Freeing the Faithless

Throughout our series on forgiveness we have seen again and again that Jesus’ definition of sin is at variance with so many of the definitions we hear today.  Nearly everyone defines sin as the breaking of rules or standards.  But Jesus demonstrates, in His dealings with the Pharisees, that men who violate virtually no legal standards can be just as sinful, just as spiritually lost as the most immoral person among us.  Why?  Because, as the Gospel shows, sin is not just breaking the rules, it’s putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge.  And that’s exactly what we see in the final of three stories in Luke 15.

In answer to the grumblings of the scribes and Pharisees – “Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them” (same charge leveled in last week’s Luke 19 text) Jesus tells of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons.  This week we look at the first of the two, the youngest son.  He’s often called “The Prodigal Son”, but as Tim Keller wisely points out in his book, The Prodigal God, the definition of “prodigal” is (1) recklessly extravagant and (2) having spent everything.  Therefore, the most prodigal one in this story is God, the Father.  The problem with the younger son is the same problem the older one has, he’s placed himself in God’s seat – the very definition of sin according to Jesus.

Years ago, one of my mentors was fond of talking about “the law of reciprocity.”  He called it a spiritual law –a law established by God in creation.  The law as he described it went something like this:  When you are faithful and give to the Lord and His kingdom, He will reciprocate by honoring your gift with more abundance.  A text commonly used to support this law is the parable of the talents.

However, there’s another way to look at the law of reciprocity that’s more commonly taught and practiced by Jesus.  We see it in the parable of the man who owes the king a great debt (Mt. 18:23f).  We see it all through this final story of lostness in Luke 15.  For Jesus, the answer to the question, “How can you expect me to forgive?” is simple.  Those who know that they have been forgiven much will forgive much.

Again Tim Keller is helpful.  On pages 120 and 121 of The Prodigal God he tells of a woman who came to Redeemer Church in Manhattan, New York City.  She said that she had gone to a church as a youth that taught that God accepts us only if we are sufficiently good and moral.  But now she was hearing a different message.  The message was the Gospel.  She was hearing that we are, and can only be, accepted by God by sheer grace through the work of Christ regardless of what we have done or will do.  But then she added, “That’s a scary idea!”

Keller was intrigued, so he asked her to explain, and explain she did.  She replied, “If I was saved (forgiven) by my good works, then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through.  I would be like a taxpayer with rights…But if it is really true that I am a sinner saved by sheer grace – at God’s infinite cost – then there’s nothing He can’t ask of me or put me through.”  BINGO!

As we’ve mentioned several times throughout our series, every sin comes at a cost.  The only question is, “Who will pay it?”  Forgiveness means the offended party pays.  Justice means the offender pays.  The foundational truth of the Gospel is this:  Jesus paid it all for you.  The payment is complete and finished.  Therefore, in light of that, any attempt to pay what’s already been paid is a fool’s errand.  Conversely, to demand of another what’s already been paid is an arrogant blasphemy.  Both errors are highlighted in this great story.  That’s why we’ve chosen to end our series with it, over these last two weeks we will spend our time where most of us are stuck.

In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following:

1. Who, in Mark Twain’s opinion, is the greatest storyteller ever? 
2. How can Muslims use the younger son’s story as a defense of their faith?
3. What is the connection between the lost sheep, the lost coin, and this first lost son?
4. What is the problem with the younger son’s request in verse 12?
5. What does “dividing his property between them” mean?
6. What is the nature of the son’s sin in verse 13?
7. What does verse 17 mean when it says, “he came to himself”?
8. Where have we heard the words of verse 18 before?
9. Why does the father run to him when he’s a long way off?
10. What does it mean for the father to give the robe, the ring, the sandals, and the fattened calf in verses 22 and 23?
11. How does this story form the basis for our forgiveness of others?

See you Sunday!

Freeing the Foul

I heard it again this week:  “There are people who hear the message at Hebron that they are sinners and there’s nothing they can do on their own to please God, so they sit on their hands and do nothing.”  Now let’s assume that’s true.  Let’s assume that in light of hearing the Gospel they are immobilized because they have a profound sense of their unworthiness.  And let’s assume that the reason they are phlegmatic is because of their sense of sin rather than their sin itself.  If that’s true, then they have yet to grasp the rest of the Gospel.  The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus came to save sinners!  After all, that’s what the name Jesus means (see Mt. 1:21).

