forgiveness – Page 7

1 John 2:1-6 – Do You Know God?

I’m so glad John wrote this to us so that we won’t sin! Unfortunately, I don’t think his words can keep us from sinning, it’s not that easy. But his words can make us aware of our sin and what we can do about it. So on the off chance you happen to sin (and you will), we can all be sure that Jesus is ready to save us.

Jesus is portrayed here as our advocate, pleading our case for us. With my legal background, of course, I picture a lawyer in court before the Judge. I have worked on many a case representing the “bad guy” who was still allowed counsel before the judge. What would the sentence be? A good lawyer would make sure the sentence was fair or non-existent in the right circumstances. Jesus pleads not-guilty for us because he, himself is the sacrifice for all sins.

1 John 1:8-10 – We Are Sinners

Read 1 John 1:8-10

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”