Forgiveness, sin, repentance, duty.

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Luke 17 Verses 1 to 10.

It never ceases to amaze me how much meaning Jesus packs into so few words. 

Firstly, who is He referring to as Little Ones?

Secondly, to tempt others to sin is very serious indeed.

Thirdly, it seems you only need to forgive where repentance is shown to exist?  Or is it that if repentance is spoken, then we are obliged, commanded to forgive? This I find hard. There are those who have wronged me deeply but have shown no repentance , so am I to forgive them? 

Fourthly, verse 7, if we obey God, we should not expect praise. We should be humble and be aware we have merely done our duty. That is a fantastic attitude to aspire to. 

 

 

 

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On 12/1/2021 at 4:24 PM, Melinda12 said:

Luke 17 Verses 1 to 10.

It never ceases to amaze me how much meaning Jesus packs into so few words. 

Firstly, who is He referring to as Little Ones?

Secondly, to tempt others to sin is very serious indeed.

Thirdly, it seems you only need to forgive where repentance is shown to exist?  Or is it that if repentance is spoken, then we are obliged, commanded to forgive? This I find hard. There are those who have wronged me deeply but have shown no repentance , so am I to forgive them? 

Fourthly, verse 7, if we obey God, we should not expect praise. We should be humble and be aware we have merely done our duty. That is a fantastic attitude to aspire to. 

 

 

 

God's intrinsic nature is righteousness. Righteousness must be satisfied before mercy and forgiveness are administered. The Law of Moses addresses righteousness, and it calls for retribution and vengeance, "and your eye shall not pity him" (Deut.19:13-21). In the New Testament God has decided to create a scene where man is given time to consider his plight and repent and be reconciled to God. But He never forgets justice and first allows all sins to land on Jesus (1st Jn.2:2). This creates a legal basis for forgiveness. But with our Lord Jesus came "TRUTH and grace". The basis of grace is TRUTH. So in the process of reconciliation in Matthew Chapter 18, every attempt must be made to elicit the TRUTH SO THAT reconciliation can be achieved. 

Thrice is the offender given a chance to ADMIT his failure, once in private with the offended, once in private with witnesses, and then in public before the Church. If, in any one of the three meetings between the offended and the offender, the offender admits his offense, the offended MUST forgive him. Why, because the retribution has landed on Jesus. To make the offender pay again would be injustice. But if the offender refuses the truth, even in the face of witnesses, he remains UNFORGIVEN and is "like the heathen". That is, fellowship in the Assembly is curtailed, and outside the Assembly he is not accorded the privileges of a brother in the Lord.

But the matter does not end there. Our Lord Jesus is busy preparing the Church to be co-kings with Him when He returns to rule the nations. Our Church life is a training ground for the coming Millennial Kingdom (1st Cor.6). The Lord has left Gentile government in place while He prepares the Church, but within the Church God's rules apply. So if a man offends God's rules within the Church, he is excommunicated NOW, and when Christ returns, he will be cut out of the kingdom. Thus, the Church has the "keys of the kingdom". A brother or sister who offends and does not admit it and receive grace will answer for it now by the Church breaking fellowship with him, AND LATER the Great Judge Jesus will ban him from the kingdom.

But now we must also deal with the heathen. What if your next door neighbor who is not a Christian sets your dog on fire for barking too much. Two things immediately arise. (i) The man or woman has offended you and caused loss. (ii) But he/she has broken the law of the land. What must you do as a Christian? You cannot take the matter to the Church. The answer is that we have been given a ministry of RECONCILIATION (2nd Cor.5:18). If you, as God's minister, claim your right, the neighbor might pay up, but you'll be enemies for life. So God asks you to set aside your rights and claim no payment - that is, you forgive him/her the emotional and physical loss. If the man/woman later becomes a Christian, the offense lands on Jesus and you will be rewarded in the Kingdom. If the offender does not become a Christian, justice will land TERRIBLY on that person. This judgment is the one of Matthew 25:31-46. An offense against "the least of my brethren" is met with the Lake of Fire.

But in point #(ii) a judicial charge is made for burning your dog. This is not so easy. According to Romans 13 and various other scriptures like Titus, the Lord asks us to be subject to the rulers and laws of our country. The law might say that a person guilty of setting a dog on fire must pay a fine, pay restitution to the owner and spend 1 month in jail. Here, you are obliged to testify honestly, even if your testimony causes problems for the offender. But then, when the case is heard, you may also tell the judge that you drop all claims on the offender AND ask for clemency. That is, you must uphold the law, but make no personal claim AND ask for clemency. Again, if your testimony as a forgiving Christian leads to that person becoming a Christian, you have fulfilled your ministry and the  agony, sorrow and commercial loss of the dog lands on Jesus. If the offender gets away with any serious retribution because you asked for clemency, but never becomes a Christian, he/she will pay dearly at the judgment throne when Christ returns. Justice is met either way, but you have been a good servant of the Lord in the age of reconciliation.

Now, we might explain;

• Forgiveness - is the person who suffered loss NOT asking for justice, nor asking for a return of their lost goods
• The "little ones" are the same as "the least of my brethren" in Matthew 25. Christians who are not very mature
• "if he repent" - forgiveness is based on TRUTH. 
• "unprofitable servant" is one who has only done their duty. You might think that forgiving a brother for a grave hurt is a big deal, but think about what you have been forgiven by God and what it cost to forgive you.
• God never forgets a single injustice. All injustice fell on Jesus. If the offender does not take this way out, he/she has to pay in full - a gruesome prospect. The age of Law is immediate justice. The age Grace is deferred justice. But justice will come.

Hope this helps a little.