- Forgiveness
During the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7, Jesus spends a few moments teaching about prayer and praying with the right attitude. Matthew inserts what is commonly called The Lord’s Prayer in 6:9-13, and adds these words in verses 14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
It’s interesting to note that Jesus stresses the need for a forgiving heart while He’s teaching about praying with a right attitude, but forgiveness is really what the Gospel is all about, isn’t it? It was for the forgiveness of our sins that Christ was sent into our world, to die for our sins and bring forgiveness from the Father. Without Calvary, there is no atonement, and without atonement, there is no redemption, and without redemption, there is no forgiveness. Forgiveness is central to the Gospel and what God expects of us.
The clearest example of what Christ means by forgiveness is found in Luke 23:34. Jesus had stood before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate (as well as Herod, according to Luke’s account). Jesus had been wrongfully accused and condemned. Though Pilate repeatedly denied Jesus’ guilt before the angry mob, nonetheless he had Jesus flogged and ridiculed by the Roman soldiers. Now, Jesus has been led to Calvary, carrying the crossbeam of the cross upon which He will hang. When they reached the mount, Jesus was thrown down to the ground, His arms stretched out across the crossbeam and there the soldiers hammered nails into the wrist of the Savior. He was then roughly lifted up and hung on the cross.
It is during this process that Jesus utters His first of seven statements from the cross. As Jesus begins to hang between God and man, between heaven and earth, He calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). A few things stand out. First, it is highly doubtful the Romans wanted to be forgiven or even thought they had done anything worthy of forgiving. Sure, they knew that crucifixions were brutal and torturous, but it was something they had done many times. They were just following orders. It was nothing personal; the person being crucified apparently deserved it.
Second, Jesus’ forgiveness was complete and sincere. He knew what was happening, and He knew that the Romans were ignorant of the events that were taking place on that hill on that day. He alone understood the full import of the actions of the men who crucified them, and yet He found the time and energy to forgive them. They didn’t ask it, but that was beside the point. Jesus forgave them.
Sometimes, we won’t forgive or forget. We’ll hold grudges until our dying breath if we have to. But that’s not what God wants. With Jesus’ example, we return to the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: Forgive those who sin against you, and the Father will forgive you. It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command.
What does God want of us? He wants us to unconditionally forgive those who wrong us.
- Peacemaker
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everybody” (Romans 8:18).
“Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18).
Peace in the Christian context is the absence of conflict, first between God and His people, then between the people themselves. As is always the case, a right standing with God must precede any right relationship with any person. That’s why the Ten Commandments start with commandments relating to God before getting to the things relating to people. The peace that the Bible speaks of and that God expects of us is a result of reconciliation and is the outgrowth of the “What does God require of us?” questions in Micah and John.
The right relationship with God brings with it “. . . the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7a). This peace grows out of an ability to rejoice in the Lord in all circumstances. Such an ability grows out of our faith in God’s ability to overcome circumstances, accompanied by prayer and thanksgiving (cf. Philippians 4:4-7).
It is worth noting that the peace we are to extend into our world is, like the Golden Rule, determined by our actions. It is a proactive way of living, not reactive. That’s what Paul meant in his instructions to the Romans quoted above, and it comes out of the relationship Jesus described in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.
It’s not easy to live at peace with everyone. There are some that simply do not want to be at peace. As an attorney, I tried to get along with all the other attorneys, reasoning that by being agreeable we were more like to avoid costly court hearings. If we could come to the court with a pre-arranged agreement between the parties involved, the judge was more than likely going to approve the agreement. Unfortunately, there were one or two attorneys who didn’t see the point of agreements. In those instances, we would have to go before a judge, make our pleas before him and await the result. I won some, I lost some. But every time we had a hearing, part of me thought everyone lost.
The work toward peace is difficult, but, as James points out, it is a rewarding endeavor. Christ was not afraid of confrontation, but I don’t believe He was confrontational in His actions towards those who disagreed with Him. In everything, I believe Jesus led the example of what it means to live at peace with everyone as much as it was in His power. See the way He treated the woman caught in adultery and the way He treated her accusers. Notice even the way He acted when He stood before the Sanhedrin accused of trumped up charges that would ultimately lead to Calvary. Jesus understood that confrontation was not always (hardly ever, in fact) successful, hence His admonition to not cast pearls before swine. If someone doesn’t want to listen, there’s no need to belabor a point. Say what needs to be said in a peaceful, loving manner. If it isn’t received, dust the sand from your sandals and move on to the next town (cf. Luke 10:8-12).
And also realize that the gospel is not met with peace but with hostility. Jesus teaches that His message will cause division, according to Luke 12:49-53. John 18:18-25 tells us that the world hates Him, and, by extension, His followers. It’s to be expected. Still, we are called to be peacemakers, to live at peace with each other as far it is within our power, and to sow peace.
What does God require of us? To live at peace with Him and with one another.
- Obedience/awareness of Christ’s commands
In the Great Commission recorded at the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus assures us that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. He then instructs us, as we are living our daily lives, to make disciples, “. . . baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The implication of the command is that we who teach others to obey His commands must also be obedient to Him.
In John 14:23-24, Jesus told His disciples in the Upper Room, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teachings. My Father will love Him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching.”
There are other passages where Jesus talks about the need to not only hear what He says, but we are also to do them. After Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, He tells them, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am” (John 13:13). He then points out that His example is expected to be followed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, wrote that it is impossible to have Jesus as Lord and tell Him ‘no.’ If Jesus is Lord, then His will must be done, and we do not have that option to tell Him ‘no.’ No servant has ever had the right to tell the master, “I’d rather not,” and get away with it. That is not the role of the master-servant relationship. If Jesus Christ is Lord, we must obey Him. Not because we have to, but because we want to. We trust Him and His ways to be the right ways, the best ways, the only ways, and therefore we obey.
What does God require of us? He expects us to trust Him and obey His will.
Conclusion
These few pages are scratching the surface of all that God requires of us.
The truth be told, the only real way to truly discern all that God requires is to be an avid student of the Bible, a prayer warrior and one who is completely in tune with the Spirit of God that indwells His disciples.
Still, I believe the suggestions made above are a good start in leading us to grow closer to the One who calls us and works with us to bring reconciliation and peace to us and to the world.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty