Marks of a true Christian part 3

Read passage & prayer

Where is our faith displayed the most?

Should someone think I’m a Christian ONLY because I go to church?

Marks of a Christian- Speaks to our lifestyle- the way we live our daily lives

So my faith isn’t just displayed because I’m committed to church, it is more-so displayed in my everyday life

In good times, in bad times, with nice people, with difficult people

With other Christians, and with non- Christians

Paul has been speaking of characteristics that ought to be present in our life BECAUSE we have believed in Jesus for salvation

SPECIFICALLY- commands that deal with our relationship with others.

Context & Review- Paul’s Lightning round of commands

v. 9-13- Our relationship toward other believers- Our family

v. 14-16- Our relationship toward everybody- Christian or non- Christian

First- We see a command to bless those who hurt us

Romans 12:14 ESV

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

To persecute- means to harm because of someones faith-

What is our gut reaction when someone DOES hurt us?

Is it to bless them? No!

It’s to curse them! To wish that bad things would happen to them.

Thanksgiving baskets-

My initial reaction in those moments- revenge- payback- curse

Our world tells you that you are ENTITLED to that

Not so for the Christian- To bless instead of curse- is a distinctively Christian act

When someone harms you, speaks ill of you, or persecutes you- we are instructed to bless them in return

Luke 6:27–29 ESV

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.

The counter cultural, mark of a born again Christian is to respond with blessing, and not cursing

Gary Ridgeway- Robert Rule- “There are people here who hate you. I am not one of those people. You have made it difficult to live up to what I believe and that is to do what God says to do and that is forgive. You are forgiven, sir”

The cultural reaction is to get pay back and to curse— The distinctively Christian thing to do is bless

Because it is not about whether or not we get what is fair, because what is “fair” is us spending eternity in hell for our sin.

It is that through our circumstances God might be glorified, and the Gospel displayed by the way we live our lives

In blessing those who persecute us-

We display a supernatural blessing and forgiveness

But how often should we forgive?

Matthew 18:21–22 ESV

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

The goal of Peter was to find a loophole in forgiveness-

Peter uses the number 7 to signify completeness

The number 7 was considered a number of significance and completeness

But Jesus sets the bar far above that

Not 7 times, but seventy seven times or 7 x 70

Now is Jesus saying that we should keep a count and only bless and forgive those who harm us up to that number?

No, it is Jesus’ way of saying that our forgiveness and blessing of others has no limit. IT is not ever done in this life

When faced with great examples of blessing and forgiveness, we tend to ask how

Robert Rule- “How could you forgive him?”

Peter- “How could I forgive that much?”

The parable of the unforgiving servant- The ability to forgive

The master settling accounts

A talent was worth 15 years worth of wages

$20,000 x 15 = $300,000

$300,000 x 10,000 = $3,000,000,000

Because of the servants begging, the master FORGAVE his unpayable debt

The servant settling his own accounts-

A denarii was a day’s wages- $5400

This ungrateful servant took the other and threw him into prison until that debt could be paid back

The master’s punishment-

The ungrateful heart of the servant led to his master holding him accountable for that great debt-

The punishment would continue UNTIL that unpayable debt could be paid

So how long does it take to pay off a unpayable debt? For all eternity

The point of the parable-

The parable teaches us greater truths about our ability to bless and forgive

Our sin was an unpayable debt that none of us could repay-

But Jesus paid that debt by His sacrifice on the cross

Colossians 2:13–15 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Colossians 2:13–14 NASB95

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

As Christians, we are a people who have been given the greatest gift that could ever be given- Forgiveness from our sins and an eternity with our Savior

Since we have been forgiven of such a ETERNAL debt, shouldn’t we be able to forgive all wrong done to us?

This parable comes with a warning-

Just like the servant- an unforgiving heart is a sign of an unforgiven heart

If you are unable to forgive, it may be a sign that you yourself have never been forgiven by Jesus

Does it mean that forgiveness is easy? Does it mean that blessing those who hurt us is easy?

Of course not. It just means that it is possible

When we understand how Jesus has forgiven us of such an incredible debt, it becomes possible to bless those who persecute us, and forgive those who have wronged us.

Time of reflection

Do you have an unforgiving heart?

Is your lack of forgiveness pointing to the fact that your unpayable debt is not forgiven?