The late Jack Miller of World Harvest Mission used to say that the entire Bible can be summed up in two sentences:  (1) “Cheer up, you are a lot worse than you think you are;” and (2) “Cheer up, the grace of God is a lot bigger than you think it is.”  A friend of mine writes, “When I first heard Jack say that, I knew it was one of those statements that changes lives.  It changed mine.  I got it in a profound way.  Over the years…I have found out that I’m a lot worse than I thought  I was then, and I’m a lot worse than I think I am now.  But I’ve also discovered that the grace of God was not only a lot bigger than I thought it was then, it’s a lot bigger than I think it is now.”  How about you?  Have you come to see the truth of those words in your own life?

It’s those who begin to grasp the depth of their own sin and the overwhelming supply of God’s grace that are set free.  Free of masks.  Free of excuses.  Free of being “found out.”  Free of the fear of not measuring up.  Free of living only for themselves!  You see, the truth of the full Gospel is that for those who are in Christ there’s no more coercion.  We don’t respond to the Gospel out of duty, we respond out of freedom.

Recently I read: “In America you are not required to offer food to the hungry or shelter to the homeless.  There is no ordinance forcing you to visit the lonely or comfort the infirmed.  Nowhere in the Constitution does it say you have to provide clothing for the poor.  In fact, one of the nicest things about living here is that you really don’t have to do anything for anybody.”

And yet, how do you explain the fact that Americans are among the most generous people in the world?  The amount of money we give to charity per year dwarfs all other countries combined.  Why?  While there may be many reasons for this, but chief among them is a lack of coercion. 

My friend writes, “Do-goodism watered by guilt only goes so far and lasts so long.  Do-gooders grow weary and go home.  After they leave, though, those who have been loved keep on loving.  Those who have been forgiven keep on forgiving.  Those who have been rescued stay around to rescue others.  “Why?  Because Jesus always changes hearts.

That’s what we see in the story of Zacchaeus.  He’s worn a mask all his adult life.  He’s sought to hide true identity in very common ways.  But when Jesus finds him, forgives him, and frees him, he responds as a man who’s transformed and set free.  I hope we see all of this and hear all about it this week as we gather around His word and His table. 

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

1. How can authentic ministry be described as a game of hide and seek?
2. How is forgiveness foundational to the story of Zacchaeus?
3. Why does Luke alone record this story?
4. How is Luke 19:1-10 set up by Luke 18:31-43?
5. What does Luke mean when he says in verse 1 that Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through?
6. Why is Zacchaeus named three times in these 11 verses while the blind beggar outside of town remains unnamed?
7. Why does Jesus look up into the tree and address Zacchaeus by name?
8. What is the significance of what Jesus says in verse 5?
9. What does it mean that Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully? (verse 6)
10. Why does Zacchaeus stand and announce his intentions in verse 8?
11. What does Jesus mean when He calls him a son of Abraham? (verse 9)

See you Sunday as we learn more about forgiveness.

The Substitute

Isaiah 53 is one of the Bible passages where I feel like I need to take my "shoes off" (Exodus 3:5).  It is one of the "Songs of the Suffering Servant" found in the book of Isaiah.  The others are Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9 and some include 61:1-3.  Jewish and Christian scholars are not in agreement about who the "Servant" is.  Many Jewish scholars say the "Servant" represents the nation of Israel while Christian scholars  see the "Servant" as Jesus.  The writers of the New Testament certainly believed the passage  was connected with Jesus.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as Peter, Paul, and Phillip all quote Isaiah 53 in speaking of Christ!

One of the most powerful sermons I ever heard was on this text.  Dr. Jesse Boyd of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C. was the preacher that day.  His strong, steady demeanor, large physical frame and deep, powerful voice enhanced his presentation but...it was his gripping expostion of the suffering of Jesus for us that brought tears to my eyes and an overwhelming awe to my heart.  I hope I never forget the impact of that sermon!

Ephesians 1:7 tells us that we have forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.  His shed blood (shed by torture and crucifixion) is the foundation of our forgiveness before God.  This forgiveness is brought about because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin = THE SUBSTITUTE.  Consequently, we are now to also be forgiving of others since the Lord has forgiven us as taught in Colossians 3:13.

Allow me to close with a doxology from Revelation 1:5b, 6b "...To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood...to Him be glory and power forever and ever!  Amen."

See you Sunday!

