More on Forgiveness

Yesterday I completed a short sermon series on our responsibility as disciples of Jesus to forgive others who sin against us.  I started the sermon with the following video and quote from Mary Karen Read, one of the victims of the Virgina Tech Massacre.

This struggle of forgiveness was made even more poignant when a sister and good friend came forward asking for prayers in dealing with the struggle for forgiveness for an act ever bit as heinous as that committed in Blacksburg, only smaller in scope.  The message of Matthew 18 is clear-- in order for us to be forgiven, we must be willing to forgive.  To refuse to forgive others is to fail to recognize all that God has forgiven in us.

Forgiveness like this makes no earthly sense, because it comes from above.  Corrie ten Boom was confronted with being asked to forgive one of the guards that had tormented her while in a Nazi death camp.  She tried to take his hand, but her arm would not move; her heart was filled with such anger, resentment and hatred for this man that represented what had killed her family. She writes this--

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

You Da Man!

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the saddest stories in scripture. The great king and spiritual leader gave into his baser nature and committed adultery with Bathsheba. When he found out that she was pregnant, he began an elaborate cover-up to hide his personal guilt. When the integrity and loyalty of Bathsheba's husband Uriah continued to thwart David's cover-up, David set up Uriah to be killed in battle. To justify this action to his commander Joab, David responds rather coldly, "Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another.” (2 Sam 11:25). David then married the widowed Bathsheba, and his sins were hidden... from everyone except God.

Then Nathan the prophet came to David with a sad story about a poor man whose little pet lamb was butchered and served as brunch by a wealthy man who had many flocks and herds. David was outraged and wanted justice... until Nathan pointed his long, bony finger at David and says, "You are the man!" In modern vernacular, that is a compliment. Make a long put, close a big deal, or complete a critical project, and someone may slap you on the back and say, "You da man!" David was the man... and it was no compliment. He could only stare Nathan and then at the blood on his hands. Guilt. Shame. The entire weight of heaven and earth crushed down upon him. And this was the critical moment of his life.

David responds, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam 12:13). And he meant it! He faced the utter brokenness of his guilt, and he could do nothing but humbly confess his sin, repent and plead for God's mercy. Psalm 51 captures the depths of his horror over his sin and his struggles with guilt. The words "I have sinned" are spoken in scripture by men like Pharaoh, Balaam, Achan and Saul... when they are caught and are sorry they were caught. But David feels the full weight of his sin and is driven to his knees in humility and repentance. It is in this moment of repentance that David shows the character that makes him "the man after God's own heart."

For the last three weeks, we have been looking at the subject of interpersonal forgiveness in our Sunday lessons. Our scripture reading for today is Colossians 3 which includes the following:

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Scripture consistently reminds us that we are to forgive others because God has forgiven us. Nathan points his long, bony finger at each of us and says, “You da man” (or “you da woman” as the case may be). We are all as guilty as sin, and yet we have been forgiven our blood debt through the blood of the cross. So how can we possibly refuse to forgive someone else? How can we refuse to forgive another sinner when we have ourselves been forgiven of so much so so gracious a God?

More on Baptism

If you have the time, listen to the sermon I posted last week on repentance, baptism and the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan and then contrast what Chan says about repentance and baptism with the change to the baptismal liturgy considered by bishops of the Church of England.

 According to this Daily Mail news article, the Anglican baptismal service “may be re-written to remove some references to Christianity.” The article characterizes this change as ‘baptism lite.’ The purpose of this liturgy re-write is “to make christenings more interesting to non-churchgoers” and to make the service more appropriate and accessible to “non-theologically versed Britons.” In other words, they are “dumbing down” the baptismal service. If I tended toward sarcasm, I might say something like, “They are baptizing babies; how much dumber can they make it?” But I’m not, so I won’t.

OK, I get it. Many people who aren’t Christians will visit churches to see the christening of the babies of family and friends. Many people in secular Europe attend church for three reasons—to be hatched, matched and dispatched (christening, weddings and funerals). So if non-Christians are going to be in church for the baptism of babies, then why not use language that will communicate the gospel in an understandable, non-overly-theologically-obtuse way. I get it. I really do think that’s a wonderful idea.

Except for HOW they do it. One of the sections they want to change is the challenge to parents and godparents to “reject the devil and all rebellion against God” and to renounce “the deceit and corruption of evil” and the challenge to “submit to Christ as Lord.” OK maybe the “deceit and corruption of evil” language could be modernized a bit, but if you remove the idea of turning away from sin (repentance) and acceptance of Jesus as Lord, then what is the point of baptism? Baptism is a picture of the cross. Take away rejection of sin and acceptance of Christ and there is nothing left… except the snacks afterwards.

Francis Chan on Baptism

Ran across this sermon by Francis Chan on Bobby Valentine's blog "Stoned-Campbell Disciple." Francis Chan is the author of the best-selling book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. He was the founding pastor of 4000 member Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA, where this sermon was preached. Not long ago, Chan resigned from Cornerstone and is travelling throughout Asia, preaching and strengthening churches. This brother certainly has a pretty good handle on baptism... for someone who isn't a member of our religious tribe!


Francis Chan - Baptism & The Holy Spirit from Wes Woodell on Vimeo.

