLY SPIRIT.
- RESPONSE:
- One article expounds on it this way:
- The choice is clear, and extremely serious. Determine not to fall short of the grace of God. Remember that Christ forgave you far beyond what you deserve, and forgive others in the same way. Give up that grudge or bitterness. Forgive that family member, friend, associate at work or other person with whom you have a problem. The stakes are high, for if you fail to grow strong in grace, and are unable to forgive, you are charting a path to pain and heartbreak — not for the other person, but for yourself.
- (SLIDE) Forgiveness = Deliberate release of anger, resentment, and other negative feelings toward someone who has wronged you
- THE CHOICE IS CLEAR AND IT’S YOURS
- Repent & Release