Sermon Tone Analysis

Mandate definition: an official order or commission to do something

As Americans rebellion is in our historical DNA.

We don’t like anyone telling us what do.

We can carry this over into our Christianity.

There are Christian doctrines that the sinful side of me has a hard time swallowing.

One of the biggest for me is forgiving others.

Especially those people that have hurt me or the people I love and care about.

Pg. 20

Forgiving each other just as..... Christ God for gave you.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Jesus was betrayed by a disciple: Judas sold Jesus out for money.

Falsely accused by those he came to serve, denied justice in the courts.

Abandoned by his friends: They scattered and one even denied knowing him.

Simon Peter the “Rock”.

Humiliated, beaten, and hammered to the cross and mocked till his dying breath.

Hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate.

- He retaliated?

When he suffered, he made no threats.

What?

Where I come from you come at me bro I am going to come back at you.

Growing up we would say I ain’t no punk.

Step up and see what will happens.

Ill: Dr J Vernon McGee tells a story about a successful Irish Boxer from the 1930’s that came to Christ and became a preacher.

He was a in a new town and setting up a evangelistic tent when a couple of thugs noticed what he was doing.

Knowing nothing of his background, they made a few insulting remarks.

The Irishman merely turned and looked at them.

Pressing his luck one of the bullies took a swing and struck one side of the ex-boxer’s face.

The preacher shook it off and said nothing as he stuck out his jaw.

The fellow took another glancing blow on the other side.

At that point the preacher swiftly took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and announced.

“The Lord gave me no further instructions!”

- Boom!

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Look at Jesus posture in His darkest moment.

He has been beating to one inch of his life, nailed to a wooden cross.

Father forgive them

His pain was fuel for prayer: This is one of many reasons I believe he was who he said he was.

The messiah, the lamb of God that takes on humanities sin.

No mere man would ever do that.

What if I don’t want to follow the mandate to forgive?

Is this literal?

This conditional statement does not mean that God will withdraw justification (the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God.) from those who have already received the free pardon He extends to all believers.

Forgiveness in that sense—a permanent and complete acquittal from the guilt and ultimate penalty of sin—belongs to all who are in Christ (cf.

John 5:24; Rom.

8:1; Eph.

1:7).

Yet Scripture also teaches that God chastens His children who disobey (Heb.

12:5–7).

Believers are to confess their sins in order to obtain a day-to-day cleansing (1 John 1:9).

This sort of forgiveness simply washes a person from the worldly defilements of sin but does not repeat the wholesale cleansing from sin’s corruption that comes with justification.

It is like a washing of the feet rather than a bath (cf.

John 13:10).

God threatens to withhold forgiveness as a day-to-day cleansing from Christians who refuse to forgive others

Simply put, if we do not forgive, we are setting a higher bar than God does.

We are exalting ourselves as better than other sinners in the Lord's eyes, revealing that we have likely not understood the grace of God at all.

We show that we are not relying on the Father's promises alone but are instead trying to bring something before God to earn His favor.

We are depicting an attitude that says, "I deserve God's forgiveness, but others do not."

In sum, if we persist in withholding our forgiveness from repentant people, we reveal that we do not know Christ.

Thus, as John Calvin writes, "Those who refuse to forget the injuries which have been done to them, devote themselves willingly and deliberately to destruction, and knowingly prevent God from forgiving them."

Monkey’s that won’t let go.

End with: List of those people that have hurt you.

Is there one you won’t let go of and forgive?

Next week we will discuss what total forgiveness is.

“We are most like beast when we kill.

We are most like men when we judge.

We are most like God when we forgive.”

- Dale Galloway