 

1.  The prophet Isaiah is quoted around 80 times in the New Testament.  Study some of the quotes from Isaiah 53:1-6  found in the N.T.: Matthew 8:17; Mark 9:12; John 12:32; Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 2:24.  Can you locate some other quotes from the book of Isaiah in the N.T.?

 

2.  Isaiah 53 was actually used to help bring the Gospel to Africa.  Read the evangelistic encounter in Acts 8:26-39.  Who is the evangelist (Acts 21:8) and who is the new convert?

 

3.  What is  the connection between Christ's suffering and the forgiveness of our sins?  Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:6

 

4.  The concept of the Substitute is seen in the sacrifices of the Old Terstament where the animal died to "atone'  for the sins of the people.  (Leviticus 6:6,7) How is Jesus described in the following verses?  John 1:29-36; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:6-12

 

5.  Hebron Church foundations its ministry and membership on six essential Bible doctrines.  #5 in our Membership book is "The Substitutionary Death of Christ".  What does that phrase mean?  Can you find Scriptures to define and defend this teaching?

Peter's Question

One of the most famous conversations in Scripture is about forgiveness.  Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone.  Then he followed up his question with his own suggested answer of seven times.  Many believe Peter thought he was giving a magnanimous figure since Rabbis taught that you should only forgive someone three times.  They based this on the Old Testament book of Amos (Ch.1-2).  Amos told how God was going to punish various nations for three sins and for four.  The Rabbis believed that it was that fourth time that brought God's judgment and that people need not go beyond three times.  Some Rabbis felt to do so would be trying to be more forgiving than God!  Thus Peter thought he was going way beyond what was expected!

The Lord Jesus then gave His famous answer of forgiving seventy times seven (KJV) or seventy-seven times (NIV, ESV).  What did Jesus mean?  Was He saying that there is never an accounting for wrong?   Hardly...read Matthew 18:15-17.  Was He teaching that we keep track of how many times we forgive someone?  I don't believe so...He consistently challenged the Pharisees for living by the "letter of the Law".  It would appear that Jesus is teaching that forgiveness ought to be abundant and even "lifelong" in a Christian.  We must avoid becoming hardhearted and unforgiving in our spirit and actions. 

The parable that Jesus taught after His conversation with Peter puts this forgiveness in perspective.  The King represents God and His GREAT forgiveness of us.  We are represented by the servant who was forgiven MUCH. 

Will we like that servant be unforgiving toward others whose earthly wrongs toward us DO NOT compare with our sinfulness toward God or will we forgive because we have been forgiven?  We struggle with this because we often don't consider our sins to be that bad!  And as far as repeated forgiveness...how many times have we asked the Lord to forgive us???  We ask for that EVERY Sunday in the Lord's Prayer!!!

Speaking of Sunday...see you then!

1.  Read Amos 1:9-15 to appreciate the concept of three sins forgiven and then the fourth brings judgment.

2.  What Old Testament character did Jesus possibly have in mind when using 77 as a number of emphasis?  Genesis 4:23-24

3.  When reading the parable in our sermon text there are two amounts of money owed.  Do some research to find out what they might equate to in today's economy and you get a greater appreciation for God's forgiveness and our need to forgive others.  "Nothing that we have to forgive can even faintly or remotely compare with what we have been forgiven." - William Barclay

4.  Our wrong toward God (our sinfulness) is far greater than we can truly comprehend.  Read Romans 3:9-19...it is NOT a pretty picture.  And the cost of our wrong and consequent forgiveness is far greater than we can truly comprehend as well.  Read Isaiah 53:4-6

5.  Read again the last verse of our sermon text, Matthew 18:35.  On a scale of 1-10, rate the importance Jesus places of forgiving others.

Casting Stones

This week marks the eighth week of our series on forgiveness, “The Heart of the Matter.”  The number eight in biblical numerology represents “new beginnings” and that’s exactly what we see in this eighth message from John 8.  The richness the new beginning provided by forgiveness is on livid display as Jesus stoops and writes on the ground, and then pronounces the first of His two judgments, “You who are without sin, cast the first stone.”  Then He follows that judgment with another, “Neither do I condemn you…”   And it’s this second judgment He renders that seems to be more than many Christians can take.

