Yesterday it was pointed out the tension that exists between the Word and the world. We established that these two viewpoints will mainly collide and it will be a constant challenge for us as believers to resist the fleshly reactions of the world. I will always try to drive home the necessity for belief in God’s Word as absolute truth from beginning to end. If we are ever going to succeed in the Christian walk we must believe that God is truth and His Word reveals the wisdom of God.
However, we have a tendency to begin to question the goodness and truth of God when things get hard. We automatically associate the things that are best with the things that are pleasurable. Isn’t that the easier thing? If that were always the case then following Christ would be appealing to everyone. On the contrary, God is repeatedly calling us to deny self, take up our cross and follow Him. We are looking for a God of comfort rather than a God of conviction. As we begin our study on forgiveness let’s commit to work hard and cast off the desire to stay comfortable. Let’s challenge ourselves to open up to the healing that forgiveness brings no matter how hard it may seem.
Our main text for the next few days will be Matthew 18. We are going to read the chapter in its entirety to give us context for what we are studying. Please read Matthew 18.
Okay, I know some of you are scratching your heads at this point trying to see where all of this ties into forgiveness! Bear with me, it will make more sense as we move along. In all of chapter 18 Jesus is addressing His disciples with one continuous teaching. This is important because we always need to understand the audience. If Jesus had been preaching to the masses or addressing the religious hypocrites of the day then the passage might have taken on a different meaning. This would be a good time to point out a key point to remember when studying scripture: there are no chapter and verse divisions in the original writings. These divisions were added later for clarity and organization but they are not inspired. So, when you are reading a chapter it may not always be one complete teaching from beginning to end. Fortunately, in this case, it is.
Okay, if we look back in verse one we see that the disciples have come to Jesus with a simple question: “Who will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” That’s an honest question. Wouldn’t you like to know how to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven? At the top of the totem pole for all eternity? Jesus immediately answers their question by using the example of a little child as a representative of great humility and dependence. So, Jesus begins by instructing on humility in v. 1-6. The nature of a little child is one of total dependence upon another. Children have complete trust that their needs will be met. They don’t have the same anxieties and worries that adults have.
I can remember being a child and my only concern was what was for dinner, what came on t.v. that particular night of the week and who I was going to play with that day. I lived in total ignorance of the problems and anxieties that were swirling around me. That innocence lasts for such a short period of time. All too soon we become saturated with the cares of the world. Jesus is calling us back to utter dependence on Him, just like a child.
From there Jesus goes on to teach in v. 7-10 about stumbling blocks. The word stumbling block actually means “trap or trap door”. If you have ever seen a homemade rabbit trap there is usually some kind of bait deep inside a box. The animal goes after the bait. Once the bait is moved it triggers the trap door to shut thus trapping the animal inside. This is what scripture means when it talks about stumbling blocks – things that deceive us. Whatever it is that causes you to be deceived, trapped or stumble should be cut off! Although it is necessary to point out that Jesus doesn’t mean for us to walk around looking like Pirates with a patch over our eye, a hook for a hand and a peg leg. He is simply driving home the seriousness of dealing with things that would deceive us and cause us to stumble.
So, let’s stop and quickly recap. Jesus begins his instruction to His disciples addressing the necessity of humility. He then goes on to teach on stumbling blocks. Hang with me here, it will come together, I promise.
The next section of teaching begins in v.11 and runs through v. 14. However, if your Bible is like mine there may be a sub-heading at the beginning of v. 12. Remember how I said that there were no original chapter and verse divisions? This is a perfect example of how we have to be careful to follow scripture in the context of what is going on around it. If we simply take one verse or a section of verses and try to make them stand alone then we run the risk of misinterpreting what it really means.
The parable of the lost sheep, at first glance, seems to be a separate topic but as we look closer we find it has a great deal to do with forgiveness. The one sheep that has “strayed” or as some translations say “lost” is an example of one who has been deceived. Let me take a moment here to drive this point home. In John 10: 1-16 Jesus makes two of His poignant “I AM” statements, “I AM the door of the sheep” and “I AM the good Shepherd”. In His discourse He is driving home the point that His sheep know Him and follow Him. It is easy to draw the conclusion that the opposite is true as well: those that are not His sheep do not know Him and do not follow Him.
In ancient middle eastern cultures, shepherds took care of one particular flock for life because sheep are loyal creatures of habit. They quickly became acquainted with the voice of their shepherd and would only follow his call. Sheep are so sensitive to the unique call of their shepherd that many shepherds (as in the account of the birth of Christ) could abide in the same field without a concern for sheep getting lost or following the wrong shepherd. The only reason a sheep might get lost would be due to straying too far from the shepherd so as not to hear the call or if it stayed on the fringes of the flock putting it in danger of being eaten by wolves. Pretty amazing huh?
The concept of the lost sheep would have caused the disciples to take note because something would have caused this one sheep to stray from his shepherd. What is the reaction of the shepherd? He leaves the ninety-nine sheep to go search for the one that is lost! There are a lot of conclusions we could draw here but the overarching theme is that of RESTORATION. The shepherd goes after the straying sheep in order to restore it to the flock. This paints such a vivid picture of the necessity of restoration when someone has strayed.
We have a responsibility to go after those who have been deceived and are straying. I don’t know if you had the chance to read the post prior to this series about “being a Nathan”? If not, I encourage you to read it. We have gotten into the mindset that we are not responsible for the actions of other people - that each of us is autonomous or responsible only for ourselves. This is never the case! Although we are not held accountable for the individual sins of another we are accountable for others. In the case of an unbelieving world we are responsible for accurately and consistently reflecting the glory of God, making much of Christ and evangelizing the lost. In the case of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ we are responsible! We are responsible for not presenting ourselves as a stumbling block.
Scripture is very clear about this, even in this chapter. Remember what Jesus says in v. 7 about stumbling blocks? “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come but woe to that (wo)man through whom the stumbling block comes. The entire chapter of Romans 14 on into the first few verses of chapter 15 is dedicated solely to this truth.
I want to close today by driving this home. Ladies, I am sorrowed over how much I hear today out of the mouths of women who profess the name of Christ about their “Christian liberty”. We are brash and rebellious about our rights and we are demanding about what we deserve. We have lashed out so far against the legalistic Jesus movement of the 70’s that the pendulum has swung heavily in the opposite direction. We are no longer concerned about what people think or how we appear to others, unbelieving or believing. We have no regard for the struggles in others lives and we are quick to cast a stone toward someone who would “judge” otherwise.
We have used our Christian liberty which was given in order to EDIFY others as a cloak to justify our own sinful desires! I watch as the church runs head long into the enjoyment of the things of this world. We barely stand out anymore. We dress like the world, we watch what the world does, we socialize like the world and we even “worship” like the world. We have lost our flavor as salt and our light, in contrast to their darkness, has become dim.
We are called to be different! Not just in what we profess with our mouths but in how we live. There should be a noticeable difference. God set Israel APART from other nations. He calls us to be set apart. He says, “Be holy as I am holy.” People should notice that I don’t talk the way they do. People should notice I don’t dress the way they do. People should notice that there are places I don’t go and things I don’t do. I don’t have to say a word, I can just do it! And then, when they notice, and believe me, they will take notice, I can speak of the reason that my life is different.
The point? Why is there a need for the world to desire what it already is? In other words, if the world only sees the world when it looks at us then how does it know there is anything different to be desired? It doesn’t see the change, it sees itself. As we look at forgiveness we will find that we are to respond “other than” the world. It will be hard, it will uncomfortable, it will be good and it will be right. Oh yes, and it will be different!
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