Forgiveness is a Matter of Honor II
Forgiveness: The Foundation For Evangelism, part 1
By Gary L. Cox
Matthew 18:1-6, 10-15
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. …Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of my Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
The Nature of the Gospel is Forgiveness
God has woven the ministry of the Gospel of forgiveness into the ordinary fabric of life. Forgiveness gives God's value to a person that sins against you, and declares that the offender is worth redeeming at the greatest personal cost. The entire motive for evangelism springs from this concept of forgiveness. You cannot really forgive until you see the great value and need of the one who has sinned against you. The best part of forgiveness is that it becomes the means to genuine spiritual ministry with an eternal benefit to yourself and the one you forgive. This is because forgiveness requires you to clarify the trespass or sin against you so that you identify the area of reconciliation and the substance of forgiveness. You cannot preach the Gospel without practicing forgiveness, for preaching offers forgiveness.
Forgiveness surrenders judgment. Beware of any attempt not to resolve a matter based on forgiveness. If you demand to get what you think are your "just deserts", you are not walking in forgiveness. The moment you demand retribution, you demand God's judgment and not his mercy. Do you really want what you deserve? Forgiving someone a debt means you let go of your temporal loss in order to benefit another person's eternal soul.
Humble Yourself and Be Converted as a "Little Child".
There are four attitudes necessary to walk in forgiveness to others. The first is conversion. Conversion means to be transformed through humility so that you value others as God values them. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (vs. 3) Forgiveness of others requires your own conversion as a "little child". In the Greek, "conversion" literally means to turn about, to turn around, to repent. Through conversion you turn about and take God's value of a soul and you suffer the spoiling of your own goods for them. You can forgive when you see your temporal loss as an eternal gain for another. Conversion means to turn from self-trust to simple child-like trust in God. No one has ever been converted until he has let go of the things that he holds dear and embraces the things that are esteemed by God. Humble yourself and become as a little child.
You need spiritual revelation to see as God sees. Naturally speaking, it is impossible for the human spirit to release what it values. It is natural for man to hold onto what appears most precious and to prefer it over what is not. Forgiveness is not just arbitrarily letting go of offenses as if they do not matter. Forgiveness requires conversion, that is, a deep inward recognition of what is valuable in God's eyes. With God's revelation, your heart can embrace what is greater. (This revelation, of course is a work of grace alone. See Matthew 13, the parable of the treasure in the field, and the pearl of great price.)
It is imperative to understand what value is at the core in a matter of forgiveness. You cannot forgive unless you value people as God values them. And yet the joy is this, as God gives you His perspective of what is valuable, He quickens you to honor it. Forgiveness is a matter of honor.
Receive God's "Little Children".
Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (vs. 4) Now the second attitude is to receive God's "little children". There are two aspects to this. First, you must recognize who is a "little child"; second, you must receive such a "little child" as if you are receiving Christ himself. Receiving a needy soul gives them value, but it also gives you that same value. After conversion, God sees you as a "little child" and you can see others in the same light. A "little child" is the object of God's forgiveness. A "little child" is anyone who needs salvation. To receive a "little child" requires you to extend God's forgiveness to them.
Open your heart and welcome those whom God himself offers forgiveness. You need to receive people who have need, they have value in the eyes of God, and you must welcome them as God does. Forgiveness is not just for you. Christ died for you, but he did not die just for you, he died for all. Open your heart to every one of God's "little children".
Do Not Offend a "Little Child".
Thirdly, not only are you to receive but you are also not to offend a "little child". "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in you, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea." (Verse 6)
To offend does not mean to hurt another's feelings. An offense is any behavior that causes temptation to sin in another's life. Feeling upset that somebody wronged you is not an offense. Whenever you deal with the word "offense" you are dealing with an occasion of sin.
It is important to understand that the concept of offense focuses on taking responsibility for those who sin against you in such a way that you avoid sin and are not an occasion for somebody else to sin. "Woe unto the world because of offenses for it must needs be that offenses come but woe be to the man by whom the offense cometh." (verse 7) Two things stand out here. First, you are not going to get through this life without offenses coming at you. You will experience circumstances caused by others that will tempt you to sin or violate your conscience toward God. No one will escape offenses. Second, be careful not to offend, those who cause offenses will answer to God. Beware of inconsiderate living. Your words and actions impact others with real consequence. We are responsible for the influence we have on those who are most impressionable and under our care.
Despise not God's "Little Children", Honor them!
Fourth, do not despise one of God's "little children". "Take head that ye despise not one of these little ones." (Verse 10) A "little child" is one who believes in Jesus. (verse 6) Verse 10, extends this to include all whom God is seeking to save. A "little child" is not just a person who is "saved" at the moment, but is anyone who has the need of salvation and whom the Holy Spirit is wooing to be saved. Here is the inseparable link between evangelism and forgiveness. Those needing forgiveness are the object of the Gospel. Evangelism focuses on bringing reconciliation to a "little one" who has sinned and is in need of forgiveness. We are called to honor those for whom Christ died.
"Their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." (vs.10) It is marvelous how Christ points to the value of a "little child" in this passage. He talks about their angels who are in heaven looking into the face of God. When dealing with needy sinners, remember there are angels present who are also looking at the Father's face in heaven. The heavenly values of God are present in His angels. May this helpful perspective remind us of God's value of every soul who sins against us.
Another evidence of the value of every soul is the stated reason why Christ came to earth, "For the son of man is come to save that which is lost." (Verse 11) Here Jesus gives a parable of the hundred sheep and the one who is gone astray. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and seeks for the one who is lost. And when he finds it he rejoices more for the one sheep than for the ninety-nine which did not go astray. "Even so it is not the will of your father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." (vs. 14) A "little child" is a lost soul of such value that special care and effort are exerted in order to bring the lost one back to the fold. Forgiveness is a matter of honor.
Can you begin to see how God's value must enter into your view of others? Someone has sinned against you and a debt is incurred, and the Lord says, "Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost, go and do likewise". Preaching the Gospel means that you walk in forgiveness toward those who are lost. This forgiveness includes taking initiative to go after one who wrongs you and sacrificing so that they might be reconciled to you and God. To sacrifice for another's need is to give them honor, forgiveness is a sacrifice of honor.
Today is the day of God's longsuffering. This longsuffering is the occasion by which God is seeking to save those who are lost. It is not important today that you recover your loss from other people's sin. Someone's sin against you should trigger a reminder that here is one who has the need for redemption. You are called like Christ to pursue that objective of His redemption in their life. Was not your sin the occasion by which Jesus put on flesh and came to the earth to seek and save that which was lost? Your qualifying characteristic to receive God's mercy is that you have sinned against Him. When you sinned against God, He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and extended the mercy of salvation to you. You and I must do the same in our temporal lives. This is how God draws you and I into His service so that we become active evangelists for His forgiveness; this is the Gospel. Forgiveness is a matter of honor. When someone sins against you, do not despise them, honor them with forgiveness! Use their sin as an occasion for ministry back to them. Every occasion of sin brings an opportunity to minister the Gospel to those who are lost.
Now the question becomes, "how can I do this practically?" Matthew 18:15-20 gives explicit instructions on how to evangelize through forgiveness. God permitting, we will continue the discussion at this point in the next newsletter. GLC