Nearly 30 years ago Lloyd Ogilvie asked Roger Fredrikson to author a commentary of the Gospel of John for his Communicator’s Commentary Series.  Now Fredrikson is a Baptist who has pastored churches in Kansas and South Dakota. He’s one Ogilvie describes as possessing excellent scholarship, knowledge of the original Greek and Hebrew, a sensitivity to people’s needs, and a vivid illustrative ability.  However, when Fredrikson gets to John 7:53-8:11 he seems afflicted with the same myopia that has afflicted many throughout the centuries.

When St. Augustine came to these 12 verses he concluded that they were “subscriptural”.  He recommended that they be excised from sacred writ because they may encourage women toward infidelity.  Others like Fredrikson see this story as strangely out of place in the flow of John’s intense tabernacle dialogue.  Fredrikson notes, “…the account is inserted with somewhat artificial transitional language.  It is almost certain that this account was not written by the Apostle John, for neither the language nor the style of writing are his.”  And he’s not alone.  There are an abundance of Bible scholars who would agree with him.

However, there is excellent scholarship that takes a contrary view.  A.W. Pink, for instance, suggests that the reader try to read chapters seven and eight without the benefit of 7:53-8:11.  It is awkward at best.  But far more important than that is the fact that this encounter with this woman, and the scribes and Pharisees who maliciously use her to entrap Jesus, can only be properly understood within the context of John’s “tabernacle dialogue”.  Indeed, the context of the passage is critical for anyone attempting to grasp the significance of Jesus’ words and actions here in the early morning hours of a Jerusalem autumn.

Last week, in our examination of Jesus’ encounter with the scribes and Pharisees, at that packed house in Capernaum, we noted the importance of not missing the forest for the trees.  We noted that the tile roof, the ownership of the house, the presence of the four friends, and the posture of the scribes and Pharisees are examples of trees.  They are the details that often put the focus of the interpreter on the trees rather than the good news of divine forgiveness.

This week’s story, however, is equally loaded with detail, and yet every detail seems to enhance one’s view of the power of forgiveness. While the essence of this encounter is the same as that of Luke 5:17-26, Jesus’ dealings with this unfaithful woman dramatically sharpen our understanding of how Christ’s forgiveness alone can meet our deepest need. 

How does Jesus’ response to the challenge of the scribes and Pharisees shine the light on the heart of the Gospel, forgiveness?  And how does His forgiveness of this woman in the wake of His profound and penetrating use of the law free us to live with satisfied, glory-filled hearts?  Those are the questions we bring to our study this Sunday.

In preparation for Sunday’s message, the eighth in the series of thirteen, you may wish to consider the following:

1. Why would any Christian want to excise this story from the Scriptures?
2. How true is it to say that for most Christians their default position is their own righteousness?
3. What is the Feast of Tabernacles and how does it play into this encounter?
4. How do the enemies of Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees, demonstrate their own sin by bringing this woman to Jesus?
5. What is their charge against her?
6. How does their question put Jesus on “the horns of a dilemma” (vs. 4-5)?
7. What is the significance of Jesus bending down and writing with His finger in the ground? (See Exodus 31)
8. What is the Old Testament parallel to Jesus bending down and writing twice?
9. Why do the enemies walk away from the oldest to the youngest?
10. What does Jesus mean when He says to her, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more?”
11. How does that mirror what He’s said to you?

 See you Sunday!

Diagnosing the Problem

There are few people I’ve known longer or loved more than my friend, Mike.  Mike and I met in Washington, D. C. at the end of the Carter Administration.  He was at the Department of Education and I was at the Environmental Protection Agency.  He loved to play golf and I did too, so we became fast friends.  We played golf all around the D.C. area and beyond.  When the Kemper Open was held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland for several years, we both caddied.  In fact, he had Doug Ford’s bags, the former PGA champion and Masters champion. 


In the early days of our friendship I remember him saying things that I’ve never forgotten, like his dream was to open a bar one day and call it “Tired of Trying.”  (He’s never done it.)  I remember once sitting around with a group of friends and we were talking about the hardest thing we ever had to do.  One woman talked about the struggles she went through when her best friend died.  Another said, “When I was ten my mother got sick with a terminal illness and I remember all the pain it caused my father and siblings.”  Another said, “I think the hardest thing I ever experienced was the betrayal of my friend.”  Then, after all the reflections of carnage, it was Mike’s turn and he said, I think the hardest thing I ever experienced was driving to Florida without my glasses!”  After the stares and muffled laughs subsided he told about hitchhiking home from college for Spring break and falling asleep in the back of a stranger’s truck.  When the driver got to the “drop spot”, he shouted for him to wake up and get out; and Mike did, without his glasses.  I think he said his glasses went to Rochester and he went to Bethlehem, picked up a car, and drive to Florida.

