Forgiveness

Introduction

Years ago I was walking on a sidewalk at night. I seen a bright light behind me so I turned around to find out it was a car and it came up on that sidewalk going at least 40 mph and hit me. Sending me at least 300 ft. I remember laying in the middle of the road just wondering if this was it. Was I going to die tonight? I recited until the ambulance came and took me to the hospital. My leg was twisted like a pretzel. Some of the repurcussions were that I had to quit my job and find a cheaper place to live. Friends and family would visit me. They were angry, upset and wanted me seek retribution and revenge. I don’t understand it and I can’t explain it. I didn’t have an ounce of anger, bitterness, or hatred toward the guy that hit me. I had a peace that surpassed all understanding. I can only boast about what the Lord did in me.

Now, today we are going to talk about about one of the hardest passages to swallow and even harder to follow, but it is possible. I am sure it is familiar to most of you, it is the passage of "loving your enemies" and is a part of Jesus, sermon on the mount. In a world that tells us when we are betrayed or treated wrongly to retaliate by getting even. Jesus provides an alternative. Instead of getting even, He says to give it to God. It is found in the gospel accounts of both Matthew and Luke. Today, we will look at the account found in .

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(NIV)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

WHAT FORGIVENESS IS

Now forgiveness is something a lot of people have a false view of.

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It’s not pretending nothing ever happened and letting people walk over you.

It’s not becoming that persons best friend.

What it is though is simply letting go and letting God. Holding on to unforgiveness isn’t hurting the other party.

it is making ourselves a prisoner to them and allowing them to have control over us. To forgive is a command from God. None of us are exempt from it no matter how harsh the crime that has been committed against us was.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Gandhi

Who are your enemies? (V. 38-43)

Jesus is teaching his disciples about loving your enemies and refers back to a law in the Old Testament found in the book of .

(NKJV)

19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him—20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.

Sometimes it's our competitors in sports, we find them in politics, those who attack our country, those who do physically and emotional harm to us, but, most often it is those closest to us such as our co-workers, friends, and even our family. Sometimes it can even be ourselves.

We all have them. Superman had Lex Luther, Batman has the joker. Sometimes it's our competitors in sports, we find them in politics, those who attack our country, those who do physically and financially harm to us, but, most often it is those closest to us such as our co-workers, friends, and even our family. Sometimes it can even be ourselves.

We still have this twisting of scripture happening today.

We have Mormon's who take as meaning that you can be baptized in place of a deceased love one.

The Jehovah witnesses have their own version of the Bible where they have taken out parts that point to the trinity and refer to believers as being "in Christ"

The point of this is that we cant treat God and His word like a build a bear. We can't pick and choose what parts of Him we like and just leave out the rest. We must take his Word as a whole when seeking to understand it. I remember a story of a man who would ask God to speak to Him by randomly picking out verses.

One day he flipped through the Bible and found the verse of when Judas hung himself. Ok. The man said, Lord, surely you don't want me to do that. So he flipped to another random verse and it said "Go and do likewise". We need to be careful not to fall into the same trap that the Pharisees fell into.

We will try to rationalize this passage of loving our enemies. Certainly, this isn't for us today...You don't know what that person did to me...But he said she said this about me.... Jesus never said it would be easy, but, there is a standard of living that those who follow him must abide by. To love others as He loves us. Even yet while we were still sinner's Christ died for us. This begs the question "Who are your enemies"?

We all have them. Superman had Lex Luther, Batman has the joker. Sometimes it's our competitors in sports, we find them in politics, those who attack our country, those who do physically and financially harm to us, but, most often it is those closest to us such as our co-workers, friends, and even our family. Sometimes it can even be ourselves.

But our greatest enemy is the one behind the spirit that keeps us from loving these enemies and that is Satan himself. The deceiver and accuser of the brethren who would like nothing more to see our misery and hatred because it contributes to his kingdom of darkness.

God wants us to love as He loves. That means that we forgive because He has forgiven us. Jesus is the manifestation of God's love. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul but, how do we love our enemies as Christ loved us when we were God's enemies?

Forgiveness is not about retaliating with harm but it’s about reacting in Holiness

First of all, we react in Holy love for our enemies by "blessing them"

this means speaking well of them.

I remember one day when I was in a grocery store with my nephew and this old woman came up to me and asked if I worked there and I told her "sorry, I don't" and the woman just started going off on me and calling me every name in the book. I had two choices there. The first one, I could of retaliated and gave her some choice words of my own or I could could bless her with my words.

In the book of Proverbs it tells us that "the tongue has the power of life and death". We can choose either to curse someone or we can choose to speak life to them!

That day I choose to speak life. I didn't say much but, I told her. Ma'am, I am sorry you are having a rotten day, but may God bless you. She looked at me like I was crazy, she was speechless, and she just walked away. I didn't think much of it until a few years later, my nephew said "Uncle Scott, do you remember that crazy lady we yelled at you for not working at the grocery store, I think it was really cool, what you said to her.

To love our enemies is to bless them with our words. When we retaliate to evil with good, then we won't be overcome by evil, but, we will overcome evil with good. Loving our enemies is hard, but, dying for them is harder.

Also, we react in Holy love for our enemies by sacrificing our self.

Sacrificing our rights and possessions by going above and beyond what the world expects of us. If someone slaps you, turn the other cheek by not retaliating in evil but in love. If someone sues you for your shirt, then give them your jacket, if someone wants you to go one mile with them, then go two. What Jesus is saying here is that if you really want to follow me, then you have to do more than come to Church on Sunday and throw something in the offering plate. Your life needs to be radically different than that of people in the world.

What I really struggled with in the text was when it said “Do not resist an evil person”. What does that mean? Should we stand there like a bunching bag? NO! This simply means that we arent to oppose them in the same way they are opposing us. In other words, don’t exchange jab for jab.

(NIV)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We aren’t to payback evil with evil but overcome evil with good.

If the Holy Spirit is in us than He will compel to do things that aren't normal, to do things that take faith. People ought to look at our lives and know that Christ lives because the things we do cannot be done in human strength. This includes showing love and forgiveness to our enemies.

Also, we react in Holy love to our enemies by praying for them.

We need to pray for those who don't treat us right, and who don't treat others right and we need to pray for God to forgive them. Just like what Stephan prayed when he was being persecuted by the enemies of the gospel "Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do" When we pray for our enemies, it also, allows God to heal us from the wounds they have left on us as we speak to God about our pain. Praying for our enemies is not an option. It isn't suggested, it is commanded as part of loving your enemies so we can become more like Christ. If you can't pray for your enemy then you need to evaluate your heart. In the book of James it says " Why do you fight and quarrel? It is because of the desires that are within you. That is why you fight."

Why you should love your enemies v.45-47

We are called here to love as God loves. If you love your enemies as God loves you, then you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life. To be like Jesus is to love the unlovable to reach out to those who seem unreachable. If you want to follow God, you will find yourself doing this and loving people before you even realize you're doing this because you are doing this from a Holy heart.

This is the holiness of God and His very character. That you love God and love people. By doing this people will know that you are his disciples by the way you love. We should love our enemies because it reveals the redemptive power of Jesus Christ and by displaying this grace to others we are shedding light on the gospel.

If we love only those who love us, that is something that the world does and expects but if we love those who hate us, now that is something supernatural, that can only come from the power of God. Another command from Christ is to be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. Now being perfect doesn't mean here following the legalism of the law but, following the greatest commandment and that is to love one another as God has loved you and our love should be complete in loving everyone, even our enemies.

Application

In his sermon on the mount we hear Jesus, giving the command to love perfectly. To love with our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole mind. To love as Christ loves us. To love our enemies. Someday people will cut us off in traffic, Someday people will talk behind your back. Someday people will steal from you. Someday, people will attack you. Love them anyway, and remember this is an opportunity to share God's love to a broken world. I challenge you to be Jesus to someone and turn the other cheek and to go the extra mile. Jesus was beaten and flogged and did not retaliate with violence, but, he went the extra mile to the cross and committed the ultimate act of love as He gave up His life. Not just for his friends but, for all mankind, as he spoke those last words on the cross, and prayed for his enemies "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do".

God doesn’t want us to forgive each other simply because he commands it but, God commands forgiveness because it gives us freedom

Sticky Statement: Forgiveness is a choice, but it’s not an option

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