ESOCS Devotional 4 October 2024 – Forgiveness: A Christian Duty
MEMORY VERSE: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.”Luke 17:3
TEXT: LUKE 17:1-10
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
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Two little boys had quarrelled. But the next morning, Johnny took his cap and headed for Bobby’s house again. Surprised, his mother said, “What! Going to play with him again? I thought you quarrelledd only last evening and were never going to have anything more to do with each other.” Johnny looked a little sheepish, dug his toe into the carpet for a moment, then flashed a satisfied smile, as he hurried away. “Oh, Bobby and I are good forgivers.”
Jesus has high expectations for His disciples. This is a common theme in Luke (Luke 9:57-62 and 14:25-33), and it comes through clearly in this text. I want to uncover what Jesus said about our Christian duty to forgive so that we might become good forgivers. A few points to note:
Offences will happen: A person may have been unkind, lied about you, called you a name, cheated you, hurt you, harmed you in some significant way, or even been unfaithful or disloyal to you. These things hurt!
Offences are common in our relationships: We are sinful people. Just the other day, Melody and I could not find something that we bought. I sinfully put the blame on her. I was wrong. I offended her. She was hurt.
Rebuke the offender: Jesus said that if a brother sins against us, we are to rebuke him (i.e., we must tell him that he hurt us).
We must forgive: He said that if the confronted sinner repents, we must forgive however the offence hurts us, although forgiving can be difficult. Remember too that forgiving does not justify the wrong; it is simply letting go of the offence.
What are we to do if the offender does not repent? Until he does, he will not prosper. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: …” However, we must not hold onto bitterness in our hearts toward him. (Matthew 5:44). Our Lord said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
We must clear our own conscience by forgiving even if the offender will not repent. Jesus forgave His unrepentant crucifiers (Luke 23:34). He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”He also said we must forgive repeatedly. Even if a person wrongs us seven times in one day and each time repents, we must forgive him. In Matthew 6:15, He said, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” A majority of marriage conflicts could be resolved if the couple practised confronting, repenting and forgiving. The same is true of nearly all conflicts.
- Just keep forgiving people to keep your heart clean. You have no excuse not to forgive.
- Lord Jesus, please give your forgiving hearts.
Further Reading: Job 3:1-17; Proverbs 11:1-12; 1 Corinthians 14:13-25
ESOCS Devotional 4 October 2024
