Forgiveness

Introduction

A. There are certain things that are universally true about human beings. We need certain things to live in this world—food, clothing, shelter. We want to love and be loved. We want a sense of security. We want our lives to matter in someway and to someone. That is, we want a sense of purpose for life. It is this last truth that is hotly debated. Some believe that life has no purpose other than to achieve as much pleasure as possible in the 70 years given. Others see that life has purpose in trying to make this world a better place to live. Commendable to be sure. Still others see that life has purpose in living for God which includes not only trying to make this world a better place but to prepare us all for the world yet to come.

B. The vast majority of us believe that life’s purpose is found in living for God. When our purpose of life is less than God intends, then sin comes. To live for pleasure is to bring sin; to live life to make this world better leads to good things being done even unselfish things, but with no view of what is to come, this life has the potential to bring the sin of self satisfaction and pride. Tank’s article this week reminded us that when we focus on self even the good things fail to impress because pride takes over.

C. Our text this morning is a reflection on the character of God. It is an opportunity for us to see God more fully. And what we see is that our God has the capacity to forgive even when deeply offensive sins are committed. What is even more amazing is that the God who has the capacity to forgive the most heinous of sins has given us the capacity to do the same. Not only the capacity but calls us to forgive as he has forgiven. This is one of the great challenges that we have in this world. It is also one of the areas that we can demonstrate that our purpose in this world is found in living for God. This is our challenge.

The Text

A. At the end of Exodus 19, we have Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the law from God. For 40 days and nights, Moses listens to God and receives the written law. From chapters 20 through 31, we have much of the law. And in chapter 32 we see trouble arising among the people as they wait for Moses to come down from the mountain. Waiting is hard. The people tired of waiting and in their uncertainty they had Aaron build a golden calf for them to worship. Moses returns to camp to find the people engaging in multiple violations against God’s law. In his anger, Moses destroys the written tablets containing God’s word. Thousands are killed for their disobedience. But the worst is yet to come. In chapter 33, God announces to Moses and to the people that he will not go with them to the promised land. He will send his angel to lead them; he will not abandon them, but he will not go.

B. Moses is in great distress. Without God’s presence, Moses doesn’t want to continue. In 33:12-13, Moses pleads for himself and his people. He asks that God not leave him and that he remember that he is the ultimate leader of these people. And in 33:14, God relents. He promises to go with Moses and to give Moses rest. But an interesting thing happens. Emboldened by God’s desire to listen, Moses asks to see God face to face. Having for 40 days heard the voice of God, Moses wants to see God. God’s response is that to do so would mean that Moses would die, but he will allow him to see his back. And it is from this text that we get the song “He hides my soul in the cleft of the rock and covers me there with His hand.”

C. And protected by God’s mighty hand, Moses is allowed not only to see the back of God but to hear how God describes himself. God declares himself to be compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abundantly loving and faithful, loving to thousands of generations and able to forgive wickedness, rebellion, and sin. He further declares that he will punish but unlike love which goes on and on, his punishment ends. God’s self-description became the way Israel was encouraged to see God from this point on. So that by the time of Jonah, God’s character is so tied up in his willingness to forgive that Jonah doesn’t want to go preach in Ninevah for fear that they will repent of sin and God will not punish them.

Application

A. God is a forgiving God. His desire is to be gracious. He wants to be in relationship with his people. He loves more deeply than we can ever imagine. The God that Moses saw is such a God. And to demonstrate how serious he is about forgiveness, God came into the world to love, extend grace, mercy, and love, and to forgive.

B. Jesus forgave sins of two that we know, but he also taught about forgiveness. In Luke 6:37 he said, “Do not judge and you will not be judge, do not condemn and you will not be condemn, forgive and you will be forgiven.” It isn’t just that our own forgiveness is directly related to how well we forgive, it is that God in the flesh says this is the attitude we are to have. We are to have a forgiving attitude. The context is to imitate God. In Luke 6:35, “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God is filled with mercy. So are his people.

C. Paul says the same thing in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” God has forgiven. It is his character and nature to forgive. He wants to forgive. And we who claim to be his disciples want to be just like him. We want to be those who are quick to forgive.

D. Our vision statement says “we each recognize our need for the Great Physician. We each recognize that we are sinners and that we need to be encouraged and strengthened in our spiritual journey. Just as we have tried to build a spirit of community, family, and acceptance, we want to spread this same spirit beyond our walls.”

E. This is our purpose. We forgive in the same way as we have been forgiven. As we noticed a couple of weeks ago, the depth of our love is directly tied to our recognition of having been forgiven. If we have been forgiven much, we love much. Our love for God and for others is directly tied to how much we have been forgiven. But someone says, I want to forgive but I cannot forget what has happened. Aren’t we supposed to “forgive and forget?” Hogwash. As human beings we do not forget but we can still forgive. Forgiveness allows us to wipe the slate clean. It allows us to start again. Someone says, “But I can’t trust the person anymore.” Sometimes you can’t. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that relationship is always restored to the way it was before. But forgiveness does mean that we no longer have to treat that person as if the actions are all we see. We see the possibility of a new relationship—different, but new. We don’t forget, but we don’t bring up the past either. Forgiveness means we let the past go so that we can move forward.

F. What about consequences? Even in our attempt to forgive we want justice. How did God settle that issue? How was God able to forgive and get justice at the same time? You know the answer. Jesus took our sin. He took our consequences. He took our punishment. Justice was done. God no longer holds our sin against us. He doesn’t bring up the past. And like him we forgive. Invitation.

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