I could regale you with such stories for hours.  He was one of my groomsmen.  I officiated at his wedding.  But the reason I tell you all of this is that a few weeks ago my dear friend was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and he’s scared to death.  I’ve never seen him so scared.  And one of the reason’s is that he doesn’t know Christ, yet.  For Mike, and so many others,  this world is a “closed system.”

Last week I was able to take some time to visit with him and his wife.  For two days I engaged in their new routine, including a trip to Cleveland for a radiation treatment.  Throughout our time together there were laughs and tears, and something we’d never done – praying together, holding hands.  Interestingly, and understandably, every time I’d pray, Mike would convulse in silent sobs.  Mike’s desperate.  The all-consuming focus of his life is the terror of this tumor.

I will refer to an incident that happened last Friday night with Mike and his wife in the message on Sunday, because it closely parallels the story Luke tells us in 5:17-26.  Just like the paralyzed man and his four friends who carry him to Jesus, Mike needs the same encounter with Jesus they had.  Like the paralytic, he needs to hear those same words from Jesus.  Here in a house on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus instantly diagnoses the problem and offers the perfect remedy – Forgiveness.  As we will see on Sunday, just as forgiveness is the heart of the Gospel, forgiveness is the heart of the cathartic healing we all need.

In preparation for Sunday’s message entitled “Diagnosing the Problem,” you may wish to read Luke 5:17-26 and Isaiah 6:1-7 and consider the following:

1. How important is the “paralytic” story?
2. How important do you think it is to Luke?
3. What parallels do you find between Luke 5:1-9 and Luke 5:17-26?
4. You’ve heard the expression, “Missing the forest for the trees.”  What is the forest here?  What are some of the trees?
5. Why does Jesus address the man as “man” and not “son”, or “my child”?
6. Whose faith prompts Jesus’ statement of forgiveness?
7. Why does Jesus focus first on the man’s sins rather than his suffering?
8. What do you think of this statement?  “I think that when God wants to play a really rotten joke on you, He grants you your deepest wish?”
9. Whose thoughts does Jesus perceive in verse 22?
10. What is easier - to forgive sin or heal paralysis?  Why?
11. How does this story inform someone like my friend Mike?

See you Sunday! 

Loved by the Lord

Years ago there was a commercial on TV about a President of a company who had called in his sales department to tell them he wasn’t satisfied with the way the company was doing their business, and things were going to change.  The company had forgotten the importance of face-to-face interaction,  and were dependent on letters, phone calls, and faxes to create new and maintain former clients.  Things needed to change and he passed out airline tickets to different cities (it was a commercial for an airline), and everybody was returning to personal interaction.  At the the end of the commercial the President had a ticket for himself to use, and someone asks him where is he going.  The President replied, “to see an old friend.”

Our scripture for this week is the conclusion of a familiar story in the Old Testament, David’s night of interrupted sleep with Bathsheba which included lust, adultery, deceit, murder, a cover-up, and long term family turmoil.  This is a type of story CNN, Fox News, or tabloid papers fight to report first and embellish, not something we like to read in the Bible.  However, many of us know this story and I encourage you to re-read 11 Samuel chapters 11 and 12.  Maybe our “symptoms” of sin are different than David’s, but regardless of what our sin is, we have learned through this sermon series even when our sin is “bad to the bone,”  forgiveness is the heart of the matter of the Gospel.     

Some other familiar passages you may want to read before Sunday are Psalm 51, Romans 3:9-31, II Corinthians 5:16-21, and I John 1:5-10.   The following questions may help us as we prepare for receiving God’s Word.

1. Is there anything that stirs your imagination in the parable Nathan told David when he confronted David with his sin?
2. How seriously did God look at David’s sin, and was there any judgment or punishment handed out when Nathan declared to David, “The Lord has taken away your sin.”
3. At the end of II Samuel 12 the servants were afraid to tell David his son had died, and obviously they didn’t understand the change in David’s behavior after hearing of his son’s death.  What do you think are some of the reasons for their fear and confusion?
4. When we read Psalm 51 today, is there any conviction, comfort, or promises which stir you to come before the Lord?
5. Is there anything unusual you don’t see in Psalm 51?