forgiveness – Page 7

1 John 1:8-10 – We Are Sinners

This text is familiar to me. I grew up Lutheran. These words were used in our weekly confession/forgiveness portion of the worship service. I took some time today to really let those words sink in. We are sinners. Period. There can be no debate.

What we do tend to do is look around and compare. We think our sins aren’t as bad as that person’s, right? I know I’m not the only one who has done this. But truth be told, a sin is a sin. To God, any sin separates us from him. Every sin, big or small, needs the same antidote, God’s forgiveness. Why do we try to fool ourselves into thinking we’re not sinners? Maybe it’s because we have done something a certain way our whole life but didn’t realize it was a sin. Perhaps we are just in denial saying something like, “well, at least I didn’t kill someone.” We try our best to be “good” people, doesn’t that count?

Matthew 18:21-35 – Unlimited Forgiveness

Read Matthew 18:21-35

I love it when Jesus uses parables to convey his intention or direction for our lives. This one is really something. After talking about how to handle it when someone sins against us in our last text , Peter rightfully asks the question, “How many times should we forgive?”

What was Jesus response? 70×7. 490 times! I’m not sure who would even keep track. That was just a crazy amount to show us we need to forgive. Period. We shouldn’t try to quantify it or keep score. Then Jesus told the story.

Matthew 18:15-20 – You’re Wrong!

Matthew 18:15-20

Jesus knew that we would be mean to one another. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. From reading this passage, I assume Jesus does not want us to be at odds with each other. He has given us a system to use to make amends with our friends, family, and whoever has done us wrong. Have you ever used this system?

Certainly, Jesus doesn’t want us to be accusatory and heated in our encounters. He wants us to handle this in private. Granted, we don’t necessarily know what’s going on behind closed doors when the confrontation takes place. But we do know that Jesus wants us to confront the one who has sinned against us and let them know we are hurt. I may be reading between the lines, but I think this encounter is meant to be our first attempt at reconciliation.

Hebrews 13:10-14 – Outside the Gate

Read Hebrews 13:10-14

There is a lot of symbolism in today’s reading I probably missed the first couple times I read through this text. For some of us, understanding Jewish tradition is not something we have spent a lot of time doing. I wonder when Christians stopped observing Jewish traditions? Granted, not all early Christians were Jewish, but a lot of them were. The book of Hebrews has been written to them to help them in coming to grips with their new belief. How can you juggle two different traditions? I’m sure this book/letter was very helpful to them.

Many more Jews thought these “Christians” were crazy to believe Jesus was the Messiah. I am sure the new believers took quite a beating (maybe even literally) for this. Even today, there are traditional Jews who are upset with those who call themselves Jews yet believe Jesus is the Messiah. Yet many others don’t even know what a Messianic Jew is (one who believes Jesus is God’s son). And of ones I’ve seen randomly asked, they don’t really care what other people think. The Jewish religion historically has not been a missionary movement. By contrast, as Christians, we are called to tell the world about Jesus and his love. Continue reading “Hebrews 13:10-14 – Outside the Gate”

Hebrews 10:1-18 – Sins Forgotten

Read Hebrews 10:1-18

We’re moving through the book of Hebrews and there is a lot of emphasis on Jesus being our high priest. His sacrifice was once and done. He will not have to die again. Remember, some of the young Christians had been Jews just moments before. Their heritage had been a yearly sacrifice. Each year you’d be reminded of your sins as the sacrifices were made and the high priest entered the Most Holy Place.

You can’t just change a person’s experience or understanding of forgiveness overnight. This is a process. It may be hard for us, too, to imagine how the shedding of Jesus’ blood could be the perfect sacrifice. There are a lot of us sinners in the world now and across the span of time. There will be many more in the days ahead. We, too, need to wrap our head around the fact that God came to live and die. His death redeemed us. Continue reading “Hebrews 10:1-18 – Sins Forgotten”