My wife and I recently began attending a new church – to be more precise, a “church plant” that is seeking to officially launch sometime at the beginning of next year. As part of the “launch team” we are encouraged to attend one of the church plant’s Gospel Community Groups – a smaller group that meets twice a month to fellowship, grow in our understanding of the Gospel, and share our life experiences with one another. These smaller groups have been instrumental in creating “community” amongst the church body and cultivating our growth as Christians. Currently, we are going through a series called Gospel in Life by Timothy Keller. Our last lesson focused on generosity towards our neighbor and how God’s grace serves as a catalyst to have mercy on those in need – it was a deeply moving lesson and discussion. However, two of the scriptures used in the lesson really got me thinking about how God’s grace and mercy towards me should manifest itself not only in my generosity towards others, but also in my unconditional love and forgiveness towards others. Let’s start off with a brief overview on grace.
I should preface this with the fact that I am not attempting to define the specific theological positions of our church plant – it is not my place to do so, however, I simply wish to outline our beliefs as I understand them. Our church plant is considered “reformed” in its theology indicating that our beliefs are rooted in the Protestant Reformation which, generally speaking, upholds the absolute authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, and salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. Reformed theology was prominently influenced by French theologian John Calvin and its doctrine on salvation can be summarized by the Five Points of Calvinism, also known as the doctrines of grace. In a nutshell, the Five Points of Calvinism attempt to explain God’s sovereign grace in relation to our salvation. Briefly stated, in our completely sinful nature we are unable to choose to follow God and, therefore, God has predestined whom He will save unto His glory based on no merit of our own, has drawn us to believe in Christ through His irresistible grace, has paid the price for our sin and thus secured and assured our salvation. Completely absent and irrelevant are our own good deeds, morals, character, or any other factor by which we think we may merit salvation – it is all dependent on God’s grace manifested through His mercy. Seriously consider that for a moment – it is all dependent on God’s grace. We can take no credit for our salvation.
In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells the parable of The Unforgiving Servant. To paraphrase, in the parable a king is seeking to settle debts with his servants. One servant owed the king 10,000 talents (1 talent = 20 years’ wages) – an impossible debt to repay. Since he could not pay, the master ordered as punishment that he be sold with his wife, children, and all that he owned. After pleading with the king, the king released the servant and forgave him his debt. Immediately following this, the servant went out and found a fellow servant whom owed him 100 denarii (20 weeks’ wages). Choking him, the servant demanded that he be repaid, sending his fellow servant to prison until he could do so. Upon receiving word of this, the king summoned the servant, chastising him because he had been forgiven of his debt, yet had failed to have mercy on his fellow servant. The king then ordered that the servant be imprisoned until he could repay his debt – which would never occur. Jesus concludes the parable by stating that “also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
As I considered the meaning of the parable, I was deeply convicted. The crux of it is this – God in His mercy and grace has forgiven us our great debt and provided atonement in Jesus Christ. My sin was that impossible debt and God provided payment for it because I could not. The thought of God’s grace has only begun to permeate my mind and heart and I am just beginning to experience the overwhelming love that is revealed in His mercy. As this has been revealed to me, I now understand how wrong it is of me to deny someone else that same mercy that I have been shown by God – to deny forgiveness though I have been forgiven and to withhold love although Christ has loved me. Jesus calls us to forgive our brother from our heart and even to love our enemies showing the mercy our Father has shown us (Luke -36). This can only be done by a heart that has been transformed by God through the realization of who we are and what He has done for us. I am the same sinner that my brother is, no better than he is, and just as guilty as he is. The study notes in my Bible said it well – “A transformed heart must result in a changed life that offers the same mercy and forgiveness as has been received from God. Someone who does not grant forgiveness to others shows that his own heart has not experienced God’s forgiveness.”
I pray that God would allow us to experience His forgiveness to the depths of our heart. I pray that we would forgive those who have wronged us, harmed us, or wished ill will against us. I pray that we would love our enemies and fellow brothers and sisters, despite any differences between us – that God would renew our minds and transform our hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment