Just a Reminder Pt. 7
Notes
Transcript
For those who are paying close attention, you will notice that we changed up translations this morning...
This is mostly to keeps us from getting in a heated debate from the congregation and pulpit....
Nah, the reason we switched it up is so that I don’t have to spend a long time unpacking the word debt and debtors...
The NIV reads
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And I went with NLT
12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
Quickly, the difference in debt and sin....
The greek word associated with sin can be translated in many terms…you all like have heard
forgive us our debts
forgive us our sins
forgive us our transgressions...
It’s because it can be translated as any of these…it’s a pretty generic term in the Greek....
If we go with debt, we know...
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Not to get too far down the deep theological trail, but because of our sin, our debt is death...
That’s what we owe...
However, we know...
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Redeemed means to be bought back...
So, Jesus paid the debt for our sins...
If we can, we will use the word sins instead of debt this morning...
12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
As with the other things mentioned in the Lord’s prayer we know that forgiveness of sins is both a request as well as a promise
We are asking God to forgive us of our sins, but also being reminded that we are forgiven...
We have talked extensively in other sermons about the forgiveness of God...
It is why Jesus went to the cross!
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
As we come to God, we do so through the forgiveness offered because of the cross!
This means that we no longer are guilty of our sins...
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
So......
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
you are now saved and no longer need to experience the guilt associated with sin...
You walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
So, we understand that we are broken in sin…lost…slaves to sin...
But, then we are saved…not just an eternal salvation, but also here and now...
We are set free from sin and the guilt associated with it!
We are a new creation…the old has gone...
and,
we are the righteousness of God!
So, if you are still struggling with the weight and guilt of sin…believe this good news this morning...
You do not need to carry the weight of that guilt this morning!
Christ went to the cross so that you could be freed from that!
You. are. forgiven!
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
Ephesians 1:6–8 (NIV)
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us...
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
if you’re struggling with the guilt associated with sin this morning, believe the word!
Guilt and sin is not your association this morning!
Your association is the righteousness of Christ...
If you’re continuing in sin then turn from it…cry out to Jesus…He is the one who sets us free from sin!
12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And here is the challenge....
We believe we have been forgiven…and now we forgive others...
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Numbers in the Bible often times have certain meaning....
The number 7 is usually associated with completion...
So, Jesus is saying that we should forgive our brother or sister until they are complete…so, basically, as many times as needed...
He then shares this parable
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
So, Jesus shares this parable to teach that we have a responsibility to forgive others....
We understand that our God forgives us…and we too should forgive others!
Now, caveat, in another sermon we can talk about continual sin, abuse, lack of trust and other exceptional circumstances...
That’s not this sermon…but know that forgiveness doesn’t mean that we continue to allow abuse and other exceptional circumstances....
So, please do not take away something that I’m not saying this morning!
I’m speaking, as was Jesus, generically in day-to-day interactions...
We are to forgive others...
The ultimate act of forgiveness…was found on the cross...
Now, we often given Pharisees a bad rap…and they deserve it sometimes...
But legally, they could murder heretics…someone who would come claiming to be God, could be murdered....
What they were doing wasn’t just some absolutely crazy thing...
It was legal and customary...
The only problem, is they were wrong about Jesus!
He was who He said He was!
That is what they got wrong...
Nonetheless…He hanging there…and says these words:
Luke 23:34 (NIV)
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”...
So we have Jesus, who has been severely beaten, humiliated, and wrongfully murdered…on top of that, was facing the weight of all the sins of the world...
And He says “Father forgive them....for the do not know what they are doing...”
So, who is it, that we can’t forgive?
Do you know and understand the weight of what God has forgiven you of?
What can we not forgive others of?
In closing here, forgiveness for us is freedom!
If we do not forgive others, we are giving them power over us...
To forgive, is to be free from that power!
Communion....