Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
This week, Michael asks: What does Jesus require? What doth the Lord require of thee? He has redeemed us from the power of sin, not because we were deserving of forgiveness. He loved us when we were unloveable, while we were . Not because of who we are but because of who He is. Love, mercy and grace are the nature of God himself. By grace you have been saved, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and Lord of all.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus presented a new approach to our attitudes of heart. The beatitudes are the “beautiful attitudes” that will set our hearts free.
According to Romans 5:20, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Ephesians 2:8 says, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In order to understand the meaning of redemption and reconciliation by God’s grace, we must first understand that from which we were forgiven.
The root of sin is an attitude of pride. In our pride we have accumulated a resentment bank that says, “people have wronged me and never made it right.” One man said in a counseling session, “My wife doesn’t respect me.” The Counselor asked him, “Are you respectable?” It’s much easier to see the sin in others without recognizing the sin of resentment in our own hearts. The sin problem is that we see the sin in others while being blinded to the bigger sin ... judging others for having wronged us. Jesus said, “how can you see to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye, when you have a two by four in your own eye.” The two by four is resentment, unforgiveness, and judgmentalism ... the things that blind us to the love of God. How do you “yank the plank?” How do you cast the two by four out of your own eye?
In our confession of sin, repentance and belief in God's plan of salvation for us, when God justifies us by the transforming payment His son Jesus Christ paid on our behalf, on the Cross He casts our sin as far is the east is from the west and remembers them no more. When we’re saved by His grace through His Son’s sacrifice for sin, we are "born again" and made the righteousness of Christ.
The word sin means literally to miss the mark. However, the emphasis of the word sin is not on the "missing" but on the mark itself. The mark is God's holy Word, Will and Way; the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The devil’s ploy is to remind us how far short of the mark we fall. But, once having saving faith, if we confess our sins, our broken fellowship, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
According to the beatitudes, forgiveness starts with humility. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jeremiah 24:7 says, I will put it in your hearts to humble yourselves to know me. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, returning to God begins with a heart humbled before the Lord: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” The Old Testament law of sin and death showed God’s people, both then and now, that in themselves, they could not keep His righteous commandments. When people try to prove righteousness in their own power, then God allows them to reap the natural consequences of their self serving sin nature. The old saying goes: ouch the oven and you'll get burned.
Jesus said, if you’re bringing an offering before God and have an issue against your brother, first go reconcile with your brother. Then you can come back and offer your sacrifice to God with a pure and clean heart of forgiveness. As needy men and women of God, our need is to ask forgiveness and give forgiveness. This is why Jesus said in His model prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Without a heart that forgives others, we cannot approach God’s throne of grace with a pure heart of meekness and humility. Unforgiveness distracts our attention away from godliness which negatively affects our attitude. Without forgiving others, our heart says, Jesus’ death on my behalf was not sufficient. The unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart, because that which is wrong in the eyes of the Lord is always wrong.
the old axiom goes, I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me. The greatest freedom is in allowing the Lord to take captivate our hearts: Make me a captive Lord of your holy Word, Will and Way, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my defiant sword and I shall a conqueror be; conquering my sinful self. I sink in life’s alarms, if by myself I stand. Imprison me within thine arms and free shall be my stand, that with a heart of humility and forgiveness, we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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