You Are God Alone

In our scripture reading for today, David proclaims that praise awaits God in Zion—“Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled” (Psa 65:1). It is as if all the worshippers have gathered at the Temple and they are waiting God to get there. (This obviously isn’t Denbigh where no one shows up early!). As David gives promise of the worship to come, he also proclaims who God is to be worshiped:

• God is a God of GRACE (Psalm 65:2-4). God hears our prayers and forgives us when we cry out to him, even when we are overwhelmed by our transgressions. Not only does God forgive us; he also calls us near and allows us to live in His very presence.
  
• God is a God of GREATNESS (Psalm 65:5-8). God’s power and might called the mountains into existence and commanded the seas to be still. Even those who live far away see those wonders which fill our world from dawn until dusk. It is not that God once did powerful things; God continues to do awesome things, sometimes things that we do not expect (Isa 64:3).
  
• God is a God of GIFTS (Psalm 65:9-13). God takes care of his people by providing our watering our fields with rain, filling our carts with crops, and filling our fields with flocks. God gives good gifts to his people and cares for our needs, so how can we fail to worship (65:13)?

The point of worship is not for us to tell God that He is gracious, great and giving. God already knows that, and he doesn't need us stroking His ego. The point of worship is to remind the worshipper that God is God, and they He Is God alone. It is so easy for us to go do focused on ourselves that we forget who is God alone.

• We focus on how we have been offended by the mistakes others and forget how horribly we have offended God and how He has forgiven us time after time.
  
• We focus so much on ourselves and what we have done that we forget it that God not only created everything (including us) but He also gives us the ability to provide for ourselves and for the needs of others.
  
• We focus so much on what we want and do not have yet that we forget to acknowledge all that God has given us and continues to give us.

Worship forces us to take our eyes off of ourselves and focus back on God—His grace, His greatness and His gifts. Worship does not tell God how great he is; it reminds us that God is God… and that He is God alone.

Your Sins Are Forgiven

In Matthew 9 (one of our scripture readings for today), Jesus is in the middle of a tussle with the Jewish religious leaders. He is in the middle of doing some things that bothered the buttoned-down, letter-of-the-law (even if it’s the one we wrote) rabbis and Pharisees. He had just exorcised some demons… while visiting a Gentile land… and he sent the demons into pigs. That's gotta break a few laws someplace, right? In the next verses, Jesus will call a tax collector of all people as one of his apostles. So just about everything Jesus does at this point is rubbing the rabbis the wrong way.

But it is Jesus' healing of a paralytic that pegs their “you gotta be kidding” meter. He had just done several miracles, so his power to heal one paralyzed should not have been a shock. What was a shock was the language that Jesus used, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” If you stop right there, you might get the impression that Jesus is baling the man for his paralysis; he had sinned in some way and was being punished with paralysis (don’t walk with God and you won’t walk at all). But what follows makes it clear that Jesus’ words here are for the benefit of the Pharisees who are spoiling for a fight. They respond, “This fellow is blaspheming!” (v. 3). To claim the power to forgive sin is to claim the power of God Himself.

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. (Matt. 9:4-8, NIV2011)

So is it easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk?” The point is that only God has the power to both forgive sins and to heal. The fact that Jesus really did have the power to heal was  demonstrated dramatically when the man got up and toted his mat back home, But Jesus power over this disease also dramatically demonstrated that He also has the power to forgive sin. Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven” but Jesus demonstrates his power to forgive with this mighty act of healing.

Each Sunday we proclaim both Christ’s power to give and his power to heal in the Lord’s Supper. When participate in this memorial, we both bow before God's authority over all things spiritual and physical. In the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, God proves His authority over spiritual death ("Your sins are forgiven") and His authority over physical death ("Get up and walk"). Our God is a God who forgives and who heals. He tells each of us “your sins are forgiven” so now we can then “get up and walk” as we live and serve Him daily.

Abomination of Desolation

OK, so what is with all the mysterious deaths of birds dropping out of the sky in Arkansas? Thousands upon thousands of red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky, littering the ground around Beebe with dead bird carcasses. And officials (how does one get to be a red-winged blackbird official anyway) aren't completely sure what has caused all the deaths. Was it someone shooting off fireworks that caused the birds to get confused and fly into the ground? Was it a sonic boom that confused their navigation instincts and sent them plummeting to earth. Or was this a sign of the gathering hoof-beats of the four horseman of the Apocalypse?

It was done of those. Those Arkansas blackbirds were just so devastated that the Razorbacks lost the Sugar Bowl that they had nothing left for which to live. I mean, it took all these years for Arkansas to finally get to a BCS bowl game (so long that most clear-thinking people have already reached the conclusion that the BCS is an idea who time has come and gone). But they finally get there… and then give up a 28-7 first half lead to Ohio State (which is when I went to bed, by the way). Then they crawl back into the game and then have a chance to actually win it at the end… only to throw it away (literally). That’s why the birds crashed into the ground in Arkansas—they were just so distraught over the Hogs. Of course, if Mallet hadn’t have thrown that last interception and the Hogs would have won the game, the birds would have still crashed into the ground… out of shock of Arkansas actually winning a bowl game.

I miss the old days when all the major bowls were on New Year’s Day. I miss switching channels back and forth between the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl which were on at the same time. I miss being so bleary-eyed by the time the Orange Bowl came on that I could hardly focus my eyes. I miss the fact that at least 2 or 3 of the major bowls could have an impact on the national championship.